Updated 8:48am 21 May 2013

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Kevan Carrick

Kevan Carrick

Let us learn from 2011

THE value of hindsight is that it can help inform insight and foresight – but what we must not do is look back at the last year with short-sight!Read

Partnership can see us through

CLEARLY the Government keeps a close eye on The Journal. No sooner had we published the column headlined “It’s time to start tackling the gap in the market” than the coalition announced its Unlocking Growth in Cities report.Read

Focus on commercial side of farming

YOU might think I’m going out on a limb by tackling rural issues in a commercial property column but it’s where the smart money is saying many opportunities will increasingly be found.Read

Planning for the changes to deliver growth

THE concern about being fitter to deliver economic growth and jobs has focused in part on ensuring that our planning service in the region is ‘open for business’ and can deliver more quickly.Read

Focus will deliver growth

THE last 12 months have seen the introduction of radical changes affecting the property sector that will have major implications for us throughout 2011 and beyond.Read

Tough year ahead but there’s still hope

THE Comprehensive Spending Review is done and we now seek to understand the impact. Property and construction will be hit badly, but there are potentially beneficial opportunities that seem to be emerging.Read

A different way we can fund development

WITH the expected cuts in capital spending it is essential that other methods are put into place to help fund infrastructure spending.Read

How our region will be changing short-term

SINCE the arrival of the coalition Government, significant changes in the planning system have resulted in stasis, little housing development and virtually no commercial development, with the exception of some public sector work focused on schools and health.Read

Turn the property market to your own advantage

THE property market in the North East remains a buyer’s or tenant’s market. Good deals are being done in open market lettings. Landlords are taking a realistic approach in offering to lower rents, improve accommodation and grant longer rent free periods.Read

Partnership approach best for the region

THERE is in the bid for a local economic partnership (LEP) a fundamental imperative to win the confidence of the government that the region can run its affairs.Read

Staying on top of situation to protect North East businesses

THE coalition Government’s £1bn Regional Growth Fund is going to be key to our future in the North of England. Especially important is how it’s allocated and why. Achieving economic regeneration is not solely about encouraging innovation and creating SMEs and will need a different approach in each region.Read

Crucial for united region to make case

FIRST of all, the great news ... North East businessman Sir Ian Wigglesworth, who was recently appointed deputy chairman of the Government's £1bn Regional Growth Fund Panel, said that it should benefit the North East "substantially".Read

Where will plans leave North East?

THE property sector feels as if it’s under siege at the moment and one of the reasons is that we are working in a vacuum while the new Government gets its ducks in a row.Read

Property expenses should be first target for cost-cutting

THE threat of a double dip recession gets stronger every day as the country comes to terms with the swingeing public sector cuts on top of a still-struggling economy.Read

Knock-on effects for business

I DON'T believe things have ever moved so fast in the world of local government - and my goodness they need to at the moment.Read

Mediation is usually better than litigation

OVER the last few weeks I’ve taken a macro view. We have seen the big picture of the election and the impact of the recession and economy on property. I think we need a rest and to look at the users end - the people in property.Read

Let's get on with the job of being self-sufficient

WITH the Emergency Budget out of the way we now know the size of the task and what we as a region need to do to grow the economy.Read

Zero-carbon homes too dear for buyers

IT was highly significant that one of the first acts of the new coalition Government was to abolish the hugely unpopular Home Improvement Packs - the dreaded Hips, as they became known far and wide - which were introduced with the aim of speeding up and adding more certainty to the home-buying process.Read

The work goes on despite uncertainty

THE political Punch and Judy show may be over but we still remain in a period of uncertainty while the dust settles and the many promised changes begin to take effect.Read

Private sector must be given opportunity to step into breach

THE Journal's Case for the North East campaign has made interesting reading in recent weeks, especially a leading article which suggests that the new Government has been listening to the region's business community.Read

Author Profile

Kevan Carrick is a partner in JK Property Consultants and provides strategic and development advice to both the public and private sectors on the formation of strategic regeneration schemes and development opportunities linked with property market and economic advice, compulsory purchase, funding and dispute resolution. He has been lead consultant on a number of projects including Quayside, Newcastle upon Tyne. He is a board member of Durham Vision 2020 (Public/Private Partnership) and is chairman of Percy Hedley Foundation, a registered charity providing for the education and care of children and adults with special needs. He is also policy spokesman for the RICS in the North East Region. He is Chairman of Northern Dispute Resolutions an organization to promote the use of mediation and the appointment of mediators.

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