A recent study by The Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government found that 95% of the projects it had data on were behind schedule, with unexpected costs and inflation listed as the chief reasons.
MHCLG had recruited SYSTRA and Frontier Economics to evaluate the Levelling Up Fund, a £4.8bn programme from the previous government that awarded funds to 216 bids through its first two rounds. Of those schemes, 27 were in the North West, 16 in Yorkshire, and 11 in the North East.
These 216 bids equate to 380 individual projects. When it came to the study, the analysts received responses regarding 177 projects from 131 of the bidders, or roughly 61% of those who had been successful in their applications to the fund.
Of those 177 projects, 95% are delayed. The delays average around a year, with 38% (equating to 64 schemes) more than a year behind schedule. There are 10 projects that are delayed by more than two years. MHCLG was unable to provide information in time for publication regarding the location of these specific projects when asked.
In addition to the chief reason of cost rises, the study reported that delays were due to schemes being half-baked, so to speak – having been in the early design or planning processes.
“Many LUF bids were therefore developed on the basis of high-level costings with more detailed design work and costings required post-award,” the report states. “This led to delays in many instances, and in some instances further cost increases/rescoping exercises.”
In some cases, LUF timescale of delivery within three years was too ambitious – especially with only 3% of schemes listed as construction-ready at the time of the bid submission. The study stated: “While some projects are officially reported as ‘delayed’, they are progressing at a reasonable pace for those types of projects under typical delivery conditions.”
The next round of LUF evaluation is set to take place from now until 2027. This will look at specific projects.
