Regeneration and ED Strategy 2016
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Draft for adoption Ss1234 1 London Borough of Hounslow London Borough of Hounslow Regeneration and Economic Development Strategy 2016 - 20 Contents 1. Executive Summary ................................................................................................................... 3 2. Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 4 3. Context ......................................................................................................................................... 6 4. Vision and Strategies ................................................................................................................. 9 5. Objectives .................................................................................................................................. 12 6. Objective 1 – Growing Business ........................................................................................... 17 7. Objective 2 – Improving Connectivity ............................................................................... 35 8. Objective 3 – Place-making ................................................................................................. 40 A. Town centres ........................................................................................................................ 40 B. Context and character of the borough’s places ..................................................... 52 C. Sustainable mixed communities ..................................................................................... 57 D. Community infrastructure ................................................................................................. 61 9. Objective 4 – Enhancing the Environment ....................................................................... 72 A. State of the natural environment ................................................................................... 72 B. Ensuring environmental quality ....................................................................................... 76 10. Implementation of Key Work Streams/ Projects .............................................................. 83 Appendix 1: Strategies guiding Regeneration and Economic Development in Hounslow ............................................................................................................................................ 84 Abbreviations .................................................................................................................................... 88 Cover image: Brentford Lock 2 1. Executive Summary Hounslow is a great place to live and work. It has innovative entrepreneurs and thriving businesses ranging from sole traders, social enterprises to multi-national companies. Strategically situated along the A4/M4 corridor, the borough acts as the conduit between central London and outer west sub-region including Heathrow Airport. The borough is well connected by public transport. It has vibrant town centres and high quality parks and open spaces such as Gunnersbury Park, Syon Park and Bedfont Lakes Country Park. Waterways, including the River Thames and the Grand Union Canal, are a unique part of the borough’s identity and provide opportunities for leisure, recreation, employment and transport. However, the borough faces a number of challenges to achieving sustainable development. These include continuing to grow business, ensuring the local workforce has the right level and mix of skills, increasing the attractiveness and competitiveness of our town centres; delivering the number and quality of homes residents need and ensuring sufficient social infrastructure, such as schools, health and sports facilities, to support expected population growth; and improving the quality of public realm and tackling other environmental issues such as air and noise pollution. There are opportunities to address these, led by the council working in partnership with other key stakeholders and subject to securing funding. This document sets out the council’s strategy for regeneration and economic development of the borough over the next four years. It is a key delivery document for a number of other council strategies and plans – most notably the Local Plan. It outlines the council’s plans to achieve lasting and Bedfont Lake Business Park is home to a number of successful regeneration and economic national and international companies development and the role the council plays and will play in making that happen. The strategy contains priorities for actions and projects. Some of the projects are yet to secure funding – a key role of this strategy is as an investment tool to gain external funding. The strategy sets out four key objectives going forward: 1. growing business 2. improving connectivity 3. place-making 4. enhancing the environment This document references each of these objectives in turn within distinct chapters and supports the council’s commitment to delivering the vision set out in the Future Borough strategy: enabling Hounslow to become “a borough where people enjoy living and choose to stay throughout their lives. A great place to invest and do business” with opportunities for all to flourish through increasing sustainable economic growth. 3 2. Introduction The relationship between regeneration and economic development is co-dependent - lasting economic growth cannot be delivered without improving disadvantaged areas, and successful regeneration cannot be delivered without investing in local economies and delivering sustainable employment. This Regeneration and Economic Development Strategy is a joint strategy integrating the social, economic and environmental elements of sustainable development together. It supersedes the Economic Development Strategy and Action Plan, September 2013. This strategy sets out the regeneration and economic development priorities and interventions for the borough’s transformation. It outlines the council’s plans to achieve lasting and successful regeneration and economic development and the role the council will play in making that happen. The borough’s regeneration programmes will focus on the “Golden Mile” and Great West Corridor, the West of the Borough including Feltham and the town centres of Hounslow and Brentford. The council also wants to bring forward “Golden Mile”, a stretch of Great West Road (A4), is one of the focal areas for regeneration regeneration activities in other areas such as Heston, Chiswick and Isleworth as well as its cultural attractions, for instance Gunnersbury Park and Chiswick House. As a response to the Government cuts and the austerity measures, the council has reduced its budgets by over £75m since 2010. However, an additional £70 million of savings are required over the next four years. The council therefore has a role to play to continually review and set realistic and essential priorities for action in response to the budget challenges and seeking external funding to deliver the vision for regeneration and economic development in Hounslow alongside other key deliverables and services. Growing and developing businesses, delivering increased levels of high quality and well-designed housing with strong connectivity, particularly public transport links, are of paramount importance. As such, the council’s main focus in the first instance is on these key priorities. It will work proactively with partners on the projects and work streams identified in this strategy in order to:- . generate inward investment in the borough . retain and grow business . deliver sector development, particularly in creative, digital and technology . create more high quality jobs and provide a highly skilled workforce . identify and unlock development opportunities for well-planned and designed housing, including affordable housing . deliver major public transport infrastructure, such as the Southall Crossrail link, The Golden Link between Hounslow and Willesden Junction (via Old Oak 4 Common linking to High Speed 2 and London Overground) and Southern Rail Access via Feltham and Bedfont to Heathrow Airport. These key priorities are considered essential in creating the investment necessary to address and resolve the regeneration challenges in the borough. To ensure the outcomes of regeneration are economically, socially and environmentally sustainable, the council needs commitment, participation, involvement and support from a wide range of stakeholders, including residents, businesses, business support organisations, the voluntary and community sector, staff, contractors, land owners, major employers, developers, Greater London Authority, Transport for London, partner organisations and government departments. This strategy will provide a platform for sharing information on regeneration initiatives and the council’s priorities with these stakeholders and funders, and will be a useful reference point for all partners involved. 5 3. Context The London Borough of Hounslow (Hounslow), home to 276,200 people1, is one of the capital’s largest boroughs, covering 56 Square kilometres and stretching from the border of Heathrow Airport in the west to Chiswick in the east. Strategically situated along the A4/M4 corridor, the borough acts as the conduit between central London and the outer west London sub-region including Heathrow Airport. Hounslow has four main town centres; with Hounslow town centre designated as a Metropolitan Centre in the London Plan2; Chiswick as a Major Centre; and