Regenerating Places

4A.3 Past and present connections have shaped the economic and social characteristics of your chosen place

Reading

Enquiry question 3: How is regeneration managed

4A.7 UK government policy decisions play a key role in regeneration

Investment in National Infrastructure:

• This has attempted to bridge the gap by boosting transportation accessibility in order to boost economic growth

• Since its inception in the 1950s, the United Kingdom's highway network has aimed to shorten travel times between areas

• The projected High-Speed Rail network linking London, Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, and Leeds is an attempt to link the poorer regions to the economic centre of London and the South East

• Regional airports such as Newcastle, Manchester, and Glasgow have seen significant investments since the 1960s

• Local regeneration occurs in the context of these national trends

The UK has a number of planning policies that are important in the context of regeneration:

• Greenbelt property, which surrounds the majority of major cities, cannot be developed. It is a designated area of protected green space, mainly farmland

• Conservation zones, such as National Parks, have rigorous planning laws that prohibit all but small-scale residential and commercial development

• Planning approval is sometimes conditional on a scheme that contains 'planning gain.' For example, a project for new private dwellings may be granted permission provided it includes a particular number of affordable housing or upgrades to existing roads or parks that are paid for by the developer

• Some developments, such as fracking for shale gas, mining, or new road construction, are permitted under planning regulations even though they would not typically be permitted

• National house-building objectives were established at 240,000 new dwellings per year in 2007, but have since been reduced to 200,000 per year for the period 2010-2015. (these targets are never met.)

4A.8 Local government policies aim to represent areas as being attractive for inward investment

Most planning decisions are made by local councils at local level. Councils draw up plans, called Unitary Development Plans, which identify:

• Areas for new housing

• New roads and other major infrastructure

• Areas for commercial development, i.e. factories, offices and retail

Science parks are an important planning instrument for achieving this. They are industrial and business parks centred on the quaternary industry, with at least one university as a partner. TNCs, universities, and local authorities control approximately 100 scientific parks and business incubators (smaller locations for start-up enterprises) in the UK. Not surprisingly, the majority are in London, the South and South East

Click here to go to some science park case studies

Enquiry question 4: How successful is regeneration?

4A.11 Different urban stakeholders have different criteria for judging the success of urban regeneration

Salford Quays in Greater Manchester: once a thriving industrial port, by the 1980s the place was derelict and abandoned:

Salford Quays Development Plan - 1985-95

• About 90 hecatares of former industrial land were developed by Salford City Council and private investors

Landmark buildings

• 2000: the Lowry theatre and gallery opened

• 2001: the Imperial War Museum north opened

MediaCity UK 2007-2011

• Developed by the property company Peel Holdings and housing the BBC and ITV Granada among other media businesses

It is possible to see Salford Quays from many different viewpoints because different stakeholders have different desired outcomes from regeneration:

The local council

• Wants: A good external image is crucial for attracting investment, thus landmark buildings and distinctive architecture are desirable, but so are lower deprivation levels

• Job creation figures, areas of vacant/derelict land reclaimed, and IMD data trends

Existing residents:

• Better housing, communal amenities, and career prospects, as well as a cleaner environment

• Factors that are difficult to quantify, such as "community spirit," may be significant

• Growing earnings, greater health and life expectancy, and more access to services

Real estate developers:

• Because they are motivated by profit, they will maximise sales and rental values.

• The importance of image in attracting sales cannot be overstated.

• Profit-to-investment ratios

• Total number of investors

• The rise in the value of land

Local businesses:

• Increases the local population, particularly of wealthy inhabitants, in order to improve commerce and earnings.

• Growing population, particularly among the young

• New employee hiring rates

National government:

• Regeneration that fits in with national priorities such as the northern powerhouse (a policy to increase the economic power and significance of northern cities, especially greater manchester) plus reduced dependency on benefits

• Reduced out-migration

• Increases in regional output/GVA

When Regeneration is not Successful:

Doncaster's Earth Centre

• Opened in 1999

• Cadeby Main Colliery, a 160-hectare old coal mine in Denaby, was built on the site

• The abandoned site was recovered, and a sustainable lifestyle attraction was developed as part of a 'green theme park' using a £42 million Millennium Commission grant and National Lottery funds

• Due to poor visitor numbers, it closed in 2004

• Around 75 staff were laid off because it only received 37,000 of the 150,000 visitors per year required to stay in business

Reasons for the failure include:

• The location was difficult to reach, and the area is not widely renowned for tourists

• The locals' lived experience of the area was of coal mining and its past, not of environmental difficulties

• People's feelings about a place, what is significant to them, and what a location means to them are all examples of lived experience. This is closely tied to a location's customs, community spirit, and history

• South Yorkshire is an industrial and agricultural region, not an environmental or ecological one

• The attractions (ride, etc.) that many families desire are often lacking in interpretive centres

4A.12 Different rural stakeholders have different criteria for judging the success of rural regeneration

Donald Trump, a US businessman and politician who was elected President of the United States in 2016, purchased the Menie Estate near Balmedie in 2006. Trump intended to invest £1 billion in the development of a premium golf resort (Trump International Golf Links), which would employ 1200 people and include a luxury hotel and 1500 new homes. Despite the promised jobs, there was widespread opposition:

• Local organisations such as 'Tripping up Trump' were formed to resist the proposals, which were seen excessively huge and intrusive

• The development was rejected by the local council because it encroached on greenbelt space

• The demolition of sand dunes, some of which are part of a Site of Special Scientific Interest, was protested by Scottish Natural Heritage

• The RSPB Scotland was opposed to the destruction of bird habitats

• Michael Forbes, a local farmer has refused to sell his land to Trump despite being offered £450,000

• Residents objected to the threat of their homes being bulldozed to make way for the development

Aberdeenshire Council denied Trump's planning proposal in 2007, but the Scottish Government authorised it on appeal in 2008. Trump fought a lost struggle against plans for an offshore wind farm adjacent to the Menie Estate, ultimately losing an appeal to the Supreme Court

This demonstrates that there are several variables for determining effective rural regeneration:

• On a local level, regeneration might be rejected because to environmental and community impact concerns

• Even in Aberdeenshire, the prospect of jobs, even in enormous numbers, could not persuade everyone that large-scale plans are a good idea

• The prospect of employment and investment appears to have convinced the Scottish Government at the national level (inside Scotland)

• At the UK level, renewable energy ambitions, i.e. windfarms, appear to have 'out-trumped' Trump