The government has made growth its central mission. But if we are serious about raising productivity, backing tech skills and building a more resilient economy, we need to recognise a simple truth: growth is not just delivered by Westminster or the City, it’s all around us. More precisely, in Hammersmith & Fulham, whose Labour council I lead, it’s happening in White City, on King Street, in Shepherds Bush market and along the Thames riverfront.
Sixteen years ago, when in opposition in the borough, I and my colleague Andrew Jones, a professor of economic geography and now vice-chancellor of Brunel University, began asking what our borough would need to do to prosper in a century defined by science and technology. Would we simply manage decline and inequality in a fast-changing world, or would we deliberately shape our economic future? Put another way, what should the council be for?
The current pace of technological change is unmatched in human history. Artificial intelligence, life sciences, climate technology, digital media and advanced engineering are transforming how we live and work. History shows that the places which prosper in such moments are those that build science, technology and innovation into their economic foundations. Those that don’t are left behind.
Local government in England is not designed to think about such things. It exists within one of the most centralised systems in the western world. Councils are expected to deliver statutory services efficiently, not to build global economic ecosystems. But we decided that if we wanted inclusive growth for our residents, we had to do more.
That led us, following our 2014 election victory, to pioneer what we call “entrepreneurial municipal government” – councils moving beyond passive administration to actively shaping their local economies. In simple terms, it meant using every lever a council has – planning, land, partnerships, convening powers – to that end and being bold with the powers available to us to create the conditions for growth and its benefits.
One of our earliest influences was Greg Jackson, founder of Octopus Energy, who in 2015 agreed to serve as our voluntary business commissioner. On his advice, we reformed planning policy so that 20 per cent of new office and laboratory space would be affordable and flexible, recognising that start-ups and scale-ups are the lifeblood of innovation. Since 2017, we have given planning consent for more than 190,000 square metres of commercial space.
A pivotal moment came in 2016 when we forged a strategic partnership with Imperial College London. Its incoming president, Professor Alice Gast, immediately grasped the opportunity to cluster an innovation ecosystem around Imperial’s emerging White City campus. That collaboration evolved into Upstream London, a focused industrial strategy centred on life sciences, climate tech, digital industries and advanced engineering, the sectors that will define the 21st Century.
Today the White City Innovation District is home to a dense cluster of global firms, scale-ups and research institutions working side by side. From Novartis, L’Oréal and Autolus to cutting-edge climate-tech and AI ventures, more than 800 STEM³ businesses now operate across the borough.
At its heart sits Imperial’s Deep Tech Campus and Scale Space, which we created after persuading venture builder Blenheim Chalcot to stay in the borough and help us build something more ambitious – a 200,000 square foot community, purpose-built for high-growth science and technology companies. A network of incubators, laboratories, venture builders and investors has grown around it, supported by Upstream Nexus, which connects entrepreneurs to capital, expertise and markets.
We took the same approach elsewhere. When Fulham Football Club approached us about building a multi-storey car park beneath their Riverside Stand, we suggested something more transformative: a new stand incorporating conference facilities, hospitality and specialist workspace for fintech and STEM accelerators.
The developers of Shepherds Bush market also bought into our plan, converting old trailers into on-site laboratory spaces for start-ups.
The results have been transformative. Since 2017, Upstream London has helped attract over £6 billion in high-growth investment and more than 17,000 new STEM³ jobs to Hammersmith & Fulham. Our economy has grown faster than any other borough in London and ranks among the fastest growing in the UK.
But growth figures alone were never the point. We should not countenance boroughs where world-class laboratories sit alongside estates whose young people see no way into them. Growth that excludes local people is unfair, fragile and economically wasteful. So, we embedded inclusion from the outset.
The same principle underpins our H&F Pathway Bond. Inspired by the African proverb “it takes a village to raise a child” the Pathway Bond is a partnership between the council, businesses and community partners. Over 100 organisations, from global pharmaceutical firms to start-ups, now provide mentoring, apprenticeships, work placements and inspiration for local young people.
None of this happened by accident. London’s prosperity is often discussed as though it were a natural force. It is not. It is shaped by our decisions about land use, partnerships, incentives and leadership. Councils can convene developers, universities, businesses and communities. We control planning. We understand our labour markets. These powers can be used defensively or strategically, reactively or proactively. In both cases we chose the latter.
There was no ready-made blueprint. We drew lessons from global innovation clusters – developing partnerships with Milan, Barcelona, Oslo and Rzeszów – but ultimately had to write our own playbook. The central lesson is simple. Bring the right elements together and ensure they reinforce one another – anchor institutions, entrepreneurial firms, affordable workspace, housing that supports talent and a public realm that encourages creativity and collaboration. Above all, it requires a council willing to align everything behind a long-term mission.
In our time of constrained public finances, entrepreneurial municipal government is not a luxury but a necessity. When councils act strategically, public purpose and private investment reinforce one another. If London wants sustainable, inclusive growth in a fast-changing world, it should look to the power of local leadership. Our experience in Hammersmith & Fulham shows that councils need not be spectators of economic change. They can be its architects.
Stephen Cowan is the leader of Hammersmith & Fulham Council. Follow him on Bluesky. Photo of Scale Space from Upstream London.
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