EU REFERENDUM SPECIAL Implications of Brexit for Town & City …Referendum… · EU REFERENDUM:...

EUREFERENDUMSPECIALImplicationsofBrexitforTown&City

CentresAcrosstheUK&ROI

May2016

EUREFERENDUM:ImplicationsofBrexitonTown&CityCentresAcrosstheUK&ROI 2

ABOUTTHEATCMThe Association of Town & City Management (ATCM) is a not-for-profitmembershiporganisationdedicatedtopromotingthevitalityandviabilityoftownand city centres. Our membership includes around 400 town and city centremanagementpractitionersandactiveinitiatives.Themajorityofthesefunctionaspartnerships, some with several hundred contributing members. They developandimplementsharedvisions,strategiesandactionplansforatotalofmorethan700district,townandcitycentresthroughouttheUKandIreland.ATCMhasbeenoperatingfor25yearsandcanofferasignificantbodyofexperienceinthefieldofplacemanagement.ATCM’s membership is diverse, consisting of local authorities, BusinessImprovementDistricts(BIDs),CommunityInterestCompanies(CICs),TownTeams,planners andmore. They span across the private, public and voluntary sectorsand,asacollective,donothaveasectorspecificagenda.Insteadtheyarefocusedonthepromotionofhealthyplacesforthebenefitofallstakeholders.AssociationofTown&CityManagement32-36LomanStreet,LondonSE10EHT:+44(0)3003300980E:[email protected]:www.atcm.orgATCM is a company limited by guarantee and is registered in England (No2814583).

ABOUTTHEAUTHOROjayMcDonaldisthePublicPolicyManagerofATCM.T:+44(0)3003300980E:[email protected]


CONTENTS

Page

1.Introduction

4

2.WhatHappensIfWeVotetoLeave

5

3.Economy

7

4.Tourism

11

5.Regulation&Policy-Making

14

6.Fiscal

19


1.INTRODUCTIONOnthe23rdJune2016,theUKwillgotothepollstovoteonwhethertostayintheEuropeanUnion.AvotetoleavewillmeantheUKwillnolongerbecategorisedasa member-state within the EU, fundamentally altering its relationship with thecontinent.So far, it has been extremely difficult to obtain objective information on theconsequences of aUK departure from theUnion, so polarised are the views ofthose campaigning on this issue. Furthermore, little has been said about theimpactontownandcitycentresspecificallyacrosstheUK.ThisdocumentbyATCMisanattempttofillthisvoidformembersaheadofthereferendum.ItbeginsbyoutliningtheprocessthatwillbeundertakenshouldtheUKvoteto leave,somethingwhichunderlinestheuncertaintyof ‘Brexit’.Withaviewtobringingtogetheranumberofcomplex issues,wethenprovideanalysison4keythemesbasedonthelimitedinformationavailable.ThisbriefingpaperalsoappliestoATCM’smembersinIrelandwho,althoughhaveno vote in this referendum, will be influenced greatly both positively andnegatively by theoutcome.Wherepossible,wewill highlight the consequencesforspecificareasintheUKandIrelandasitisveryunlikelyadeparturefromtheEUwillhaveauniformimpactonalltownsandcities.


2.WHATHAPPENSIFWEVOTETOLEAVE

Understanding what happens should the UK vote to leave is essential tounderstanding why there is so much uncertainty around the process ofwithdrawal.AccordingtoapaperfromtheForeignandCommonwealthOffice,avote to leave would result in the UK Government triggering ‘Article 50’ of theTreatyoftheEuropeanUnion.This is theonly lawfulroutetowithdrawingfromtheEU.Ithasneverbeenusedbefore.The triggering of Article 50 appears to be the only certainty according to theForeignandCommonwealthOffice.Followingthis,theUKwillremainpartoftheEU for a minimum two years before it is officially withdrawn. It is during thisperiodonwhichsomuchrestsastheUKwillhavetonegotiatewhatrelationshipit haswith theUnion. Itmeansnegotiatingwith27member-states through theEuropean Commission (EC). The UK could request additional time for thenecessary agreements to beput in place but thiswould require theunanimousagreementofallother27member-statesandisbynomeansguaranteed.Once this two year period has elapsed, the UK would no longer haverepresentationinEuropeanParliament,wouldlikelyhavenoaccesstotheSingle

KeyHighlightsToleavetheEU,theUKmusttriggerArticle50ofthe‘TreatyoftheEuropeanUnion’.MembershipoftheEUwillceaseaminimumof2yearsfollowingthis.Article50hasneverbeenusedbefore.WithdrawalmeanstheUKwill:

• NolongerhaverepresentationintheEuropeanParliament.

• Have to scrap all existing tradedealswith the EU andnon-EU statesandrenegotiateeachfromscratch.

• Have limited or no access to the Single Market (depending on theresultofnegotiations).

• NolongerbesubjecttoEUlaw.

• NolongerhavetopermitthefreemovementofEUcitizens.


Market,wouldnolongerbeabletocapitaliseontradedealsnegotiatedbetweentheEUandnon-EUstates,andwouldbenolongerberequiredtopermitthefreemovementofEUcitizens.Thisiswheretheuncertaintystarts,becausethereisnowayofguessingwhatdealsmightbesuccessfullynegotiatedbetweentheEUandthe UK in the aftermath of a withdrawal. The creation of some workingarrangementwith the EU and non-EUnations is possible butwith somany keyplayerswithvestedintereststherearenoguaranteesonwhatcanbesecuredandhowitwillhelporhindertheUK.Everythingisdependentonthispost-withdrawalnegotiationandallassumptionsonthebenefitsandfallbacksofa‘no’votemustbecaveatedaccordingly.Within this context, ATCM will try to identify the issues which will have thebiggestimpactontowncentresshouldwevotetoleaveinJune.


3.ECONOMY

There a few commentators that suggest the uncertainty surrounding the UK’smembership is helpful for the economy or that the UK can negotiate a bettertradedealwiththeEUthanithasatthemoment.TheBankofEngland,OfficeforBudget Responsibility, the International Monetary Fund and the CBI have allraisedconcerns.Thefactis,theSingleMarkethasbecomeapowerfulforceintheworld economy. It allows an extensive amount of market integration forbusinesses to trade across country borders with few barriers because of thecommonframework.TradeTheUKhasbeenabeneficiaryoftheSingleMarket.TheONSestimatesthattheEUisbysomewaytheUK’sbiggesttradingpartner.44%ofexportsgototheEUwhichsupports12.6%ofGDP.Thiswouldbeatriskwithavotetoleave,andthisisjustthetipoftheiceberg.Tradeoutside theEUwillalsohavetochange.Tradingagreementswithnon-EUcountrieshavebeennegotiatedbytheEUtogetastrongbargainingpositionfor

KeyHighlightsTheSingleMarket isacommonregulatory frameworkallowinganyEUbasedbusinesstotradeinanyotherEUnationthankstocommonstandards.ThereisnowayofestimatingtheimpactofwithdrawalfromtheSingleMarketontheUKeconomyasthiswillbedependentonthenegotiationofnewtradedeals.Whatwedoknowisthat:

• NearlyhalfofallUKexports(44%)gototheEUandsupport12.6%ofUKGDP(ONS).

• The EU boosts Foreign Direct Investment by 27% according to theOECD. Ireland could benefit from investment displaced from the UKfollowingawithdrawal.

• Regions/nations in theUKwillbe impacteddifferentlybywithdrawalwithconcernfortheCityofLondon,exportbusinessesandtradewithIreland.


member-states. All of these arrangements would cease to exist meaning eachindividual agreement has to be renegotiated by the UK, something which isexpectedtotakesometime.Withlessbargainingpowerit isnotanticipatedthattheUKcouldget termsasbeneficialas it could if it remainedpartof this largertrading bloc. However, it is not impossible. More likely is that the UK cannegotiate trade deals that better suit its economy than those negotiated onbehalfoftheEU,evenifmanyofthetermsmaynotbeasfavourable.What is impossible is our ability to guess the extent of the impact of the UK’swithdrawalfromtheSingleMarket.Simplyput,therewillbenowayofknowingtheimpactbeforehand.Whatisguaranteedisthatthelevelofuncertaintywillbesignificant,almost intolerable formanymulti-nationalbusinesses thatarebasedintheUKthatrelyontheSingleMarket.Investment&EmploymentAccordingtotheOECD,membershipoftheEUboostsForeignDirect Investment(FDI)fromnon-EUmember-statesby27%.Withdrawalwillhaveaknock-onaffectoninvestment,which,inturn,willinfluenceemployment.ThelureoftheUKasabase for FDI should not be taken for granted. Our access to the SingleMarketalongside a credible legal system, stable political environment and access to anEnglish speaking workforce make the UK a compelling proposition for multi-nationalbusinesses.The lossofSingleMarketstatuscouldhave implications forprivate sector investment across the UK and ROI. Here are some specificexamples:CityofLondon:OfalltheUK’smajorcities,Londoncouldbehithardestofall.AsaworldcityitisthebeneficiaryofasignificantproportionofFDI.Inparticular,theCity of London is a global financial hub for banks that, according to theInternationalMonetaryFund,nowpresideoveraquarterofallEUbankingassets.TheCityhasbecomehometoadisproportionateshareoffinancialactivitywithitsvariousmarketsgeneratingaturnoverofhundredsoftrillionsinUSdollars.WhiletheCentreforEuropeanReformadmitsthattheCityofLondonwasaforcebeforeBritain’s accession to the EU, it has only gone from strength to strength since.With an interconnected eco-system around finance, accountancy and law, thehealth of theCity and the central Londoneconomyare intertwined.An EUexitcouldhitthecentralLondoneconomyhard.


Manufacturing and Exports: Outside of London, challenges lie ahead if the UKwithdrawsfromtheEU.Towns,citiesandregionsacrosstheUKarestillreliantonmanufacturingandexporting,akeypillarof theChancellor’seconomic recoverystrategy. The contribution of car production such as Jaguar-Land Rover in theMidlands,NissanintheNorthEastorfoodanddrinkexportersinScotlandwillbewatchingthisdebatecarefully.Moregenerally,thelowercostoflivingoutsideofLondonmakesmanypartsoftheUKattractiveforoverseasinvestors.AnEUexitposes a severe risk to all exporters that rely on the Single Market and somebusinessesmaybepersuadedtorelocateinvestmentaccordingly.UK’sRelationshipwithIreland:TheUKsharesjustonemajorborderwithanotherEU country. This is the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic.However, with the peace process and joint EUmembership, this is a border inname only. A UK withdrawal from the EU could mean the reintroduction of aphysicalborderwithpositiveandnegativeimplicationsforbothsides.Ireland imports more goods from the UK than any other country according toIreland’s National Treasury Management Agency. In 2013, 33.6% of all goodsimportedtoIrelandcamefromtheUKand30%ofallemploymentinIrelandisinsectors heavily related to UK exports. The UK is the second largest exportdestinationforIrishgoodsandthelargestforservices.Avotetoleavemeansthatthis will be put into jeopardy depending on the level of tariffs and non-tariffbarriersthatresult.‘OpenEurope’predictaworstcasescenario,Irelandcouldseethepermanentlossof3.1%ofGDPby2030becauseofrestrictionstradewiththeUK.Higherpricesforconsumersofbothcountriesduetotradebarriersarealsoarealpossibility.Withdrawalwillhavenegativeimplicationsforbothcountries.


However, for Ireland, thenewswouldnot be entirely bad. It couldbecome thelocation of choice for FDI should businesses pull investment out of the UK infavourofretainingaccesstotheSingleMarket. Ireland’sbiggestadvantageoverother EU member-states is that, it too can provide easy access to an Englishspeakingworkforce.TheInstituteforInternationalandEuropeanAffairsestimatethat thiscouldbeworth€6billion to Ireland, theequivalentof20%of totalFDIinflowsfor2013.AssessmentIt is impossible to guesswhat theeconomic futureof theUKoutsideof the EUmaybe andwhetherwe could successfully negotiate the retentionof access tothe Single Market. However, according to the vast majority of the evidenceavailable,thebestitseemstheUKcanhopeforisyearsofsignificantuncertainty,at worst, displaced investment, job losses, the erosion of key industries andeconomiccontraction.The impacton townsandcitiesacross theUKwillnotbeuniversal.Some localeconomies in theUKmay feelno impact,otherswouldbecrippled by this, but some towns in Ireland may be the happy recipients ofdisplacedinvestment.


3.TOURISM

In 2013, tourism contributed £56 billion in economic output. Tourism relatedindustriesemployed2.8millionpeople,9%ofallemployment.AkeyfeatureoftheSingleMarketisthefreemovementofpeopleacrosstheEU’sborders.Overtheyears,thishasopenedupsignificantopportunitiesfortheUK’shistoric towns and cities. Train links to the continent and cheaper flights haveboosted tourism. In fact, Euromonitor International estimates that in 2016, 34millioninboundvisitorsareexpectedtobeenteringtheUK,64%ofwhichwillbefrom Europe. The imposing of new visa and border controls could harm this.Giventhisinfo,conventionalwisdomwouldsuggestthatleavingtheEUwouldbea disaster for UK tourism. However, it is not that simple. Some of our mostdeprivedtownscouldbenefitfromaUKwithdrawal.OutboundTourismvsDomesticHolidaysInboundtourismmightbeharmedbychangestovisaandbordercontrols,butthesamemightbetrueforUKresidentswhohavebeenabletobenefitfromcheap,hassle-freetripstothecontinentattheexpenseofdomesticholidaytowns.Someof these towns, especially coastal communities across England andWales, have

KeyHighlightsThefreemovementofpeoplehasencouragedEUcitizenstogoonholidayinthe UK. Of the 34million foreign tourists anticipated in 2016, nearly 2 in 3(64%)areexpectedtobefromtheEU(EuromonitorInternational).Withdrawal means ending the free movement of people by reintroducingstricterpassport/visacontrols.Thiscould:

• Reducethenumberofholiday-makersfromtheEU.

• ReducebusinessvisitorsiftradewiththeSingleMarketdeclines.

• Boosttourism internallyasUKcitizensfinditharder togoonholidayabroad. This could support coastal communities that had a legacy indomestictourism.

• Make the UK a cost-effective holiday destination as the valueof thepoundislikelytofall.


struggled over recent years as a core industry for these communities hasdisappeared with increased travel aboard. The ability to be competitive in thetourismmarketagainmaygosomewaytosupportingtheirrevival.DownwardPressureonthePoundThe fluctuations of the currency markets may also play a positive role. Theeconomicuncertainty surrounding aUKexit is likely todrivedown the valueofthepound.Commentators, suchas theBankofEngland,suggest thisdownwardslidehasalreadybegun.Thiswouldhaveasubstantialdoublebenefitfortourismin the UK. Firstly, the UK becomes a more attractive holiday proposition forinboundtouristsbecauseitbecomescheaper.Secondly,forUKresidents,foreigndestinationsbecomemoreexpensive,increasingthelikenessthattheywillremainintheUK.Oneof themember-states likely to feel thenegative impact fromthiswouldbeIrelandwiththereintroductionofthephysicalborderbetweenthenorthandtheRepublic and the likely need for passport and visa controls for holiday-makerstravellingfromtheUK.ThiscouldreducedIreland’stourismeconomy.BusinessTourismFinally, itmustberememberedthat therewouldnaturallybeoverspill fromthenegativity over the economic impact of aUKwithdrawal. The loss of FDIwouldspell trouble for business related tourism, a very lucrativemarket. Euromonitoridentifies London as the world’s second most popular city for internationaltourists with 17.4 million visitors in 2014. This happens to be second to HonkKong.20%of thesevisitorsactually travelonbusinessandcontribute to30%ofspending. Overhalfofallvisitors to theUK(51%)aredestinedforLondon.Theimplication is that the lossof London’s statusasaglobal financial centrewouldputthisindanger.AssessmentOntheonehand,newvisaandbordercontrolswillharmaUKtourismsectorthatgetsnearly two thirdsof itsvisitors fromthecontinent. Ireland’s tourismsectorcouldalso takeahitwith reducedvisitors fromtheUK.Furthermore, less trademeans reduced business travel, a lucrative market for tourism. However,increasedspendintheUKbyUK-basedholidaymakersboostedbythesamevisa


andborderscontrols,plusalowervaluepound,maygosomewaytooffsettingthenegativeimpacts.


4.REGULATION&POLICY-MAKING

Thelaw-makingpowersoftheEuropeanParliamentisanissuethathasfrustratedEurosceptics, maybe more so than any other issue. The inability of the UKGovernment,ParliamentandDevolvedAdministrationstohavecompletecontroloverlegislationis,theycomplain,notdemocratic.Thereisevidencetojustifythisclaim.VATA backbench MP close to ATCM once discussed how they approached George

Osborne,ChancelloroftheExchequer,withaviewtoredesigningtheVATsystem

sotaxwas lowerforgoodssold in-towntosupporthighstreetretail.Theywere

informedthat,duetoEU laws, theUKdoesnothaveenoughflexibilityoverthe

taxsystemtoimplementthis.Eachmember-statemustconformtorulesonVAT,

removingapotentialtooltosupporttowncentres.

Pedlars

Another issue that has emerged in recent years is the treatment of pedlars on

high streets. London, Scotland, Northern Ireland and some of England’s major

citieshad implemented legislationallowingfor theregulationofpedlarsonhigh

streets to prevent the abuse of this activity. Pedlars have been accused of

KeyHighlightsTheUKdoesnothave100%controlover law-makingpowers.LeavingtheEUwouldseetherepatriationofthesepowers.It iseasier to influencepolicy-makinginWestminster,Holyrood,Stormontorthe Senedd than it is in Brussels, raising concerns over the democraticfoundationoftheEuropeanParliament.Theothersideofthestoryisthatthehighstreetisexposedtoglobalbusinesstrends such as online retailing and the digital revolution. UK policy-makersalone cannot support the high street in adapting to these changes. The EUcouldhavearoletoplayhere.


congregating on busy high streets, setting up stalls and receptacles like street

traderswithout the necessary permits and selling below standard goods in the

knowledgethattheyareimpossibletotrace.Ithasraisedimportantquestionsfor

towncentremanagersaboutconsumerprotection,accessforemergencyservices

andgeneralhealthy&safety.

Nearly 5 years ago, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS)

committed to undertaking a consultation to better understand how it could

improve regulation and enforcement for all town centres as bye-laws had only

displacedtheproblem.Theresulttooktheindustrybysurprise.Areinterpretation

of an EC Services Directivewhich deals with free trade across national borders

means that BIS decided that pedlars should not be regulated and all existing

legislationshouldberepealed.

Inparticular,thishasbeenablowtothemarketsindustrywheretradersfeelthat

pedlars are being allowed to set up stalls and compete directly with markets

withoutastreettradinglicenceoradequateenforcementofpractices.Avoteto

leavewouldgivetheUKcontroloverthisparticularissue.

Despite the examples of VAT and pedlars, there is another side to this story.

RecentdevelopmentssuggestthattheEU,throughtheEuropeanCommissionand

theEuropeanParliament,haveacritical role toplay in supporting towncentres

acrosstheUKandtheRepublicofIreland.

Place-BasedPolicy-Making

Itisnosecretthatourindustryhasstronglyadvocatedplace-basedpolicy-making

asaconceptthatwouldultimatelyproducebetterpolicieswithfewerunintended

consequences.Afocusonmakinggreatplacesshouldbetheoverarchingaimof

government.WhilesomepoliciesintheUKgiveushope(suchastheredefinition

of ‘Town Centres First’ in Scotland), things like the Late Night Levy, Permitted


DevelopmentRights and a failure to reform the structureof Business Rates are

self-defeating.

Policy-makersintheEChavegotthemessage.Inrecognitionoftheroleoftowns

and cities inmaking Europe prosperous and accepting that EU policies in areas

such as education and culture, transport, energy, information society,

environment and climate change all overlap with place-making, the EC is

developing an EU Urban Agenda. Although it is still early days it looks like this

UrbanAgendawillberesponsibleforthreethings:

• DevelopingpolicyataEuropeanlevelexplicitlyaimedatsupportingtowns

andcities;

• Undertaking an impact assessment on all other new policies to ensure

thattheysupport,nothinder,townsandcities;and

• SupportEurope’s townandcity leaders tonetworkwitheachotherand

sharebestpractices.

Shapingpolicy through the lensofplace-making shouldbehighlywelcomed

andissomethingweshouldaspiretointheUK.

TaxReformandGlobalBusinessTrends

Asdiscussed inpreviousbriefings fromATCMonBusinessRates, tax reform

remainstopoftheagendaforsupportingtownandcitycentresintheUKand

Ireland. The evolution of cross-border trade coming together with an

increasingly digital economymakes tax collection extremely difficult for the

UKandIreland.BothhaverespondedbyloweringtherateofCorporationTax

to attract tax revenue, but this is not a long-term solution. High street

businesseshavepaidthepricethroughbusinessratesbyhavingtosubsidise


fragile tax revenue. This has had a devastating impact on the vitality and

viabilityofhighstreetstryingtocompetewiththeInternet.

ThisproblemisnotexclusivetotheUKor Ireland.This isaglobal issue.The

EUhas already identified this and isworking towards a solution to improve

tax collection frommulti-nationalbusinesses. In the long-term this is critical

to making the high street profitable again and bringing through a new

generationofentrepreneurs.

Thisbringsustoamuchwiderpointabouttheevolutionofcertainbusiness

trends and economic activity. Advances in ICT distort geography and state

boundaries. It ispossibletobelocatedinanofficeononesideoftheworld,

andsupplyservicestopeopleontheothersideoftheworld.TheEUprovides

an important resource for policy-making fit for the globalised business

structuresofthe21stCentury.This is likelyonlytoincreasein importanceas

thedigitalrevolutioncontinues.

Accountability

The remaining question is, whether the European Parliament is accessible

enough to develop lines of communication with bodies like ATCM and its

members to ensure high streets across the UK and Ireland can be

represented.

SomeEuroscepticshavelabelledtheEUasundemocraticandunelected.This

is not true. EU laws are passed by elected MEPs through the European

Parliament.What is true however, is thatMEPs do not appear to have the

same visibility or engagement as MPs, MLAs, MSPs or AMs. This makes it

muchmoredifficult togetgood representation in theEuropeanParliament.

CanwetrulycapitaliseontheEUUrbanAgendaiswearedisconnectedfrom

it?


Assessment

NeithertheUKnorIrelandhasfullcontroloverlaw-makingandthishassome

disadvantages. However, the EC is showing itself to be a progressive, if

bureaucratic, vehicle forplace-basedpolicy-making. Furthermore, the shape

ofglobalisationinthe21stCenturymeanscross-bordercollaborationwiththe

continentisbothdesirableandunavoidable.Thisisbestdemonstratedbythe

need for tax reformtoease theburdenoncommercialproperty, something

whichismademorepossiblethroughcross-bordercollaboration.

However, questions remain over the accessibility and visibility of MEPs,

which, in turn, means questions over the representation of our industry

withintheEuropeanParliament.


5.FISCAL

OurrelationshipwiththeEUinthecontextofcostshasbeenheavilydebated.It

willcontinuetoberaisedtohighlighthowmuchoftaxpayer’smoneygoestothe

EU.AccordingtotheInstituteofEconomicAffairs,theUKpays£18billiontothe

EU annually. However, some of this is spent back in the UK through various

Europeanprogrammes.

It must be acknowledged that money from European programmes has been

incredibly helpful to towns and cities across theUK, especially in funding those

projectswhichdonoteasilyattractprivatesectorinvestment.BoththeEuropean

RegionalDevelopmentFundandtheEuropeanSocialFund(jointlyreferredtoas

the EU Structural Funds) have made important contributions to economic

developmentinlocaleconomies.

Theexistingbudget,allocatedtothewholeoftheUKbetween2014and2020,is

worth €10.8 billion and is being shared between Devolved Administrations and

England’sLEPs.

KeyHighlightsThe UK is estimated to pay £18 billion to the EU annually according to theInstituteofEconomicAffairs.Half of this is spent back in the UK through the EU Structural Funds whichsupport a range of projects, many related to regeneration and supportingsmallbusinesses.In England, LEPs rely on this money as part of their funding for economicdevelopment.Theotherhalf(£9billion)isanetcosttotheUK.Isthistoomuchduringatimeofausterity?


Ultimately, the UK only sees a return of around 50% of its contribution to EU

coffers.Thismeansanetcontributionof£9billionannually,asignificantamount

of money considering the intense squeeze on public spending. The question is

whether£9billioncanbe justifiedasa reasonablecostwhenkeyposts in town

centre management, economic development, planning and support for local

partnershipsarebeingwithdrawnonadailybasis.

Furthermore, theadministrationof these funds isoftencomplex,expensiveand

burdensomeforthosewhotakeonprojects.Thisburdenhasbeenaconcernfor

yearsandpreventssomeorganisationsfromapplyingfor fundsbecausetheydo

nothavetheresourcestocompletethepaperwork.

Assessment

TheUK is anet contributor to theEU,paying£9billiona year. Themoney that

doescomebackispartlyusedfortheEUStructuralFundswhichplayahugerole

insupportingtownandcitycentresacrosstheUK.However,thiscannotdisguise

thefactthat£9billionisalotofmoneyatatimewhenlocalgovernmentisfacing

significantcuts.

WithdrawalfromtheEUislikelytohaveverydifferentimpactsfordifferenttown

andcitycentresacrosstheUKandIreland.Ifyouhaveanythoughtsonhowyour

towncentremightbeimpactedthenfeelfreetosharethisknowledgewithATCM

[email protected].

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