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Local elections are vital to local democracy, bringing new mandates, voices and fresh debate about the future of places.That is not a problem in itself. Political change is healthy and ensures councils remain accountable to the people they serve.For long-term regeneration, the weeks after an election matter. This is often when decisions are reviewed, priorities are tested and new relationships are formed. If that period is handled well, programmes can continue with confidence. If it is not, uncertainty can quickly slow progress.Regeneration is about choices – choices about homes, land, infrastructure, public space, local economies and the kind of place a community wants to become. Those choices should be debated, tested and challenged.However, regeneration doesn't run on electoral timescales. Major urban programmes take years, decades, to assemble, fund and deliver. They must survive changes in market conditions, public funding, construction costs, leadership and policy priorities.Councillors from across the chamber need to understand the commitments already made, the trade-offs involved and the consequences of delay, while still allowing space to scrutinise and challenge plans.The real test isn't whether leadership changes, but whether the foundations around a regeneration programme are strong enough to maintain momentum when it does.I have seen this from both sides. I spent 17 years as chief executive of some of the country's largest local authorities and now nearly 25 years with the English Cities Fund (ECF) working on complex regeneration programmes through changing political and economic cycles.That experience has taught me three lessons.The first is that newly elected members should be engaged early and seriously, particularly in councils where power is more fragmented or where new groups are represented in greater numbers.That does not mean pretending party politics does not matter because parties will have different views about growth, housing, public spending and how places should change.But there is also a shared interest in the long-term stewardship of a place. Councillors from across the chamber need to understand the commitments already made, the trade-offs involved and the consequences of delay, while still allowing space to scrutinise and challenge plans.Done well, that does not weaken regeneration. It strengthens it by building legitimacy and helping ensure long-term programmes are rooted in the place they are intended to serve.The second lesson is that momentum matters. The delivery environment is difficult. Viability remains challenging, public finances are constrained, local authority capacity is under pressure, investors are looking for consistency and supply chains need confidence in a stable pipeline of work.Short periods of uncertainty can make complex places harder to move forward. That does not mean regeneration plans should be immune from political change.New leaders must be able to shape priorities and reflect the mandate they have been given, but adaptation is different from drift.A stop-start approach, where programmes lose time every time leadership changes, is a risk few places can afford, especially communities where the regeneration need is most intense and confidence in government is often weakest.The third lesson is that long-term partnerships can provide continuity. At their best, partnerships bring together public sector ambition, investment and delivery expertise within arrangements that can endure beyond a single administration.They hold knowledge, provide a clear route for decision-making and keep attention on the long-term outcomes for a place.The most successful councils recognise long-term commitments need more than post-election engagement. They require ongoing mechanisms for debate and information sharing across the council, so members can scrutinise decisions properly while maintaining sight of commitments already made.That has been central to ECF's experience. The partnership between Homes England, L&G and Muse was itself created to support complex urban regeneration in places where delivery requires long-term commitment. Major regeneration needs arrangements capable of carrying a shared vision through changing political and economic conditions.One further point is often overlooked. We must get better at sharing credit. Long-term regeneration will usually span several leadership periods. One administration may set the vision, another may assemble land or secure funding and a later one may oversee delivery.If every leadership change becomes an opportunity to re-own or rebrand a programme, momentum suffers. If councils and partners recognise that successful regeneration is cumulative, it becomes easier to maintain broad support. Sharing credit is not just generous, it is practical.As councils reset after the elections, the task is not to freeze regeneration in place. It is to bring the right people into the conversation early, allow proper scrutiny and make sure the long-term commitment to place is not lost in transition.If we want regeneration to deliver at scale, momentum cannot pause every time leadership changes. The places that make the greatest progress will treat continuity not as resistance to democracy, but as one of the conditions that allows democratic ambition to be delivered.Sir Michael Lyons is chair of ECF

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REGENERATION

Don't freeze regen after the elections

By Sir Michael Lyons | 17 June 2026

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