Media release
0001hrs Thursday 25 May 2006
Regeneration is good for all of us, says Labour
advisory group
The
more regeneration the better for UK PLC, is the message of Labour advisors’
LFIG Regeneration Group, in a wide-ranging report on regeneration in the UK
released today (‘The Gruneberg Report’).
“We can show that
when the Government spends on regeneration, it produces more revenue for the
Treasury than it spends”, says Dr Stephen Gruneberg, Chair of the LFIG
Regeneration Group.
“This revenue
could be used to further stimulate the UK economy even more than at present.
Whilst the Government has done much to turn around our communities, more
could still be happening on the ground”.
“There is a lot of
interest on the part of financial institutions in funding regeneration
projects, but it’s not translating into action”, Dr Gruneberg said. “We
need to see a further shift in both national and local government
encouragement and thinking”.
The report, “Effective
Regeneration Action: Finance & Regeneration”, calls for a new measure to
replace Value for Money – “Satisfaction over Time”; a halt to the setting up
of yet more regeneration agencies; greater contact at earlier stages between
masterplanners and funders; and longer term commitment to programmes and
actions.
Funders want to see a “step
change” in the attitudes and behaviour of planners in the UK, the report
claims. It recommends improved financial awareness training and a greater
willingness on the part of Government to encourage Departments to work
together, communicate and co-operate.
“Long term commitment is
what’s needed - now” says Dr Gruneberg. “Whilst Government is committed to
PFI and Public Private Partnerships (PPP), and is introducing Real Estate
Investment Trusts (REITs), these are not enough”.
The report recommends that
Government should give more attention to new regeneration funding models to
meet the complex demands of infrastructure investment, mixed use schemes and
portfolios, and puts forward two models as examples.
Local
authorities are also singled out, if they are to take advantage of new
opportunities to fund regeneration, as needing to see beyond their
traditional boundaries and use their assets together with other stakeholders
to better effect.
“We’re not
saying they have to become financial experts”, Dr Gruneberg said, “But they
should be able to recognise the implications of some of their regeneration
plans much more than they do at present – particularly when working with
funders”.
Dr Gruneberg
called for an end to the “plethora” of agencies which the Government has
established or endorsed to help deliver its regeneration policies.
The report
cites the example of Dortmund in the Ruhr, Germany, which is successfully
reinventing itself following the decline of its traditional industries. It
also draws upon other examples in the UK.
“Dortmund is
only achieving its repositioning through being focused, far-sighted and
committed”, says Dr Gruneberg. “It has really shown what can happen when
agencies work together effectively”.
The report concludes that regeneration is an opportunity, not
a problem. “The Government’s commitment to regeneration, and the keen
interest in the UK investment community in financing regeneration projects,
represent an opportunity from which all of us can benefit”, says Dr
Gruneberg.
“Given a willingness to review its position and change, there
is no good reason why the public sector cannot rise to the challenge and
actively deliver effective regeneration in partnership with the private
sector”.
- Ends -
For more information:
Dr Stephen Gruneberg
020-7724-9003
m 07746-950305
Nicholas Waloff
020-8998-3364
m 07710-225638
Ed McCauley
m 07946-078898
Note for Editors
(1) LFIG
(Labour Finance & Industry Group) is an advisory group of senior business
and financial persons, set up in 1973, which provides policy advice and
trouble-shooting to Ministers. Its current president is Lord Kinnock of
Bedwellty. More information on its activities is available at
www.lfig.org. It is independent of the Labour
Party.
(2)
LFIG Regeneration Group, established in 2003, is a study group within LFIG.
It has been holding extensive hearings across a range of industry and public
sector bodies over the past 18 months. Its chair, Dr Stephen Gruneberg, is a
construction economist at the University of Reading. Its members are drawn
from the business, financial, consultancy, academic and local government
sectors.
(3) The
report is being followed up with a Conference in late autumn 2006, now in
its planning stages.
(4) Copies of
the report, “Effective Regeneration Action: Finance & Regeneration” (ISBN
0-946693-01-3; ISBN 978-0-946693-01-6) are available, price £30.00 plus P&P,
from:
Central Books Ltd,
99 Wallis Road,
London E9 5LN
Tel: 0044 (0) 845-458-9910
Fax: 0044 (0) 845-458-9912
Mail order:
mo@centralbooks.com
Website:
www.centralbooks.com
