Breaking Down the Barriers 5
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Commission for Architecture The Tower Building T 020 7960 2400 & the Built Environment 11 York Road F 020 7960 2444 London E [email protected] SE1 7NX W www.cabe.org.uk Towns & Cities Partners in Urban Renaissance Breaking Down the Barriers 5 “Policy makers should always go and see what’s happening on the ground before writing new policies...” Participant at a Breaking Down the Barriers Workshop Contents 2 Introduction to the Workshops 3 Themes and Locations 4 Key Recommendations 6 Making the Most of Land Assets 12 Housing Regeneration and Crime 18 Dealing with Transport Infrastructure 24 Job Creation, Enterprise Development and Property 28 Post-industrial Heritage and Regeneration 32 Participating Organisations The Urban White Paper has created a long-term policy The themes for the six workshops and the sections in this Introduction to framework for the delivery of local regeneration projects, Themes and summary report are introduced below. the Workshops including those that involve significant physical intervention. Locations And yet, undeniably, barriers remain to achieving urban Making the Most of Land Assets, Medway renaissance in many places up and down the country. The Government has now published its proposals for CABE and URBED were asked by the Urban Policy Unit overhauling the land assembly process and powers for public of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) to set organisations to use Compulsory Purchase Orders (CPO). up and facilitate a series of workshops entitled ‘Breaking The workshop considered how local authorities can use CPO Down the Barriers’, to explore these issues. The workshops more effectively, based on a consideration of the Rochester were part of the Towns & Cities: Partners in Urban Riverside project. Renaissance project. They provided the opportunity for Housing Regeneration and Crime, Blackburn national, regional and local decision-makers and policy advisors to identify and discuss some of the barriers that As we seek to address areas of low housing demand, dealing impact on the delivery of urban renaissance. The discussion with environments that contribute to the prevalence of crime was assisted through reference to a case study, which will be a critical issue. This workshop considered the physical exemplified the issues. factors that contribute to crime and how they can be mitigated, through reference to a housing area in Blackburn. Each event comprised a one-day session broken down into a site visit, presentations by the host location on current Dealing with Transport Infrastructure, regeneration initiatives and structured discussions. Chatham Middlesbrough and Leeds House rules were applied, whereby in writing up, comments Two workshops concentrated on this topic. Many local are not attributed to any individual or organisation present. authorities have to address the legacy of major road and This enabled a full and frank discussion of the issues, rail infrastructure in order to secure regeneration and to provided the opportunity for delegates to put radical ideas reconnect dislocated parts of their town or city. The on the table and for the roles of different agencies to be Middlesbrough workshop considered how to counter the scrutinised and evaluated. severance effect of such infrastructure. Often substantial The numbers of attendees at each event was deliberately investment in infrastructure is needed to start the kept small, to enable round-table discussions and to ensure regeneration process and attract private investment, the appropriate representation from senior decision-makers such as new transport infrastructure to enable area-based and policy advisors, relevant national and regional bodies, regeneration. The Leeds workshop examined new models representatives of the host town or city, invitees from for funding large-scale infrastructure projects. other local authorities involved in the Partners in Urban Job Creation, Enterprise Development and Property, Croydon Renaissance project who are dealing with similar issues and some external experts on the given topic. This workshop, based on the experiences of Croydon, considered how to support the set up and success of With over 80 organisations contributing to the six business and entrepreneurs and also the link between workshops, the benefits of face-to-face discussions were physical regeneration, the availability of premises, and very apparent, in particular with the following: central enterprise development. Government policy makers learning about the impact of policy on the ground; different agencies being exposed to the Post-industrial Heritage and Regeneration, Burslem, perspectives, objectives and operational issues of others; the Stoke-on-Trent application of clear and multi-disciplinary thinking to a case study; and multiple agencies considering how they can Burslem is one of the six urban centres of Stoke-on-Trent and contribute to addressing barriers to urban renaissance. is where the ‘potteries’ industry was founded. The workshop provided the opportunity to consider how towns can Above Site visit looking at refurbished As a methodology, Breaking Down the Barriers has been a proactively deal with changing economic fortunes and how homes in Bank Top, Blackburn. Below The discussion underway considerable success. It has the potential to become a model to exploit the potential of industrial and heritage buildings. at Middlesbrough. for the review of policy application well into the future. 2 3 Key Recommendations 3 5 8 Devolution of decisions and powers Long term thinking, planning Some areas need a comprehensive The six workshops have uncovered The fine detail and shape of renaissance and commitment approach to regeneration a number of important recommendations. initiatives needs to be developed at the The major regeneration projects of the type The plethora of initiatives and the short- In a number of cases the same appropriate tier of government. Some discussed at the workshops can take, not termism of funding can mean that recommendations were made on different centrally defined policies are not flexible simply years, but decades to deliver. A long- regeneration activities are diverted from occasions, in different contexts. This pattern enough to address the needs of local areas, term commitment to delivery is needed at delivery. It may be worth reconsidering indicates that certain barriers are preventing for example funding for business support all levels of government. Ever-changing the recommendation included in the Urban effective renaissance across a number of services. There is a need for central and multiple initiatives are not always the Task Force Report for the identification of fronts. The Breaking Down Barriers series Government to consider how funding answer; but initiatives that have some Urban Priority Areas, which brings together has therefore identified ten key should be allocated in order to enable longevity, are properly funded and not initiatives, energy and resources under a recommendations: initiatives to be more locally defined. driven by short-term targets are. single programme, in an identified area. The targets set by central Government to 1 monitor progress are often not as useful as 6 9 The need to provide funding and other they could be to the local agencies delivering Regenerate and manage RDAs can play a pivotal role resources up front regeneration. There is a need for a greater neighbourhoods holistically Regional Development Agencies are Regeneration is a risky process for all those focus on local outcomes, rather than crude All publicly funded agencies must be increasingly playing a vital role in involved. It requires the commitment of universal outputs. charged with contributing to the urban underpinning the efforts of local authorities time, resources and, most of all, the energy 4 renaissance of neighbourhoods and towns and regeneration agencies to deliver an of individual policy makers, practitioners, and cities: land owners, health care urban renaissance. It is important that this is Increase regeneration skills developers, public sector service providers providers, schools, etc. It is only by seen as one of their most important activities and the community. It also requires careful The scale of regeneration that is taking place the co-ordinated actions of a wide range and is reflected in their overall remit and preparation. Sufficient resources should be across the UK is significant. Local agencies, of agencies that neighbourhoods will be funding programmes. made available to the agencies leading particularly local authorities, need to be able regenerated and managed in a holistic way. regeneration initiatives to enable them to to access appropriate skills relating to This requires joined-up policies, practice 10 prepare. Revenue resources are always more regeneration and urban design, either and investment at the level of central Planning should be at the heart difficult to access than capital, but sufficient through the training or recruitment of Government and neighbourhoods. of the process funding to get the right framework and staff. The Government should ensure that 7 The policies in the Planning Green Paper the right personnel from day one will appropriately skilled staff are available have the potential to place the statutory enhance the chances of long-term success, through a review of the content of higher It’s about the spaces between buildings plan-making process at the centre of the ensure that visions and aspirations for education courses and provision