A-Level Geography: Regenerating Places EQ3

Question 1

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

What are some arguments for the Heathrow Expansion?

Answer 1

• Increase in flights from 480,000 to 740,000

- 70,000 job opportunities

Question 2

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

What are some arguments against the Heathrow Expansion?

Answer 2

• Air and noise pollution

- 700 homes demolished

Question 3

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

What are the costs of the Heathrow expansion?

Answer 3

£18.6 billion will be privately funded but some of the support infrastructure will be publicly funded.

Question 4

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

What are the pro-expansion leader’s main arguments?

Answer 4

Heathrow airport argues that the hub operates near full capacity and, since the South East is the main earner of GVA in the UK, expansion is essential to keep up with demand.

Question 5

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

What has been the UK’s national policy with regards to regeneration since 1950?

Answer 5

Between 1950-80, grants were directed at depressed regions, supported by new road development and the movement of government jobs out of London into the regions. New towns were built as inner-city slums were cleared.

Question 6

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

What has been the UK’s national policy with regards to regeneration between 1980-2000?

Answer 6

• Urban Development Corporations.
• Focussed on inner-city regeneration in deindustrialised areas in northern cities and London, led by quangos which were free from local council control and many normal planning regulations.

Question 7

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

What has been the UK’s national policy with regards to regeneration post-2010?

Answer 7

• Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs).
• A much more local policy, focused on regeneration and job creation in specific small areas. There were about 40 LEPs in England in 2015.

Question 8

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

What is the UK’s National Infrastructure Investment?

Answer 8

• The UK motorway network, begun in the 1950s, has attempted to reduce road travel times between regions.
• The proposed High Speed Rail network between London, Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds is a planned attempt to connect the poorer regions to the economic core in London and the South East.
• Since the 1960s, there has been considerable investment in regional airports like Newcastle, Manchester and Glasgow.

Question 9

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

What is the point of infrastructure investment?

Answer 9

Infrastructure investment in order to maintain growth and improve accessibility to regenerate regions.

Question 10

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

How is HS2 an example of an infrastructure project?

Answer 10

HS2 is a proposed high speed rail network which would connect London to Birmingham and then to Manchester and Leeds. The project is expected to cost £43 billion, but so far the project has gone over budget. It’s aim is to reduce travel times and improve connectivity between the North and South of England. An estimated 60,000 jobs are expected to be created.

Question 11

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

What are some of the UK’s main planning policies dependent on?

Answer 11

• Greenbelt
• Conservation areas
• Planning laws
• National house-building

Question 12

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

What is the UK’s situation with regards to housing?

Answer 12

Demand for housing is very high in London, the South-East and East of England due to the shortage of UK homes. This means house prices here are high - and in many locations unaffordable for most people.

Question 13

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

What is the average house price in London and the South-East?

Answer 13

The average house price in London is more than £450,000 and is about £300,000 in the South-East.

Question 14

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

What does the housing shortage imply?

Answer 14

240,000 homes need to be built each year to meet current demand.

Question 15

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

How do planning laws stop the building of new housing?

Answer 15

However, planning laws like the greenbelt policy make releasing new land for housing very hard to achieve. In addition, most demand is actually in the South and East, the areas with the least capacity to find new land for housing.

Question 16

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

How can a lack of housing cause a problem for economic development?

Answer 16

Lack of ability to build new housing can prevent economic development and regeneration by limiting the opportunities for new people to move into an area.

Question 17

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

When do planning laws allow some developments?

Answer 17

Planning laws allow for some developments that are ‘in the national interest’ such as fracking for shale gas, or quarrying, or new road building, even when these would not normally be allowed.

Question 18

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

What are the national house-building targets in 2007 and 2010-15?

Answer 18

National house-building targets were set at 240,000 new homes per year in 2007 and revised to 200,000 per year for 2010-2015.

Question 19

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

Why is fracking controversial?

Answer 19

Many local and national anti-fracking pressure groups like Frack Off.

Question 20

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

Why don’t people want to frack?

Answer 20

People living near potential fracking sites said loud and clear that they didn’t want drilling in their local area. Attempts to drill in Sussex and Lancashire were met with strong local opposition.

Question 21

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

Where is fracking banned in the UK?

Answer 21

Fracking was effectively banned in Scotland in 2015, and in 2018 Wales refused to support any applications for drilling licences.

Question 22

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

How do housing benefits help people of lower incomes?

Answer 22

Housing benefits help to top up a person’s income to help them pay their rent. In 2017 the government spent £25b on housing benefits which is 10% of the entire welfare budget.

Question 23

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

What are some of the reasons why house prices have risen recently?

Answer 23

Overseas investors buying properties in the UK have seen house prices rise. Investor visas attract wealthy individuals (such as Oligarchs from Russia) who can afford multiple high-value properties in elite locations. Many properties are left empty or rented out.

Question 24

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

What are the benefits of Housing Construction?

Answer 24

• Increases supply of housing which is a major issue facing the UK currently.
• Some construction jobs are created in the process.
• Construction projects build a variety of housing, to cater for a variety of people - first-time buyers & families in affordable multiple bedroom houses, apartments for young people.

Question 25

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

What are the negatives of Housing Construction?

Answer 25

• Greenfield developments are more profitable for companies than regenerating existing brownfield sites, so habitats are often lost and natural environments damaged.
• Limited projects to increase and improve social housing, so there is still a very limited supply of poor quality housing.

Question 26

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

What are the potential governmental reasons for housing shortages?

Answer 26

• Immigration
• Deregulation
• Second homes and holiday homes

Question 27

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

How does immigration lead to housing shortages?

Answer 27

Large-scale immigration from the EU, especially since 2004, contributed to increasing the UK population from 59 million in 2001 to 63 million by 2011. Open-door immigration may have economic benefits but it also creates demand for new houses.

Question 28

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

How does deregulation lead to housing shortages?

Answer 28

The UK is very open to foreign investment, including allowing foreign people and companies to buy property. In 2016, the Guardian estimated that 40,000 London properties were owned by offshore tax havens. These properties may not be lived in or even rented.

Question 29

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

How do second homes lead to housing shortages?

Answer 29

There are few restrictions in the UK on people buying houses to rent out, e.g. as a holiday let or buying a second home. In some rural areas, a large percentage of houses may not be available to local people.

Question 30

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

When did the conservatives begin deregulation of the financial markets?

Answer 30

After decades of tight restriction on banking and capital markets following the depression in the 1920s, in 1986 deregulation of the financial markets had occurred.

Question 31

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

What was the purpose of the “Big Bang” deregulations?

Answer 31

Encourage more investment due to London being uncompetitive and losing to other financial centres.