MCBAINS COOPER
PROPERTY & CONSTRUCTION CONSULTANCY
PRESS RELEASE
April 12, 2011.
RGF ROUND ONE: TOO LITTLE TOO SOON, SAYS REGENERATION EXPERT.
Regeneration expert Dr Geoff Seeff says the Government’s flagship growth plan is looking like being too little too soon – and that the Coalition's flagship policy for economic development Regional Growth Fund (“RGF”) has been rushed through.
Dr Seeff, Head of Regeneration at international property and construction consultants McBains Cooper http://www.mcbainscooper.com/, says the imminent announcement of the successful bidders in Round One could expose serious flaws in the much-anticipated economic recovery policy.
“There’s a growing club of us who are forming the opinion that the RGF may flounder on the rocks before it even gets underway,” said Dr Seeff.
“My team and I have been carrying out appraisal and due diligence studies for the past 25 years for projects applying for the various regeneration grants that have been introduced in that time, and, while I think that the RGF is essentially a sound regime, the manner in which it has been implemented seems to me to be seriously flawed.
“Clearly, with the initial focus on deficit reduction, the Government needed to show that it was doing something to cut the bureaucracy of the Regional Development Agencies whilst at the same time encouraging growth.
“Following the completion of consultations in October, prospective bidders for RGF, and private sector organisations alone or in partnership with public sector bodies, were given just a few months to submit their Round One bids.
“Perhaps the Department of Business Innovations and Skills (“BIS”), regarded Round One as a ‘pathfinder’ and did not expect as many submissions. In fact BIS received 464 bids and they were seeking more than ten times the £250 million allocated".
“It seems to be common knowledge that many of the bids submitted did not meet the eligibility criteria of RGF, or will have fallen foul of the EU state aid rules.
“However, that will still leave a significant number which have met the strategic objectives but which are not worked up to a stage where BIS can be confident about their deliverability, whilst a good number will be rejected simply because others appear to yield better outcomes.
“In short, there will be a lot of disappointed applicants, many of whom may be discouraged from resubmitting in later rounds.”
Dr Seeff sees further issues at the due diligence stage for those recommended for an award by Lord Heseltine’s Advisory Panel.
“Other than in respect of those projects that have been in the pipeline for many years, are fully worked up and have simply been awaiting the opportunity presented by a suitable grant regime to help them proceed, essentially good projects will still require much design development.
“The appraisal carried out by BIS on the large number of bids can only have been cursory, which means it will be up to the due diligence advisers to identify constraints and risks and help devise solutions if there are problems.
“This will further protract the process of securing Ministerial approvals. If there are to be bidding rounds, and there is a strong argument against them, then in my view it would have been preferable for Government to have allocated a significantly larger fund for Round One and extended the bid period by another six months. This is a case of too little, too soon.”
Ends
Further information:
Iain Macauley
07788 978800 im@pressrelations.co.uk
Notes.
McBains Cooper
McBains Cooper is an inter-discipline consultancy, specialising in property, infrastructure and construction, offering a wide range of consulting and design services including architectural, aesthetic or technical design, problem solving, budget management, facilities management, health and safety, sustainability consultancy and on-the-ground civil engineering. Driving and supporting projects ranging from minor works to major contracts worth more than £100 million, McBains Cooper operates across a variety of sectors throughout the 
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