Tomorrow’s City Centres. How can we bring our city centres back to life after lockdown? Before we had even heard of Covid-19 our city centres in the central South - Bournemouth, Poole, Portsmouth, Southampton and Winchester - were already facing some real challenges: declining footfall, shops closing and, of course, […]

How can the central South’s city centres successfully survive change? Living in cities Archaeologists tell us that the world’s first city developed in Mesopotamia, modern-day Iraq, over 6,000 years ago. At the heart of those emerging cities was space for people to meet, trade and worship. The UN has estimated […]

Civic Universities and the central South There is a lively discussion about the role our universities have in the towns and cities they are part of. As local authorities and other public bodies are forced to cut back, so institutions like universities become more important in civic life. At the […]

Living Well: Health and wellbeing for abetter quality of life In 2019 the SPC and University of Winchester joint seminar explored what is meant by ‘living well.’ Lord Geoffrey Filkin from the Centre for Ageing Better, put it very simply: longer lives are a great opportunity, but what will make […]

Help us to move on! Our report for the Blagrave Trust outlining practical policy recommendations to address some of the issues facing young people in Hampshire, Portsmouth and Southampton can be read below. People aged 16 to 25 have done most of their growing up in the shadow of the […]

LEPs and the central South: a summary of our breakfast seminar in conjunction with PwC Since their establishment in 2010, Local Enterprise Partnerships have been integral to economic growth across England, providing a channel for government investment in infrastructure, skills and innovation. A joint Southern Policy Centre/PwC seminar held at […]

Is there a strategy for the central South? A new SPC project. There is a widely-shared fear that central southern England is not attracting the additional resources and powers that are being enjoyed in other regions. The former Treasury Minister, Lord Jim O’Neill, has criticised previous devolution proposals from central […]

Collaborative Culture: the challenges for cultural partnerships in the central south Our area has a rich arts and cultural offer, with a wide variety of organisations and strong levels of public engagement. Our report, undertaken on behalf of Arts Council England and with support from the Partnership for Urban South Hampshire […]

Housing costs and the central South’s economy ‘A great place to live…if you can afford it’ The central South is recognised as having some of the highest housing costs outside London. Our report, published in 2018, undertaken on behalf of Enterprise M3 LEP and Radian housing association, reviews the cost […]

Deprivation in the South Despite its perceived affluence relative to other parts of the UK, pockets of severe multiple deprivation exist across the South Coast region. This research offers a timely corrective to over-simplistic ideas of an English North-South divide by highlighting the significance of ‘hidden’ deprivation in affluent areas. […]

A summary of our seminar on health and social care On March 22nd 2018, the University of Winchester and Southern Policy Centre co-hosted a seminar to explore the impact on the Central South of England of the changing make-up of our society. The event was chaired by Professor John Denham, […]

Next-door neighbours - collaborative working across the London boundary Local government obsesses about boundaries: we think they’re always wrong.  We spend hours, and pounds, looking at options for council reorganisation or Combined Authorities, and rarely agree where lines on maps should be drawn.  We seem intent on imposing our own […]

Rail passengers in southern England forced to subsidise passengers in rest of Britain Rail passengers in southern England are being forced to subsidise passengers in rest of Britain – paying 16p a mile more than the cost of running their service In 2016/17 South West Trains (SWT) passengers were forced […]

The Budget and the Industrial Strategy: Why the Central South needs to get back on track The Budget and the Industrial Strategy: Why the Central South needs to get back on track November 22nd’s Budget has been criticised as being timid, and lacking in new ideas. However, it did at […]

Devolution in the South: reboot needed Simon Eden, SPC Associate, on how the South needs to re-imagine its approach to devolution: November 2017 Devolution across the UK has proceeded in fits and starts. Some councils and their partners embraced the process early, and came out with devolution deals which […]

Lord Jim O’Neill’s speech to Devolution South conference ‘Devo South: Getting Back on Track’ conference In November 2017 Lord Jim O’Neill was the keynote speaker at the Southern Policy Centre’s ‘Devo South: Getting Back on Track’ conference. His speech to delegates can be seen here: The full transcript of […]

Tainting a good idea Combined authorities in the balance It may be Budget day before we learn whether any part of central southern England will reach agreement with the government on a ‘devolution deal’.  But the chaotic process of recent months may have damaged the credibility of what is, at […]

Why a southern think tank? We were launched in 2014 by Greg Clark and Lord Adonis to provide public policy focus for central southern England: the area from Dorset to West Sussex, and the Isle of Wight up to Oxfordshire. The region faces challenges distinct from both London and other […]