If Dr Tim Leunig had his way, we northerners would all be on our way to
Basingstoke by now. In Cities Unlimited, his controversial report for the
Policy Exchange think-tank, he argues that regeneration in the North has
largely failed. Huge swaths should be left to rot, their populations removed
to the prosperous South East. But why leave now, when the regeneration story
has only just begun?
It is impossible to argue that Manchester, a world-class city with exemplary
leadership, and Leeds, a major financial and legal centre, have not
benefited from millions of pounds-worth of public and privately funded
regeneration projects. If anything, workers are migrating to these cities,
not away from them. A recent report, Cities Outlook 2008, for the research
organisation Centre for Cities, found that Leeds gained 34,400 permanent
residents in the past decade. Dr Leunig is right, though: there are plenty
of dumps in the North, as there are in the SouthEast, the South West, and
the Midlands. But he is wrong to single out the North, and wrong to assume
that Liverpool, Sunderland, Hull, Scunthorpe and Blackpool are all part of a
homogenous northern black hole without a glimmer of hope between them.
Broadly speaking, there are three stages of post-industrial regeneration.
There are the cities and towns that have already benefited, led by
Manchester, Leeds, Newcastle and Sheffield. Newcastle scored two early hits
with the Millennium Bridge (2002) and the Sage music centre (2005) on the
Gateshead side of the River Tyne. Both persuaded locals that regeneration
brought results. A relatively compact city centre, with limited building
space, means that apartments have not saturated the market. In Sheffield,
the public realm is outstanding, and many apartment schemes, such as West
One in the Devonshire Quarter, have become popular with students and young
buyers and renters.
Then there are those in the process, such as Hull, Liverpool, Bradford,
Salford, Sunderland, Scunthorpe, Scarborough and Blackpool. Public money has
kick-started regeneration, but sustained private investment and private
sector job creation is needed to take it forward. The housing stock needs
addressing too: Centre for Cities found that cities such as Sunderland and
Bradford have too few homes of the size and type to tempt middle-managers,
lawyers and doctors.
And then there are countless former industrial towns still with mountains to
climb, such as Rotherham, Stockport, Oldham and Rochdale. “The biggest
challenge is getting credibility,” says Bill Addy, a director of the
property developer Iliad Group, which is working with Rotherham Borough
Council to transform the town centre through schemes such as the conversion
of the Imperial Buildings arcade into shops and apartments (the latter start
at £90,000 for a 340sqft one-bedroom unit). “It is convincing people that
Rotherham is a place where they can go and live, work and do business. There
is the same challenge in a lot of smaller towns.” It doesn't help that many
schemes are on a knife edge. In Stockport, for example, the developer Lend
Lease pulled out of the Bridgefield scheme of shops, restaurants, cinema and
250 flats earlier this month, blaming “deteriorating conditions” in the
retail market.
Peter Dixon, head of planning and regeneration in the North at Savills
property consultants, says that the Policy Exchange report raises a crucial
issue. “If you've got a location where you've got a second or third city,
such as Leeds and Bradford, Newcastle and Sunderland and Manchester and
Salford, the question is, should policy be to try to keep these places at
the same level in the hierarchy?”, he asks. “That is not always going to
work. Historically, Bradford was once more important than Leeds, when the
wool trade was flourishing, but that has changed.”
Everyone agrees that talking in purely economic terms does not give the full
story. “The regeneration of an area is not just about house prices,” says
Peter Bolton King, head of the National Association of Estate Agents. “In
fact, rising house prices, which have traditionally been associated with
regeneration, may not be of benefit to local people, who are still working
on the same wages and may not be able to afford the new housing. We have to
look at the wider picture.” A restaurateur would say more customers, but a
teenager could point to the internet café, and a pensioner suggest the new
town centre flowerbeds as proof that regeneration is having a positive
effect. “The report employs a narrow definition of success, focusing on the
hard measures of economic regeneration,” says Sarah Longlands, director of
policy at the regeneration organisation Centre for Local Economic
Strategies. “Successful urban regeneration requires a more sophisticated mix
of strengthening employment and skills development, improvements in quality
of life and community well-being.”
Peter Dixon says that Canary Wharf is the best example of successful
regeneration. “But that started back in 1986,” he points out. “The acid test
is when a place develops a long-term raison d'être. It enjoys sustainable
and varied employment, physical improvements, and social and economic
benefits.” In the North, he adds, “you can already see physical regeneration
happening all over the place. There is Centenary Square in Bradford, a
beacon in the city centre, Clarence Dock in Leeds, which is starting to feel
like a thriving area, and the Newcastle Quayside. But all have been around
for only a decade or so, and a decade is a short time in regeneration.”
That said, who could look at any town or city in the North and say that its
prospects had not improved, even slightly, in the past ten years or so?
Where was Dr Leunig when the pits and the steelworks and the shipyards first
closed down? There might not be a Malmaison on the corner of every street
yet, but you certainly won't find anyone sparking their clogs.
Imperial Buildings, Rotherham:
0113-246 1533, knightfrank.com
Angles of the North
Land Registry figures for the
average price for a house in June:
Manchester: £114,602, up 4.7per cent in a year
Leeds: £152,795, up 0.6 per cent in a year
Newcastle: £137,381, down 4.7per cent in a year
Liverpool: £124,019, down 0.6per cent in a year
Sunderland: £118,001, down 1.7per cent in a year
Bradford: £127,724, up 2.4per cent in a year
Rotherham: £120,354, up 2.3per cent in a year
Let all those folk who want to pay over-the-odds for a two-up, two-down move down south. After all, the North is a terrible place, its cold and grim, and any southerner would die within 2 weeks of exposure to it. Least that's what I'm saying to any that ask... here's hoping they stay away...
Paul, Manchester, England
Once the BBC moves to Salford MediaCity are complete, and ancillary businesses locate there or nearby, Greater Manchester will be even more world class. The Manchester and near region property market will benefit hugely from this and any other related business moves to the area.
Mac, Manchester, UK
Liverpool has a plethora of new developments, both commercial and residential, which give it the appearance of being a "boom town". However, a glance at the local newspapers gives a different perspective as these contain very few employment advertisements. Where is the promised benefit for all?
Mick Roberts, Liverpool, England
why does Dr leunig need regeneration money diverted from the north to the Southeast, If its supposed to be so prosperous there why dont they do it themselves,Its about time they followed the BBC example
tony, manchester, england
Well, you didn't read the Cities Unlimited report. Public money has "started" the process as you say - but you also that that "private sector job creation" is needed to make regeneration a reality. The whole point of the report was that people follow jobs not the other way round.
Frank, London,
Surely the question is "Why" rather than "Where"?
Gareth, London,