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CLES Newsletter

Regeneration is dead, long live regeneration!

Sarah Longlands- Newstart Magazine, February 2010

We’ve heard precious little from the government about its regeneration priorities recently, it feels like the last exciting thing to happen was the publication of DCLG ’s grandly named Regeneration Framework which turned out to be an anticlimax in the extreme.

However, throughout the country, regeneration carries on and perhaps it’s never been more important in the context of a major recession that has left many communities reeling.

The last ten years have seen significant investment, but with public sector expenditure cuts on the horizon, it is increasingly clear that regeneration needs to change and refocus, particularly given the emerging challenges. In all of the current debate it is vital government recognizes regeneration still matters and has a key role in recovery and in the creation of a more inclusive Britain. And what is essential to the success of any post-recession recovery is a new wave of regeneration activism.

To support this, we first need to acknowledge some of the lessons from regeneration, as not all of it was positive and constructive. For example, it has become synonymous in many quarters with property-fuelled growth, splintered power and short-termism. You only have to look at some of the many thousands of inner city apartments that stand empty in our city and town centres, which were once part of ambitious ‘regeneration’ projects.

However, there was also much achieved, particularly through programmes such as new deal for communities. This legacy includes new partnerships between sectors, power shifts to communities, new community infrastructure and development of individualised one to one support for some of our most vulnerable groups. It’s something we should build upon, not reject and withdraw support from. It is these small, local initiatives, often assisted by local authorities, that provide the route to future hope. So how can we engender a new wave of regeneration activism?

Regeneration is about long-term investment and must be considered as such, not as a drain on public resources. Investing in future skills, supporting people back into employment, investing in areas with the highest levels of unemployment, all of this saves on jobseeker’s allowance and health expenditure. Investing in community anchors, community development and community assets saves on social welfare, tackles health inequalities and generates income through employment and the supply chain. It can also release the latent potential within communities to set up new businesses and social enterprise. There is also a social capital return, as communities become more autonomous with greater levels of sustainability.

This new wave is also about a new environmentalism. For too long, the priorities of environmentalism have been viewed in isolation from regeneration. Debates about the principles and nature of growth illustrate that many of the concerns around environmental change, localism and regeneration are closely aligned and can be tackled through similar policy.

Regeneration activism is also about better understanding the partnerships and dynamics between different parts of the economy, and understanding the role that the social, commercial and public economies play in supporting the resilience of local areas. The principles of initiatives like City Challenge and single regeneration budget recognised these dynamics and practiced them in many of the projects that were delivered.

In some of the current debates, regeneration is seen as something which has had its day. However, it’s needed now and will continue to be needed in our communities, the focus now must be on reassessing and refocusing activity on the priorities for the future.

Sarah Longlands is director of policy at the Centre for Local Economic Strategies.

CLES Commendations 2010

Local Economic Assessment Network

Wellbeing Evaluation

Norwich LEGI

HCA Placemaking Practice Review Panel