10 February 2009
The impact of recession on regeneration and sustainability
I have been reading with interest in the last few days the Parkinson Report on the impact of the credit crunch on regeneration, the housing market and commercial property. It is so disappointing that regeneration and sustainable development, which have really progressed in the last few years, are being slowed down and in some cases halted due to the recession.
Regeneration has made a real difference across the country in the past decade since the Urban Task Force Report and its recommendations were published. Many of our towns and cities have benefited considerably from regeneration projects, but there is still much to be done. Sustainability will also continue to feature as an important issue, but progress is likely to be affected.
The problem is that the significant downturn in the housing and property markets has resulted in lower prices because of fewer buyers and an overall lack of confidence. Many developments which have been programmed to start are unable to proceed often due to a lack of funding. As a result of the credit crunch, lenders are generally short of funds and are also lacking in confidence. If they are lending at all they will only lend on much stricter criteria which can often be to the detriment of urban regeneration schemes in particular.
Some people will be pushing to continue with the development of affordable housing where it is largely being paid for by Government funding. However, my concern is that affordable housing should be part of mixed-tenure projects as this is very important in creating sustainable communities. If affordable housing is built separately from private housing it could lead to mono-tenure estates with adverse social consequences.
We are currently seeking ways and means of enabling regeneration projects to take proceed where we are able to secure financial support from the Government through its Homes and Communities Agency (HCA). I believe the HCA can play a very important role during these difficult times. It is also essential that Local Authorities and RSLs work in partnership with private sector developers to find ways to enable projects to start rather than being held over until the recession ends.
I will post part two of this blog shortly.
Enjoy this post? Get more like it by subscribing to my blog either by clicking on the RSS feed link at the top right of the page or by emailing group@cpplc.com
24 October 2008
Design, place making and the Stirling Prize
What is good design? For me it is what is preferred by the majority of people rather than the elite minority. There are some new home developers including my own company who do give significant attention to design. Architecture isn’t just about the buildings, important as they are, it’s about sustainability, about creating places that people will enjoy and it’s very much concerned with creating sustainable communities that will stand the test of time.
We are delighted that our Cambridge development, Accordia, has just won the UK’s premier architectural prize, the RIBA Stirling Prize. This is of course testament to the design skills of the architects that we employed, but it is also an award for our vision in developing the brief and having the dedication to implement it. Accordia is a community that will prevail and the elite minority, the judges, awarded the prize because they could see the quality of the place making concept that we conceived and worked up with the architects would work well and be attractive to the majority. We see the award of the Stirling Prize, to a housing project for the very first time, as a historic success that brings long overdue recognition of what we have been achieving for a number of years in many other places.
As a society we have many concerns about our living environments and Accordia addresses many of these concerns. I have mentioned place making already but this term should also include the long-term management. If this is not taken into account communities will not look good within a few years of them being built. Place making also has to be inclusive and accommodate the interests of all the residents. In particular children as well as youths are often forgotten in the process. We must not forget that children also have a democratic right to space. Accordia achieves this brilliantly.
Design and layout has got to be taken into account in creating sustainable communities with the range of housing sizes and tenures that is needed to ensure social sustainability. So we need to accommodate one and two person households, families and the elderly, and both those who can afford to buy and those who cannot. Mixed-tenure housing and the way in which housing is integrated is very important in creating sustainable communities. We don’t want the segregation between the ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots’ that created so many problems in the past.
Communities need schools, as well as community and recreational facilities. As well as creating these facilities we also need to ensure places in themselves are attractive. Landscaping is important – people enjoy living in green environments that bring people together to create a sense of community. Fundamentally they are nicer places to live.
Our society is becoming increasingly concerned with the energy efficiency agenda so homes must be more energy and water efficient and use eco-friendly building materials. Wherever we can we need to include eco parks, as well as parks where people can play. Moving on from Accordia, the new play environment at Great Notley in Braintree, another of our new community projects has dramatically increased the amount of people who are visiting and enjoying the country park which was created as part of the development.
Enjoy this post? Get more like it by subscribing to my blog either by clicking on the RSS feed link at the top right of the page or by emailing group@cpplc.com