LA SALUD DE LOS POBRES

The Single Conversation is a new approach to investment and delivery pioneered through the Homes and

Communities Agency, which aims to improve the quality and sustainability of the places in which they work. The Agency has developed a “place-focused” model of working and a process of dialogue with local authorities (LAs) and their partners in which they agree an appropriate vision for their place which reflects local ambition whilst supporting national priorities.

By working in an open and transparent way with LAs and others, the Homes and Communities Agency aims to become local government’s best delivery partner, able to secure more and better outcomes than through a top-down, centralised approach. Through the Single Conversation the Agency promotes an integrated and collaborative approach to place making which

helps deliver communities that are sustainable on all counts: places that create social, environmental and economic value. The Agency works with the LAs and partners to ensure that the places they invest in make the most of their locality; they will be safe, well-connected, mixed-use, strong and vibrant communities with good access to shops, community facilities, schools and public transport.

The Single Conversation is an ongoing, iterative, dynamic process which will lead to Local Investment Plans and Local Investment Agreements that will set out the contribution, both investment and other support, required to help deliver the necessary changes for areas. Local flexibility and joined up decision-making across the range of housing and regeneration activities and investment programmes allows housing, growth and renewal to be delivered in ways which work effectively in different local places.

The involvement of public, private and voluntary sectors in this city centre regeneration project has transformed the disused prison on the historic site of Oxford Castle into a major mixed-use development comprising hotel, restaurants, housing and a visitor attraction around new public spaces.

Having bought the site from Crown Properties when the prison closed in 1996, Oxfordshire County Council (OCC) took the site to market resulting in the appointment of the Trevor Osbourne Property Group as development partner. The developer then set up Oxford Castle Ltd who were given a 200-year lease by landowners OCC, subject to various works being undertaken, through a Development Agreement. Crucially this included restoration and new build works to the ancient buildings. The Oxford Preservation Trust then obtained a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund that matched the value of this particular element

of the works for non-revenue producing uses. The result was a partnership between the landowners OCC, the developer Oxford Castle Ltd and the Oxford Preservation Trust. The project also received grant funding from sources including SEEDA, English Heritage and Trust for Oxfordshire’s Environment.

Part of the site was leased back to OCC who in turn leased it to the Oxford Preservation Trust (OPT) to run the visitor attraction, Learning Centre, and the public space. OPT’s continued involvement in the project through the management of these aspects also ensured that high quality would be maintained. ‘To develop a mixed-use scheme on this scale required imagination, determination and cooperation’, as Debbie Dance of Oxford Preservation Trust clearly states, ‘None of us could do it without the other.’

Collaborative working between developers, the local authority and local interest groups has led to the development of an award-winning mixed-use development at Oxford Castle, Oxford.

DELIVERING QUALITY AND ADDING VALUE 3.3

Where developers and funders cannot be persuaded to take the chance of such risks occurring, a scheme may need to be de-risked by the public sector subject to state-aid rules. In this situation the public sector will be able to negotiate priority returns to recoup its investment.

3.3.4 Delivery structures

High-quality control 053

Projects which adopt a long-term, high-control structure are usually those led by the public sector where there is a significant task in terms of transforming an area. The most hands-on approach is where a statutory agency such as an urban development corporation is established to deliver the project. Such agencies, requiring central government approval, generally benefit from planning powers for major applications within a specified area. These are most beneficial where significant development is required across a number of sites.

A project sponsor acting as main promoter for the duration of the development will have strong control over the quality of design. This approach provides the project sponsor with the chance to ensure that design quality is maintained across a development. It can also provide opportunities to improve design standards by applying lessons learnt from previous phases. The approach requires considerable resources as it needs continued management of the project and of the main stakeholders, putting each phase out to tender, and establishing management structures. However, the project sponsor can benefit from increased values as later phases come through.

The quality of development can be controlled through development agreements and building under licence. For large or long-term developments, contracts must have sufficient flexibility to allow standards to rise as the schemes progress.

Joint venture partnerships

Where a lesser amount of control is necessary, the landowner may consider entering a joint venture

partnership. This can cover a single site or a development portfolio. This arrangement will enable significant long-term control over the site to be retained. Where this approach is taken, there needs to be clear agreement between the parties on the design objectives and requirements, how these will be enforced, and how profit will be shared. This should be set out in a memorandum of understanding. As with development agreements, there must be sufficient

flexibility to allow standards to rise as the schemes progress. Clear contracts are vital to ensure the quality of the development.

Disposal of site with conditions

If the landowner is looking to maximise capital receipts or minimise risk exposure to a scheme, it may be more appropriate to seek a straightforward sale. Even where a site is disposed of outright, the landowner can still play an effective role in helping to ensure design quality. This can include developing a masterplan and possibly design codes. Where these are attached to the sale of a site, careful consideration should be given to the resources available to ensure they are adhered to, and to the legal obligations that will guarantee quality.

An alternative approach is to impose specific standards relating to such matters as design quality, environmental performance and community management by placing conditions on the disposal either through the planning process or through the disposal or development agreement. Incentives for developers to take additional development risk can be provided through overage agreements which share profits between promoter and developer. Project sponsors should avoid selling to good bids without legal tie- in to ensure quality.

Partnering

The likelihood of achieving a high-quality scheme can be improved by working with a group of pre-defined partners. These could be organisations which have either passed a selection process on a set of agreed standards or performed well on previous schemes. Negotiated sales could be endorsed where previous partnerships have produced the levels of quality and efficiency that are required for additional phases.

Where the private sector takes the lead, the public sector can use the planning process to ensure that a good place is created (see section 4.1). This will involve agreeing an overall concept, ensuring that a high standard of urban design is met through encouraging good masterplanning, and design coding, and using section 106 negotiations to ensure that public amenities are provided. As with public- sector landowners, the private-sector landowners or master developers can impose conditions on subdevelopers through the use of development agreements and building under licence. Master developers will often want to ensure quality is maintained across the development to protect both their investment and their reputation.

Blueprint believes that intelligent, bold and attractive design supports the transformation of existing places and the creation of new ones. It brings together private and public sector organisations with a shared vision for design-led regeneration to amass the necessary skills and resources for major projects.

Blueprint’s remit is to revitalise deprived neighbourhoods through well-designed, sustainable property development. Blueprint is a unique 50-50 partnership between the private and public sectors set up to bring about sustainable urban regeneration, including strong emphasis on quality design to create liveable spaces. Blueprint is working on projects across the East Midlands alongside a wide range of organisations, often in complex partnership arrangements.

At Blueprint’s £50 million, 12-acre Nottingham Science Park extension, a new landmark for the city has been created with No.1 Nottingham Science Park. This 45,000 sq ft building is an architecturally innovative and sustainable property and is designed for occupiers requiring between 1,000 to 10,000 sq ft.

Buildings on the site are designed to sustain and enhance the natural environment while adding value and reducing the running costs of occupiers. The site’s green spaces, which will be open to the public, are designed to provide a clean and healthy atmosphere, including a boardwalk of giant wooden lily pads connecting to the adjacent nature reserve, the university lake and a wild flower meadow.

In Leicester, Blueprint worked with Leicester City Council, Phoenix Arts, Leicester Shire Economic Partnership and De Montfort University to create Phoenix Square. The scheme has recently been completed and combines leisure, the arts, living and work. Meanwhile, Blueprint is working with Derby Cityscape on a major project that includes creating a new public open space, Sadler Square, as a focal point for leisure, residential and office space linked by a series of meandering lanes.

All this has been achieved in just five years since Blueprint’s formation – demonstrating the effectiveness of working in partnership to deliver design-led urban regeneration.

DELIVERING QUALITY AND ADDING VALUE 3.3

KEY MESSAGES FOR SECTION 3.3 1. Effective coordination of stakeholders

can lead to high quality.

2. A high level of control will raise design standards but it requires time and effort.

In June 2004 the Milton Keynes Partnership Committee (MKPC) was created by the Government to ensure a co- ordinated approach to planning and delivery of growth and development in Milton Keynes. The Partnership brings together Milton Keynes Council, the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), Local Strategic Partnership representatives from the health, community and business sectors and independent representation.

The role of MKPC is to deliver a long-term vision of Milton Keynes as a prosperous and sustainable city up to 2031, with a balanced supply of homes, infrastructure, jobs and community facilities, delivered to the highest quality whilst minimising environmental impact.

Working in partnership with Milton Keynes Council and local stakeholder groups, HCA’s predecessor English Partnerships (as landowner) prepared a detailed design brief for a mixed-use development in Central Milton Keynes. The brief established the principles of high quality, innovative design required to meet local

Establishing a partnership to deliver a shared vision