Dwharfing the City: The Next Generation of Urban Development Corporations

• The Adam Smith Institute is calling on the government to create a new Thames Gateway Urban Development Corporation (UDC), which it says could unlock 163,000 new homes;

• In its latest report, the leading think-tank also proposes launching new UDCs in Oxford and Bristol, addressing chronic housing shortages and unleashing their economic potential;

• It also recommends adapting existing development proposals in Cambridge and Liverpool to fit a UDC model;

• Urban Development Corporations are state-backed corporations designed to quickly regenerate or develop urban areas. They are empowered to cut through red tape, creating new houses and infrastructure through private sector partnerships;

• Introduced by the Thatcher government, the London Docklands Development Corporation, the most famous UDC, spurred the creation of 24,000 homes, 120,000 jobs and Canary Wharf’s status as London’s second financial hub;

• UDCs are effective because they remove roadblocks to development, giving the corporation powers of land acquisition, infrastructure development and the ability to bypass local government planning procedures;

• UDCs can deliver a high volume of homes at speed and scale, boosting the local housing stock and driving down prices;

• This would particularly benefit Britain’s young people who currently face crippling housing and renting costs, preventing them from living near well-paying jobs and starting families;

• With the government planning to create a suite of new towns, UDCs also provide an ideal model to meet housing demands while avoiding the pitfalls of central plans which can create artificial communities that struggle to support themselves;

• In an accompanying foreword, Chris Curtis MP, co-chair of the Labour Growth Group, urges the government to “cut through red tape, streamline planning and empower development corporations.”