How can we do smaller-scale regeneration of towns?
Most people in Britain today do not directly benefit from the large-scale regeneration projects funded by the UK government. Take the London Olympic Park project, having cost £6+ billion, it’s completely turned around an unloved part of East London. A success story for those living in the local vicinity.
However, if you just look less than a mile down the road, you’ll see high streets that are more representative of the average British high street. Low-rise, a bit ugly, sometimes blessed with an out-of-place modern development.
(left) HereEast, part of the Olympic Park regeneration legacy in Stratford London. (right) A high street in Forest Gate, London. Planning permission was granted for a typical piecemeal development.
This issue stems from the current UK legal system and the insufficient opportunity for smaller developers to engage in regeneration projects.
So, why does this happen? Let’s have a quick look at the legislative toolbox we have today for regeneration projects in the table below.
| Legal Structure | CPO powers? | Led by |
|---|---|---|
| Local Plan & Area Action Plans | Yes | Local Authority |
| Neighbourhood Plan | No | Community |
| Planning Application Masterplan | No | Architect / Planner / Developer / Landowner |
| Development Corporation Masterplan | Yes | Development Corporation |
| Planning Application & Development Agreement | Yes | Regeneration Developers / Land-owners / Local Authorities (Joint Venture) |
| Planning Application & Joint Venture Company | Yes | Land-owners/Developer & Local authority (Joint Venture) |
That’s a lot to digest. This post isn't long enough to describe each one. Basically, depending on who you are - we have differing solutions in our toolbox.
- Communities have Neighbourhood Plans.
- Local Authorities have the Local Plan.
- Architects / Planners / Developers / Landowners have Planning Applications.
- Regeneration Developers have Joint Ventures and Development Agreements, which harness Local Authority CPO powers.
The real difference between these are the CPO powers. Without CPO powers, the private sector has no power to transform areas such as high streets and poor-quality residential areas.
Why is smaller-scale regeneration important?
Firstly, I should clarify, what I mean by smaller-scale regeneration.
Smaller-scale regeneration projects are larger than a single planning application, yet smaller than a master plan covering many streets/neighborhoods. These projects typically need a CPO (Compulsory Purchase Order) or at least the threat of a CPO due to individual rights trumping the commercial viability of the project.
The larger the land assembly, the greater chance there is that any individual owner will reject an offer, no matter how worthy it is. Take your average high street, you’re not going to get 10/20/30 property owners in a row to sell up for a small regeneration project.
So for the Developer, it very much is the law of diminishing returns for growing a land assembly. It's simply not possible to do even a small-scale regeneration project without CPO powers. This explains why this issue is so important - without well-considered regeneration projects, development is piecemeal and opportunistic, rather than being where it needs to be.
How can the private sector support and lead smaller-scale regeneration?
Larger developers tend to form joint ventures with local authorities to do regeneration projects. Agent, Urban Splash and Muse Places (part of Morgan Sindall) are all examples of companies that often use this approach for land assembly projects.
Local Authorities tend to partner with large companies on large projects, which can often be part of delivering a local authority’s strategic priorities. CPOs are complex, so they must have the motivation to do these partnerships with the private sector. Smaller-scale regeneration that may well bring economic growth to an area is not supported due to a lack of support from the local authority.
Is enabling smaller-scale regeneration projects a solution to building more homes in the places we need? Are public/private joint ventures the best way of doing this? Are local authorities blockers or do they embrace new partnerships for smaller projects?
I’ll explore this topic further in subsequent posts. Remember to subscribe for future posts.
