Future Cities Forum's 'Innovation Cities 2025' discussion event in Bristol this October
- Heather Fearfield
- Jun 30
- 10 min read
Future Cities Forum ' Innovation and economy 2025' discussion event is being hosted by Deloitte at its offices in Finzel's Reach, Bristol in October. The district was originally home to a Victorian sugar refinery and then brewery but now is a mixed use development site in central Bristol, occupying most of the south bank of the Bristol Floating Harbour, and adjacent to Temple Quarter.
Deloitte moved in August 2024 to the new Bristol office in the landmark Halo building, one of the UK’s most sustainable office developments. Deloitte chose Halo as the development has set new standards of sustainable office design, having become one of the first buildings outside London to receive the BREEAM Outstanding accreditation. The space is equipped with high-efficiency air cooled chillers, energy regeneration from lifts, solar panels on the roof and joinery made from recycled resin – which reduce energy and water consumption as well as carbon emissions.
Dave Tansley, Practice Senior Partner for Deloitte South West & Wales (where he leads a combined team of over 2,300 people) is hosting Future Cities Forum. He said:
“This significant move for Deloitte underlines our role in the wider region, both as a leading employer and respected business. We have an ambitious, mission-led vision for growth for both the firm and the region, and we believe this new working space will supercharge that...Being involved in the drive to innovate across the South West and Wales thrives is a passion of mine. Between being a governor of UWE, collaborating with SetSquared on their iKEEP programme, and my role at Deloitte, there are many opportunities to look at the future of innovation in the region.'
Bristol City Council has been speaking about the recent UK Government Spending Review about transport challenges and connectivity within the region. It states:
'Bristol, along with leaders across the West of England have welcomed greater investment through the recent Spending Review, with a record three-quarters of a billion pounds of transport funding confirmed for the West. That means better buses, more trains, and mass transit – with trams and much more on the table. The Treasury has also today confirmed plans to improve rail links between Bristol and Cardiff.
(See further detail below on its Spending Review reaction below)
Our discussion roundtable will consider the recent Spending Review and its implication for the region, but will also look at how the Local Growth Plan is supporting and developing an inclusive economy for Bristol. The current plan (which is being updated) notes a mixed picture of trends:
The affordability of home ownership has decreased and in 2008 the average property price in the city was more than seven times that of the annual gross average earnings. Bristol also has a large and growing student population with a recent planning permission applied for a 350 bed unit in the St Philips area by Smart Urban Living. Bristol Live reports that the site is currently home to the Avon Crane and Commercial Repairs, on the Wincombe Trading Estate, next to the River Avon. The wider area is undergoing a regeneration, with a new university campus being built nearby, as well as many other student flats. The Bristol Temple Quarter regeneration will see the area east of Temple Meads train station transformed from a largely industrial area to one that’s home to thousands of people, including hundreds of students.
Bristol's economy has performed well with a varied economic base, with the two largest industrial areas found in St Philips Marsh and Avonmouth. But flood risk is an issue and internationally important biodiversity must be safeguarded. Bristol Port has also seen significant growth. South Bristol is being developed as a counterpoint to the rapidly expanding north area of the city, The Council's goal is for a low carbon economy across homes, businesses and transport rising to the challenge of climate change, with district power and heating systems as part of this.
Development promotes the creation of sustainable communities of exceptional urban design, giving priority to brownfield development. There has been discussion about targeted regeneration and renewal in the Northern Arc and Inner East areas to extend social cohesion and integration as well as to improve health and wellbeing. There has been a plan to reduce education and skills deprivation while boosting employment and income. A network of valuable open spaces, green infrastructure and wildlife habitats are being maintained and improved throughout the city.
Bristol as a city in 2026 is aiming to be a leading European city for innovative industry, enterprise, culture, environmental quality, lifestyle and urban design, reinforcing its status as a European Science City and Green Capital.
Future Cities Forum's last discussion event was hosted by the former Mayor of Bristol, Marvin Rees, at the Town Hall, who said about Bristol:
'It is a city of contrast. When I was a local radio journalist we talked about balloons, bridges and Brunel - but this positive message doesn't apply to everyone, it's not wonderful for everyone. It is a city of 42 square miles and very prosperous . However there are 21,000 on the waiting list for housing. It is one of the most expensive cities outside London - but where are the homes? I constantly hear when talking about where homes are going to go - 'no not here'!' There are entrenched inequalities in Bristol, for instance in the area of Hartcliffe, only 11 per cent go onto university. There is social immobility.'
On transport he commented:
'The mass transit system that I advocate is hanging by a thread. We need connectivity but our transport is an ongoing challenge. It is expensive and infrequent. Some of our exclusion in the city is really about transport problems like at Hartcliffe. Bristol is made up of many different villages and they can be isolated with narrow roads. A new mass transit system has to hit the most dense areas and therefore you have to go underground. We are too romantic about trams. When you build them you have to close the roads and then the retailers will go. With a segregated system, no one goes down it. I am challenged on the mass transit system as 'pie in the sky' but there is too much concentration on our historical failures of the past to make new ideas happen.'
Deloitte partner, Dave Tansley, who also joined our discussion event last year, says one important question is whether it is enabling 'loveable not just liveable places'. He stated at our previous discussion:
'I speak as an engineer and say that we are living in a complex system of systems and we need to think about how we create liveable places that are human and also the need for a flourishing industrial base. In addition we need to create meaningful work and I am talking about bus drivers and community workers, not just astrophysicists. One of the things that glues all this together is the finance system. There is not enough capital liquidity in it and that is the 'golden thread'. We need banks now to see for instance mortgage loans being part of an investment in that housing's heat store, not just the home itself. So this idea changes the whole cost of of other commercial opportunities and the nature of risk.'
Read more of our discussions in Bristol from January 2024 by clicking on the links below.
Further comments from Bristol City Council on the recent UK government Spending Review have been reported in their news flow:
'The Chancellor’s extension of the national £3 bus fare cap until March 2027 follows on from this week’s announcement of plans for free bus travel for children and young people across the West over the school summer holidays and last week’s arrival of the West of England’s first electric buses.
'Today also saw Hartcliffe in south Bristol announced as one of 25 trailblazer neighbourhoods across the UK, set to receive up to £20 million over the decade as part of a new national fund for communities. The Treasury has also confirmed plans to extend funding for the West of England’s £5 million Youth Guarantee trailblazer, one of only eight in the country, to support more young people into work and training.
'Councillor Tony Dyer, the Leader of Bristol City Council, said:
“This latest set of announcements contains a lot of positive news for Bristol and the West of England, with transport and housing being clear areas where we can proceed to make a big difference. I was personally delighted to see Hartcliffe singled out for investment and can talk from personal experience how needed this is for this community to thrive.
“Whilst we welcome today’s announcements and recognise the challenging balancing act the Chancellor must manage, we will continue to bang the drum for Bristol and the region in wanting to see more funding in future, for our council and others in the West.”
'The West of England has the strongest recent economic growth of any combined authority region, with strength across sectors like advanced manufacturing and culture. The confirmation of an increase in defence spending, alongside priority area status for the creative industries, is another major vote of confidence in tens of thousands of local workers – with Filton name-checked by the Chancellor for its contribution to our national security. Yesterday, Rolls-Royce was confirmed as the government’s preferred vendor to build the country’s first small modular nuclear reactors, which could support up to 3,000 jobs at peak construction and power around 3 million homes.
'Helen Godwin, the Mayor of the West of England, said:
“Today’s Spending Review confirms the exciting news that the West has secured a record £752 million to invest in better transport. That funding will make a difference that people can see and feel, just like the welcome extension of the national £3 bus fare cap. As well as fixing our roads and bridges, that three-quarters of a billion pounds will mean better buses, more trains, and mass transit – with trams and much more on the table.
“The West of England already has one of the strongest growing economies in the country, but our ambition is greater still. Our creative and advanced manufacturing sectors will continue to go from strength to strength, and it was great to hear Filton highlighted by the Chancellor today in the House of Commons.
“We have started a new chapter for the West of England, but start from a place of needing to catch up with other city regions. I have no doubt that we will begin to get our fair share of national investment from government for our communities – and the trailblazer funding announced for Hartcliffe is really welcome news.”
As the Mayoral Combined Authority, working with councils, continues to develop a Local Growth Plan, the government has emphasised the importance of regional growth. Housing will be a key part of that plan, supported by the Mayoral Combined Authority’s recent Strategic Place Partnership with Homes England. The Chancellor’s statement today committed to doubling investment in new affordable homes – up to £4 billion a year, by 2029, with £39 billion of investment over the next ten years.
Councillor Sarah Warren, the Deputy Leader of Bath & North East Somerset Council, said:
"I welcome the extra money in this announcement for our NHS and for schools. The additional funding for housing will also go some way to meeting the huge housing affordability crisis that the country faces. I also very much welcome the funding allocated to help make our homes warmer.
“The devil is always in the detail, and, although welcoming any investment, until we have more time to review the statement, it’s not certain what is actually new money, and what conditions may be attached to any grant or other funding,
“We will also need to see the details about how the national settlement will translate into impacts on services and council tax for Bath and North East Somerset residents. I remain particularly concerned that there is no immediate prospect in sight of resolving the urgent challenges in funding social care, which places such huge pressures on councils including our own.
“We will be working with the Mayor and council leaders across the West of England on the implications of this announcement on our region more widely. I am delighted that the West of England received a big boost in central government funding for transport recently and it is vital that we continue to maximise investment from central government and other sources.”
Councillor Mike Bell, the Leader of North Somerset, said:
“There is some good news in the spending review, and we welcome in particular the extension of the £3 bus fare cap into 2027 to help keep local transport affordable for our residents. But there is much more to be done to ensure that North Somerset and the region gets its fair share of government funding, and we will continue to work with the West of England Mayor and other partners to make that case. Without sustainable long-term funding for local councils, and particularly for social care, protecting services and driving growth will be challenging and the government needs to deliver.”
Councillor Maggie Tyrrell, the Leader of South Gloucestershire Council, said: “With £752 million coming to our region, this funding could bring significant improvements to our buses, trains and sustainable transport options.
“The extension of the £3 bus fare cap along with the introduction of free summer travel for young people will make a real difference to families across the area.
“Improved transport brings greater opportunity for all our communities, and this additional money will help us deliver the infrastructure we need for our local economy to continue to flourish.”
Part of Future Cities Forum discussions in Bristol will also highlight the recent UK government investment in munitions factories, one of which is intended to be sited in Bristol. How will this advanced manufacturing trickle down to benefit the community in terms of jobs and how will the Green Party react to this enhanced focus on defence?
The UK government stated in June that:
'The UK will build at least six new munitions and energetics factories and thousands more long-range weapons to strengthen Britain’s Armed Forces and create new jobs across the country. Through the Strategic Defence Review – the UK’s defence and deterrence is being bolstered with thousands of long-range weapons and a new £1.5 billion government investment in munitions and energetics factories.
'Together the investment will back around 1,800 highly-skilled jobs across the UK, putting money in the pockets of working people, and supporting the government’s Plan for Change by driving growth in every region and nation. The SDR recommends creating an ‘always on’ munitions production capacity in the UK allowing production to be scaled up at speed if needed. It says the MOD should also lay the industrial foundations for an uplift in munitions stockpiles to meet the demand of high-tempo warfare.'
As the shadow of war looms over our UK cities, how will Bristol play its part and how will it drive the local economy?
Join us for this important event on innovation, housing, transport and place at Deloitte this coming October.
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