Sir George Iacobescu has warned that the government needs to help cities to recover from the pandemic after Michael Gove disbanded an advisory group of business and local government leaders.
Iacobescu, credited with transforming London by leading the development of the Canary Wharf district, was among ten people appointed to an urban centre recovery task force a year ago to advise on how government can work with local leaders to support cities.
The task force, set up by Robert Jenrick, the former communities secretary, but has been disbanded by Gove, his successor, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities confirmed.
Multiple members of the task force said they had not been informed of the decision.
Iacobescu, 76, said disbanding the commission has to “come hand in hand with other measures”.
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“I don’t think the issues will go away so we’ll have to see how the government or Michael Gove wants to deal with that.”
He added: “My presumption is that the new Secretary of State has a plan and I’m waiting with bated breath to hear what it is.”
Members of the task force also included Alison Brittain, chief executive of Whitbread, the owner of Premier Inn and the Beefeater chain of restaurants, Helen Gordon, the boss of Grainger, the residential landlord, and Andy Street, the mayor of the West Midlands.
The decision to disband the commission comes after ministers delayed publication of the government’s levelling-up plan to narrow the UK’s regional inequalities.
The paper, which is being led by Gove, had been expected before the end of the year but has been put off to give the government more time to flesh out policies.
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Business leaders including Philip Jansen, boss of BT, Jon Lewis, the chief executive of Capita, and Stewart Wingate and John Holland-Kaye, the chief executives of Gatwick and Heathrow airports respectively, have warned the government during the pandemic that the UK’s economic recovery will only succeed with a commitment to reviving city centres.
One in 10 high street shops and more than 13 per cent of retail units in shopping centres have remained empty for over a year, according to the British Retail Consortium.
And the effects of continuing flexible working policies have weighed on footfall in city centres.
Iacobescu, the chairman of Canary Wharf Group, which manages the 128-acre office, business and retail estate in east London, said that while he accepted that some people will find it easier to work from home, he believes that most people in desk-based jobs will return to work at their offices.
Going to work “is not going to be de-invented because of the Covid crisis,” he said. “Coming to work is the right place for people to congregate, exchange ideas, to be promoted, to learn and to have a sense of collective responsibility, to create together.”
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A Department for Levelling Up spokesman said the urban centre recovery task force “was always intended as a temporary measure, with members appointed for six months”.
“The task force provided practical recommendations on support for city centres, including to improve planning flexibility, placemaking and to revitalise urban centres”.
He said those recommendations will “continue to inform policymaking”, and have since fed into the publication of a “build better high streets strategy” on how to spur growth and create jobs that was released this year.
