The 3 Cities is a unique collaboration leading the way in unlocking transformative opportunities to accelerate green economic growth, address decarbonisation, and boost investment and inclusive growth in the cities of Birmingham, Coventry and Wolverhampton. With a combined GVA of £43bn and population of 1.8m, the 3 Cities seeks to connect the complementary strengths and assets of the cities to spur innovation and at-scale responses to shared challenges and opportunities.
The first focus of the 3 Cities is on retrofitting housing to achieve net zero and address the rising cost of living. To do this, the 3 Cities will combine their expertise and assets as well as harnessing that of the region. The 3 Cities are home to major companies, state-of-the-art manufacturing, technical knowledge and innovation engines through the Manufacturing Technology Centre, Energy Systems Catapult, and a network of universities through the Energy Research Accelerator. The National Brownfield Institute is being established to lead on modern methods of construction, and the National Centre for the Decarbonisation of Heat is being developed to enable the rapid scaling up of manufacturing, skills and deployment of heat solutions.
The goal of the 3 Cities is to create one of the largest retrofit programmes in the UK, with significant opportunities for investment, partnerships, supply chain, skills and jobs, and innovation. This will benefit all three cities, their partners, their citizens, the wider region and the UK.
In doing this, the 3 Cities are adopting a unique approach. They want to move at pace on retrofit, learning fast and in turn sharing their learning with others experiencing the same challenges across the UK. Through developing a programme for the retrofit of large numbers of social homes, it will also help the market to shape the retrofitting of an even larger number of privately-owned homes that will need to be upgraded too. By sharing and pooling resources and experience to coordinate action, the 3 Cities aim to turn barriers into opportunities, build capacity and capability, and develop viable funding, financing and delivery models.
Deborah Cadman OBE, Chief Executive of Birmingham City Council shares her views and ambition on the 3 Cities, “Reaching net zero means tackling all emissions including from housing. With Birmingham having the country’s largest council housing stock, we know the task is significant. But coming together as the 3 Cities retrofit represents a unique commitment of our cities and a huge opportunity to transform social homes and spur wider change in the market. Our collective assets and expertise mean we’ve significant comparative advantages to advance one of the largest retrofit programmes in the country and bring significant benefits including carbon reduction, renewal of homes, levelling up, new jobs and accelerating innovation. We’re now seeking ambitious investors, businesses and partners to join us in supporting and shaping this transformative programme”.
Author: Deborah Cadman, Tim Johnson & Martin Reeves
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