Way to progress
Filed Under Country Curtain | Posted on April 6, 2008
In recent years, Nottingham, Derby and Leicester have cooperated as a 3 Cities partnership, with the support of their county councils.
In the past few years, the diverse region of the East Midlands has benefited from a number of initiatives designed to promote sustainable economic growth and deliver an improved quality of life for future generations. Nottingham, Derby and Leicester, making up the 3 cities partnership have been at the centre of a number of those initiatives.
Between 2001 and 2008 a total of nearly %26pound;183m was allocated from the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund to help local authorities in the East Midlands improve services, narrowing the gap between the East Midlands deprived areas and the rest of the country. %26pound;147m was allocated from New Deal for Communities, which aims to bridge the gap between some of the poorest members of society and the rest of Britain. In the East Midlands, this money has gone to Derwent in Derby, Braunstone in Leicester and Radford %26amp; Hyson Green in Nottingham.
Derbys urban Regeneration Company (URC) has been operational for three years. It has an established master plan and is working towards the delivery of a number of key projects with its principal partners, Derby City Council and English Partnerships. Having recently completed a review of Leicester URC, the East Midlands Development Agency (EMDA) has commissioned a review of Nottinghams Regeneration Ltd and Derby Cityscape. The final report from the EMDAs investigation is expected in September this year.
The EMDA aims to breathe new life into redundant land and revitalise communities across the region. Land and development was identified as a key priority in the Regional Economic Strategy - a flourishing region - launched in 2006. In 2006-2007 %26pound;135million of regeneration investment was announced - 70 per cent from the private sector - intended to remediate 117 hectares of brownfield land.
The agency works with the regions Urban Regeneration Companies, the East Midlands Centre for Constructing the Built Environment (EMCBE) and the East Midlands Urban Partnership Group, which launched the regional Urban Action Plan in 2005. It also funds Regeneration East Midlands (REM) - the independent organisation that enables regeneration practitioners to enhance their skills and become more productive in physical regeneration and economic development.
With its partners, the EMDA has announced its plans for investment throughout 2007 and 2008 that include launching a new %26pound;35million Employment Floorspace Fund to contribute to a three year rolling programme of capital investment for regeneration, launching a new Rural Development Programme for England initiative in the region, to ensure rural areas contribute fully to economic growth and continuing to support the regions priority urban areas to help capitalise on plans for greater local government involvement in economic development.
The Blueprint partnership, a unique joint venture between EMDA, English Partnerships and Morley Fund Managements Igloo Regeneration, is the first of its kind in the country - with an objective to address some of the regions more challenging regeneration projects, using private-sector expertise and public-sector influence.
Blueprint was launched in 2005, with an emphasis on enlightened design, social responsibility and investment in innovation. Its first project, set for completion towards the end of this year, is phase two of Nottingham Science Park.
Two buildings are being constructed. One will house a new automotive training academy, while No. 1 Nottingham Science Park will accommodate high growth, hitech companies - many of which will start life in the labs of the University of Nottingham opposite.
The highly flexible configuration of the building means quality shared facilities and individual suites will sit alongside each other, accessed from the propertys boutique hotelstyle lobby. Outside, the lily pad boardwalk will connect the duck pond to the university campus. A brown roof, biomass heating systems, sensitive undercroft parking, the optimisation of natural light, rigorous energy efficiency standards and focus on biodiversity all fit with Blueprints environmental sustainability commitment. Blueprint will also support the propertys occupiers in developing environmental and corporate social responsibility strategies - seeking to reduce carbon emissions and make use of renewable energy sources. John Long, director at Blueprint, said, This project has put environmentally sustainable design firmly at the top of its agenda, to create a place of architectural creativity and natural beauty, while minimising its impact on the environment. This policy will add value to the park and help reduce operational costs for occupiers - something that is increasingly important to progressive companies in the context of corporate social responsibility and rising energy prices.
The EMDA is the first of the nine regional development agencies to roll out a Brownfield Land Action Programme. The programme aims to accelerate the rate at which derelict areas, abandoned buildings and rundown areas are brought back into use. Working alongside local authorities, Sub-regional Strategic Partnerships (SSPs), the Government Office for the East Midlands (GOEM) and the regional assembly, EMDA will ensure the areas of greatest need are prioritised. Funding will primarily cover the costs of preparing sites for development: site investigations, studies, land remediation and some reclamation works. Gary Hunt, EMDA board member, said, Transforming brownfield land is the first step to reviving and stimulating economic development, creating new jobs and improving the local communities, all of which helps towards reaching the targets for the East Midlands to become a flourishing region by 2020.
Meden Valley Making Places Ltd (MVMP) is a %26pound;50 million project, set up in 2003, which aims to build, redevelop and refurbish around 950 homes to address problems associated with low demand housing in former mining communities. It was set up in 2003 by English Partnerships, the EMDA, Mansfield District Council and Bolsover District Council. MVMPs flagship projects include 263 new homes at the Royal Estate in Market Warsop, Nottinghamshire and a major development in Whaley Thorns, Derbyshire.
Bellway Homes is building a range of houses on the Market Warsop scheme, including low-cost home ownership properties. The %26pound;4 million Whaley Thorns scheme has involved demolishing 50 run-down terraced properties in Bathurst Terrace, to make way for a mixture of one, three and four-bedroomed semi-detached and detached properties. All have been built to the Eco homes %26lsquo;Very Good standard.
The Roundhouse project in Pride Park, Derby will see a former engine shed and Victorian railway buildings turned into a new campus for Derby College. With EMDA investment of %26pound;4.5million, the project will create 100 jobs and is set for completion by November 2008 - when it will become
home to more than 16,000 students and staff.
Brook Park in Shirebrook, Derbyshire is a former colliery that is being turned into a mixed-use development including a business park and 900 new homes. Costing nearly %26pound;40 million, the business park will create over 1000 new jobs.
1,500 jobs have been created at the Sherwood Energy Village in Ollerton, Nottinghamshire. There, another former colliery site has been turned into a mix of industry, housing, recreation and education facilities at a cost of %26pound;2.8 million. 200 homes have been created there.
Tags: amp, becom, diversity, future generations, money, nottingham, pride park, targetRelated posts
Leave a Reply