West of England Combined Authority joins our Housing 2026 and Bristol 'Innovation Cities'

Image: John Wilkinson, courtesy of the West of England Combined Authority

Future Cities Forum is delighted that John Wilkinson, Director of Homes and Regeneration for the West of England Combined Authority, will be contributing to both our 'Housing 2026' discussion and our Bristol 'Innovation Cities' event.

John was Area Director at the Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government and previously the Chief Executive of the Western Gateway Pan-Regional Partnership covering South Wales and Western England. At Bath & North East Somerset Council, John served as Director of Economy and Growth and Director of Community Regeneration.

John will join Future Cities Forum's September 'Housing and infrastructure' forum to discuss the UK government's funding to provide greater opportunities for the building of social housing.

Back in August the West of England's Mayor, Helen Godwin, talked about greater devolution around making housing decisions:

"More control over how we tackle the housing crisis in our region can turbo-charge the work we are already doing together, including with Homes England. This is great news for people across the West of England who are waiting for social housing and saving to get onto the property ladder. Like our local councils, we will be looking closely at the detailed proposals.

"Call-in powers have been used in the capital by the Mayor of the London for many years, and it's right that our region is fast catching up. Mindful of this responsibility, my approach, now and in the future, remains the same: carefully considering all planning applications at the appropriate stage, looking at all the evidence."

In UK government news, Mayors across England are to be given new powers to overrule local councils on some planning decisions which apply to more than 150 homes, more than 15,000 square metres of commercial space or buildings over 30 metres.

Those areas which already have a Mayor, include cities such as Manchester and Liverpool, and also regions such as the West of England and West Midlands. They will also be able to 'call in' planning decisions.

The Government has also announced that allocations worth £10bn in total will go to 33 partners comprising of councils, housing associations and others with 60% of the homes built for social rent. Three councils including Cambridge have been named as strategic partners so far to deliver the first wave of a social homes programme as the government announced a “reinvigoration of council housebuilding”.

In addition, housebuilding near well-connected train stations will receive a default “yes” in future if they meet certain rules, ensuring more high-quality, affordable homes are built in and around our key towns and cities, saving commuters time and boosting access to housing. 

John will also be joining our 'Innovation Cities' discussion at the new Temple Quarter Enterprise Campus in October, alongside the University of Bristol's Deputy Vice Chancellor Professor Judith Squires and BTQ LLP's CEO Karen Mercer.

The new eastern entrance at Bristol Temple Meads will open from 4pm on Monday 7 September, marking a significant milestone in the transformation of one of Britain's busiest and most historic railway stations. Delivered by Network Rail in partnership with the Bristol Temple Quarter partners, the new entrance provides direct access between Bristol Temple Meads and the University of Bristol's new Temple Quarter Enterprise Campus, whilst improving connections for communities and businesses in St Philip's Marsh and the east of the city.

The £23 million project is expected to serve around 2.5 million passengers each year by 2030, as part of longer-term work to double the capacity of the region’s busiest station. The new entrance was funded by some of a £94.7 million of government funding awarded to the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority (WECA) to support the delivery of three new entrances to Bristol Temple Meads station.

The first of three new entrances to be delivered, the eastern entrance will open directly onto the new campus, dramatically improving connectivity between the city’s main station, the new future-focused innovation district, and communities in the east of the city.

The new entrance forms a key part of the wider Bristol Temple Quarter regeneration programme, one of the largest and most ambitious regeneration programmes in Europe, which aims to deliver thousands of new homes, jobs and opportunities for Bristol and the West of England. The scheme is a partnership between WECA and Bristol City Council, who formed the Bristol Temple Quarter LLP to drive the project forward in 2024, working closely with Network Rail, University of Bristol and Homes England.