Regeneration - EQ3 - How is regeneration managed? Flashcards
Define Rebranding
- Creating a new look or reputation for an area, often relaying on an area’s industrial past;
- altering the feel and attitude people have towards it
Define reimaging
- Part of a regeneration strategy by changing the image or name of a place and therefore how people view it
Define infrastructure
- The basic physical and organisational structures and facilities (e.g. buildings, roads, power supplies) needed for the operation of a society
Define the Northern Powerhouse
- A proposal to boost economic growth in the North of England particularly in the “Core Cities” of Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Sheffield and Newcastle
What is the role of the govt in regeneration with infrastructure investment
- The UK government is responsible for considering the level of inequality across the country as having a disparity between places and regions does not aid the overall development of the country
In 2015, the government tried to readdress the imbalance (attitudes and actions) by developing a so-called ………(1) (Player), where the aim is that….. (2)
- ‘Northern Powerhouse’
- infrastructure will connect major industrial towns and cities in the north.
Describe how different players interact on infrastructure projects
- The national govt often works with local and regional organisations and governance to ensure that infrastructure projects become reality
- Property developers need to work in the right economic conditions, and charities often understand locals
- However, both lack capital finds to reliably generate a return on the initial investment required to start large projects such as these
- Large top-down projects can help diverse places across the Uk and other countries, but there are always concerns about their effect on local people and the natural environment
Explain how infrastructure investment suhc as aiprot development can regenrate regions & stimulate economuc growth via National governments
- The expansion of Heathrow Airport (building a third runway) is expected to cost just under £20 billion (which would be privately funded) and potentially create 70,000 jobs
- However, many MPs, local residents and environmental NGOs oppose the project as it will increase traffic travelling through Heathrow and pollution
The government is planning …………………………. known as HS2
- a new high-speed rail network, from London to Birmingham and to Manchester and Leeds
How much is HS2 expected to cost
£56 billion
What will the first stage of HS2 cut journey times from
- From December 2026, will cut Birmingham-London journey times from 1hr 21min to 49min
What are the negative environmental consequences of HS2
- The Wildlife Trusts say both phases directly affect nature reserves and wildlife sites which could lead to a net loss in biodiversity
What are the positive environmental consequences of HS2
- HS2 will cut emissions, improve air quality and support a net-zero carbon economy
What are the negative social consequences of HS2
- The planned route will pass right through the Chilterns inwhich there will be no intermediate stations, so communities along the route will not gain from it
- mental health issues for those displaced
- memorial monument neeeded for reburials
What are the positive social consequences of HS2
- improved journey times between major cities
- businesses along the network would benefit
What are the negative economic consequences of HS2
- £71 billion could have been invested elsewhere, & the poor managment of teh project means inflationary prieces has escalated the costs durastically
What are the positive economic consequences of HS2
- A government report in 2008 estimated that by 2025 road congestion would cost the UK £22 billion each year in lost time
- 60,000 construction jobs created
- govt expects the Old Oak station to be transformed to support some 20,000 new jobs as an interchange station
The projected expense of £71 billion is viewed as an investment, because the government will gain:
- franchising fees from train companies to run services
- an economic multiplier - i.e. growth - which should result from the improved transport links generating higher company profits, and also jobs, from which the government will receive taxation revenue.
What are the financial limitations to HS2
Govt can only afford it
- HS2 is too expensive for private companies to invest in (HS2’s estimated cost in 2015 was £56 billion, now projected to be £71 billion
due to a 2 year setback & inflation - Its scale is massive, so only govt could faciliate such widespread cooperation
What are the financial limitations to HS2
Private sector needs help
- As a service, transport rarely makes a profit, so although UK rail services are privatised, central government subsidised them by £3.8 billion in 2015
- Without those subsidies, the existing rail companies would operate at a loss
- So, if private companies can’t afford to build HS2, central government is left as the only organisation able to provide sufficient capital
HS2 was necessary because…
- road-building programs would not suffice
- most rail routes are close to capacity
The UK has a number of ………………… that are important in the context of regeneration
planning policies
UK Planning policies which are important for regeneration
Greenbelt
- Greenbelt land, which surrounds most larger cities, cannot be built on
- It is protected green space, usually farmland
UK Planning policies which are important for regeneration
Conservation zones
Conservation areas like National Parks have strict planning regulations that limit the development of all but small-scale residential and commercial schemes
UK Planning policies which are important for regeneration
Planning permission
- Planning permission is often dependent on a scheme including ‘planning gain’ in other words a scheme for new private homes might be given permission if it includes a certain percentage of affordable homes or improvements to existing roads or parks paid for by the developer
UK Planning policies which are important for regeneration
Planning laws
- 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
UK Planning policies which are important for regeneration
House building
- National house-building targets set at 240,000 new homes per year in 2007 and revised to 200,000 per year for 2010-2015 (these targets are never met.)
Describe statistically the current housing shortage in the UK
- shortage of 500,000 new homes by 2016
- 240,000 homes need to be built each year to meet current demand
- For the last ten years, only 100,000-150,000 new homes have been built each year
Why is the need for extra housing urgent in the UK
-more afforable housing
- 1980s - Right to Buy scheme, leaving a shortage of suitable properties for those on low incomes
- large amounts of social housing was bought by their occupants for considerably less than their market value
- Millions of houses were sold under this scheme. However, too few houses were built to replace them
- In 2017 the government spent £25b on housing benefits which is 10% of the entire welfare budget
Why is the need for extra housing urgent in the UK
-large number of derelict properties
- Large numbers of empty, derelict properties - especially in the inner city, where brownfield land is more expensive to develop than greenfield
- Lots of private companies and investors buy this land and sit on it until either the land price increases or they get planning permission to build on it
Why is the need for extra housing urgent in the UK
-overseas investors
- Overseas investors buying properties in the UK has seen house prices rise
- Investor visas attract wealthy individuals e.g Russian Oligarchs who can afford multiple high value properties in elite locations
- Many properties are left empty or are rented out
Why is the need for extra housing urgent in the UK
-2nd homes
- Increasing numbers of affluent people have bought second properties to rent out as an investment
- rise in buy-to-let properties, decreased availability on the property market
- poses difficulties to first-time buyers
Why does the intervention of national governments in regeneration make eleasing new land for housing very hard to achieve
- Planning laws like greenbelt policy make releasing new land for housing very hard to achieve
- Most demand is actually in the South and East, the areas with the least capacity to find new land for housing
- 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
Define fracking
- The process of drilling down into horizontal layers of shale deep underground
- & then injecting a mixture of water, sand and chemicals at high pressure into the shale to fracture it & release gas trapped in the rock,
- which can then be brought to the surface
Explain the UK’s decision decision to allow fracking to improve energy security
- UK govt has the power to make decisions affecting development via the planning laws
- Central govt has been attracted by the perceived benefits of fracking, which could add to the UK’s home-produced natural gas supplies and reduce the need for imported gas
In what way does fracking display government action prioritise naational over local needs & opinions
- housing developments & National Parks
- Local opposition occurs in every location where test drilling to find shale gas occurs
- drilling is increasing but the public are more opposed to shale gas than any other energy source
What is known about the UK’s total shale gas reserves
- size of the UK’s total shale gas reserves is unknown
- the British Geological Survey estimated in 2012 that known reserves would not even provide a single year’s supply
What are the alternative government policies that have contributed to housing shortages
- Immigration
- Deregulation
- Second homes and holiday homes
Explain the other govt policies contributing to housing shortages
Immigration
- Large-scale immigration from the EU, contributed to increasing the UK population from 59 million in 2001 to 63 million by 2011.
- An open-door immigration may have economic benefits but it also creates demand for new houses
Explain the other govt policies contributing to housing shortages
Deregulation
- UK is very open to FDI
- In 2016, the Guardian estimated that 40,000 London properties were owned by offshore tax havens
Explain the other govt policies contributing to housing shortages
Second homes and holiday homes
- There are few restrictions in the UK on people buying houses to rent out
- In some rural areas a large percentage of houses may not be available to local people
What significant financial change was made in 1986 but the conservative government
the UK’s financial sector was to be deregulated
What changes did deregulation make resulting in a new era of prosperity for the UK’s financial sector
- Instead of the London Stock Exchange having a monopoly on all share dealings, any bank, financial adviser, individuals - could trade in shares
- It opened up the freedom of individuals to invest
- Barriers stopping overseas banks and other financial institutions from setting up offices in London were also removed as until then, only UK banks could trade there
What were the consequences of 1986 deregulation for the UK economy
- Deregulation allowed foreign investors to invest in the UK without seeking UK government approval
- The results transformed the UK’s economy to the extent that banking, finance and business services now account for 30% of the UK’s GDP (compared to just 15.5% in 1986)
What are the long-term consequences of housing shortages for London investment
- There is a risk that very high house prices will prevent investment in some locations
- UK-based or foreign investors could be put off from investing in areas were housing for workers could be very expensive
Most planning decisions are made by (1) at local level
Councils draw up plans, called (2)
- Local Councils
- Unitary Development Plans
What do Unitary Development plans identify
- areas for new housing
- new roads and other major infrastructure
- areas for commercial development, i.e. factories, offices and retail
What are the aims of Unitary Development Funds
- to create environments that are attractive to both people and businesses (UK-based or foreign investors)
- provide a range of spaces such as retail parks and shopping centres business parks for office functions, and industrial parks for manufacturing and distribution
- to attract high-value quaternary industry in fields such as ICT, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, nanotechnology, 3D printing and space research
What are the responsibilities of the local government
Competing for investment
- Designating areas for development for domestic and foreign investors (science parks)
- Examples;
- Cambridge and Oxford Science Parks
What are the responsibilities of the local government
Local decision making
- Interest groups play a key role in decision making about regeneration - often tensions between groups that wish to preserve urban environments and those that seek change.
- Examples; Aylesbury, Bermondsey Blue BID
