March 2010 Archives

I did promise I'd follow up on the BURA response to the Budget this week and now I'm running out of time (and it's a bit pukka this, as measured-and-considered folk wrote most of it).

To recap: BURA published its Framework for Regeneration on 17 March at MIPIM. It went very well. The Budget on the following Wednesday looked like the ideal opportunity to put into practice our plan to test emerging proposals against our six principles.

The Budget was quickly followed by the Total Place report and the announcement about the Housing Revenue Account. Each of these proposals will need detailed study in their own right by the experts (and I will revisit these once I have consulted). But against the BURA Framework our question is whether the Budget and the other announcements will deliver better regeneration?

The core statement in the budget is: "Over the last decade, the Government has put in place policies designed to ensure that all parts of the UK benefit from economic growth. But it is important that policy takes account of the different characteristics and prospects of different places. The Government's regeneration interventions will be focused on tackling worklessness, investing strategically for the regeneration of places that offer realistic opportunities for transforming their economic performance, and on connecting people to economic opportunities in places with lower prospects."

Of course we knew all that already, so let's look at each of our six principles and some of the specifics:

1. Putting people first. Even allowing for the dry language of budget documents the sense you get is that people are seen as part of the economic machine. Continuing delivery on skills and programmes for young people, along with many other regular services, will all help but there is no clear message about people. Total Place offers a citizen viewpoint and proposes an integrated offer to users, especially those with complex and multiple needs. 

Been at it all last week and this and still haven't managed to mop up everything from MIPIM (nor have I managed to lose my chesty cough, I sound like an old packhorse).

It is certainly the case that I packed a lot in - my most productive MIPIM ever really, and that's saying something!

A lot of e-mails to wade through. And a lot more to write. Ross Sturley has sent me this photo with the caption Giant bag terrorises London.

I genuinely don't recollect resting my handbag on the London model (How very irreverent! Sincere apologies to Pipers) but clearly I am guilty as charged, although I reject his accusation of devising a secret weapon to sail down the Thames and demolish Tower Bridge! The idea!

Was a bit disappointed to learn that the Octopus scheme, planned for Chiswick Roundabout (see blog 23 December), has been refused by Hounslow on the grounds that the building and the adverts projected from its five screens would distract drivers.

Apparently the Highways Agency have been a bit po-faced and objected to the development, arguing it was an unsuitable building so close to the M4 flyover and a busy roundabout. (Blimey! Has anyone seen Julian Barwick's gold hotel at Paddington in the sunlight? I think it could be an air traffic hazard!)

Oh dear! It's official. Alistair Darling's Budget announcement that the Government will support investment in infrastructure in our cities and "other centres of growth" through an Accelerated Development Zone (ADZ) pilot programme means I've got a hellava lot of apologising to do.

Cecily Davis of DLA Piper will be claiming the bottle of Bolly that I wagered on TIFs with her (and come to think of it I compounded the felony by striking the same deal with Alistair Parker of Cushman & Wakefield in the Black and Blue only last night; when will I ever learn?).

Apparently the pilot ADZ schemes will be introduced in locations across England in 2011-12 (great news for Nine Elms, which is genuinely pleasing).

The deal is that combined authorities "as they are agreed" (so that's going to be argy-bargy then) and "selected" local authorities "will receive capital grant funding to a total of £120m to help support projects that deliver key infrastructure and commercial development to unlock growth". (Is this £120m per project we ask, or £120m in total for the UK? Clearly an important nuance - advice is being urgently sought).

MIPIM is always a shot in the arm and I remain totally pumped in the aftermath, but I did emit a deep sigh of relief on my return to Chez Elworthy after my 14 hour journey.

We achieved a lot in Cannes and I'm especially proud of the launch of (natty title) A Framework for Regeneration in "more for less" Britain: Six Key Principles. 

I return to Blighty to lead the charge on the campaign. So.... from first principles then....why do we need a Framework now?

Well, I'm sorry if I'm boring you all and I know it's unfashionable to say it, but regeneration matters.

It matters to everyone (whether they realise it or not), and in these tough economic times there is a real risk that some of our communities will fall even further behind.

There remains a huge need for improvement in the social, economic and physical condition of large tracts of Britain, and any new government will need to tackle these issues, though we have yet to see in detail how any of the main parties will approach regeneration.

What we do know for sure is that any government will have to promote regeneration in a radically changed economic context. Our framework therefore offers a structure for debate over the next three to six months; and while it is not a political manifesto or draft policy white paper, ultimately it may look like one.

Ah, the joys of hotfooting it round to the old port in the glorious sunshine to my favourite event at MIPIM, the Broadgate Estates lunch at Le Gaston Gastounette. A regular fixture on Thirsty Thursday, with an added poignancy this year as it is Barry Winfield's last MIPIM before he retires.

As I was partially responsible for his first MIPIM (and have fond - very fond - memories; oh how we laughed, I have never laughed like it) I wouldn't have missed this last excursion for the world. And it was delightful to be spliced between Barry himself (so, cortical deafness in my right ear now) and my old mucker Peter Wynne Rees (good chance for a catch up).

The food is always superb in Le Gaston, although the service was very slow again, and I had to leave before dessert, clutching my tasteful Broadgate Estates cuff-links for 'imself (that lot are his fan club in any case, I get so fed up with "How's James?" questions - of course they all worked with him in Stanhope days - I nearly prepared a press release) in order to get to my meeting with my old boss, Jack Jacobs in Levouillier, right by the Carlton.

Who doesn't love Uncle Jack then? Looking relaxed and tanned, despite the recent health scare (poor Sally) and now totally recovered and in the pink (and glowing about his seven grandchildren including Richard's twins). Wants me to go and look at Margate for him. And Hove. Well, I guess old habits die hard. I'll go and look at Margate. And Hove. 

Why oh why will I never learn? Why oh why did I say I'd hook up with that old monster Peter Ralph of Peter Brett Associates (transport engineers of choice - sometimes!) after the Invest Thames Gateway dinner?

It was about 11.30pm by this point (yes it's official: I.Am.Mad.) and we - five transport consultants and me - ended up in some Caribbean bar at the back of the Majestic (I think it was called "the CocaLoca" or something) drinking Mojitos. Don't ask.

Adam Cunnington (now at Bretts, of course, having escaped from the frustrations of LandSec in north Kent) said it was like drinking salty mint tea and that is exactly what it was like. It's still repeating on me. Revolting.

Suddenly I had a lucid moment and peeled away from the party in an attempt to hit the sack at a reasonable time. Oh the best-laid plans... of course I then ricocheted into the posh end of CBRE, Nick Jopling and Jonathan Hull, on the Croisette and was literally scooped up - quickly finding myself ensconced once more in the Majestic with the uber-sexy Jonny Seal (love love LOVE Jonny Seal) and his extremely intellectual friend from PWC (was his name Francis? Ooh he was ever so smart).

Wednesday was certainly action packed. Having hatched a number of plots with various rogues and roues in the Perriot 1er (actually it was a genuinely splendid lunch and great to see John Holmes of Hull Forward brought in as last minute substitution), I tottered back to the Palais to reconnect with my gang and to sober up, ready for the evening's activities.

Lovely to find Julian Barwick of DevSec sitting on the terrace and we had a kiss and a cuddle and a catch up. Cannot believe it's eight years since we started on Slough.

I remember the night we won the job: I'd been parachuted in, out of Paddington, to give the team a bit of support on the socio-economic side. I'd done a particularly fine job of schmoozing the leader of the council on the jobs front (says she immodestly) even though I'd been streaming with cold and had no idea about the site or the scheme. Oh happy days.

At 5pm Peter Bill was chairing a session on West London on the main platform and introduced his panel. Lyn-too-thin-Garner of Hammersmith was demure and on-song.

Wednesday was always going to be my full-on day so it didn't help greatly that I didn't sleep Tuesday night (I went to bed at a reasonable time you understand - honest guv - there's just a lot of folk clomping about at all hours in this apartment block).

This was only one of the things making me grumpy. The back story of my life that rumbles along is that my flight back to the UK on Saturday had indeed been cancelled, thanks to the BA strike.

Scary Ange is trying hard to work some of her magic from Paternoster Square but it looks as if me and Matthieu Le Noir will have to fly out of Montpellier (where?) at the crack of dawn Friday. And 'imself can be heard cackling with laughter 1,000km away.

The first thing that happened to me was I got a vicious cut from a copy of MIPIM News and a nice man called Duncan had to give me a plaster to stop me bleeding all over the Croisette. So that improved my temper greatly, as you imagine!

But notwithstanding lack of sleep, transport anxieties, and various aches and pains (oh my poor feet!), it was a joyous start to the day to have breakfast in the sunshine in the EG marquee at the front of the Grand.

Damian had told me the night before that he didn't know whether he was expecting two or two hundred so I'm delighted to report that it was about thirty - exactly the right number - and all the right guys: Dr Gould of JLL and my own boss Martin Samworth of CBRE among them (plus me, of course, the ultimate hanger-on, pretending I knew what they were talking about) - present and correct for the Estates Gazette breakfast.

Yesterday was the first day of MIPIM and by 10am the sun was already burning off the cloud and the sunglasses were well and truly on! (There is something rather sinister about the sight of a large number of men in expensive suits with sunglasses, and I don't just mean the Russians.)

I must say I do think it is very impressive of Reed Midem to arrange such consistently good weather for the annual show. Very clever.

Was just soooo excited about getting onto the London Stand (for those not with us this time: where Paris was last year, right on the beach there, next to Russia's Krasnodar Krai region, whose fine coat of arms you can admire on the right) that, by just after noon, when I was due to adjourn to the Majestic for a spot of superior nose bag with the London Thames Gateway crowd, I was already utterly exhausted.

I had been air-kissing for Britain, I was totally hoarse and my feet were frankly killing me (despite wearing my most MIPIM-friendly shoes)!

Yes, basically, I'd peaked too soon. And, given that I consider myself to be a true pro, I was rather cross with myself about it all. 

So, despite feeling a little depleted, I managed to drag myself across to the Majestic (a dirty job but somebody has to do it) - it's not far admittedly - to attend Bob Lane's rather inspired London Thames Gateway lunch.

The Majestic is that rare gaff: a hotel that can deliver a fine dining experience for 80 of your closest friends. It's true pukka.

I found myself sitting next to the sainted Tom Bloxham (of Urban Splash), who was wearing a rather wondrous black and white check suit (and a rather jaunty trilby, reminiscent of someone in the backing vocals of the Specials).

"Oh", says I , "is that a Paul Smith?" (I had bumped into Piers Gough the night before - hair even more wired than ever - in a similar job, although much smaller check, which he'd told me was a Paul Smith; I was trying to look smart I guess). "Oh" says Tom "no, it's a Tom Ford". Well, serve me right really. What do I know? Who do I think I'm kidding in my M&S frock? 

Great lunch. Bob had a charming array of speakers lined up to say nice things about the East London family. Peter Bishop of LDA kicked off, slick as ever, and then nipped out smartish to bag carry for Boris.

John Williams of Gateway to London served a great maiden over (his first MIPIM) by being very polished and funny. He's also about 6' 7" and rather dashing. A great combination!

Uneventful journey I guess. Terminal 5 may have taken so long in the planning system that the building is now out of date but as a traveller I found it a pretty rewarding experience, all things being equal, now that they've ironed out the glitches, of course. So very British, that entire story! 

There's always that slightly dodgy moment at the gate on a flight to Nice and MIPIM when one furtively eyes up one's fellow passengers to see if there's anyone worth prostituting yourself with for a bit of early networking (you will be aware I know no shame) or - obviously very much worse - anyone that you're rather anxious to avoid!

Happily, on this occasion, I found myself in splendid anonymity. However, I did keep receiving texts from 'imself (ever the harbinger of doom) updating me on the BA strike and predicting, with some glee I could discern, that I am going to be stranded in France at the end of the week (and serve me right, I guess the thinking is, for deserting hearth and home).

There was a splendid time once when I found myself flying out with the great Peter Bill, fellow EG blogger, who in turn had bumped into the bubbly Allyson Andrews (then in the real estate department of Imperial College, later at King Sturge) and we three had a most knockabout exchange at the airport. It was a hoot.

Packing for MIPIM, including the sunglasses (Primark rather than Ray Bans, naturally) and hoping against hope that it will indeed be sunny. 

MIPIM is officially, of course, the end of winter and apparently this has been the longest, hardest winter in the UK for 30 years. I don't know anyone who isn't sick to the back teeth of it now and, on behalf of the entire UK delegation, I am now pleading for a little sunshine over there. We need to draw a line.

I have worked my socks off in the run up to this MIPIM. BURA is launching its "Framework for Regeneration in More-for-Less Britain" on Wednesday at high noon hosted by CBRE in the Gray d'Albion. And we have much to say in the run-up to the general election. I've been telling folk that it's the hot ticket at MIPIM and, indeed, it is nearly sold out.

Our BURA@20 drinks Reception (our MIPIM Birthday Party really) the night before at Bar "Le Must" (no, I didn't make that up) is also a sell out. BURA is 20 years old and MIPIM is 21 years old, so there is a longstanding relationship here. 

South Kilburn really does seem to be on a bit of a roll now (although there was still the ritual kerfuffle this Saturday morning when one of our officers had to come over to my place to get me to sign emergency papers before I flew out to MIPIM; same thing happened last year! Ah, the course of urban regeneration never did run smooth). 

I am really thrilled to report that the Homes and Communities Agency have come through with a very innovative and creative deal, awarding Brent council funding for the building of 500 new homes in place of crumbling 18-storey tower blocks on the South Kilburn Estate.

London and Quadrant (L&Q) are our chosen partner, the two sites (Albert Road and Carlton Vale) are being sold to them with - and this is the crucial part of the deal - the proceeds then being reinvested into the regeneration of the South Kilburn Estate. 

All parties, from HCA throughout, are investing for the long term here. It's a serious group effort.

Two-hundred and eighty-six new homes will be delivered now and the next phase of regeneration can begin. What a huge relief. 

Here you see a lovely photograph of the leader of Brent, cllr Paul Lorber (Liberal Democrat) on the right side of the picture and the lead member for regeneration cllr John Detre (Conservative) on the left, pretending that it is they themselves who will be demolishing the reviled bison blocks. 

A double-page spread in the Times' Bricks & Mortar section today has the screaming headline "Inner-city regeneration has 'failed to materialise'".

Another feature in the four page section asks whether the 2012 Olympic project is enough to "save Stratford", whatever that means, and there's a review of Heron's planned 36-storey tower in the City.

I will be studying this feature over the weekend and formally responding to my friends at The Times, as is right and proper, but I am afraid to say that I have been expecting this for some time.

Regular readers of this blog will know how deeply troubled I am about the waste that we've witnessed in the regeneration sector over the last ten years and our attenuated need to do something about it and fast. Sooner or later, someone was going to notice. And I'm sorry to say I predict a spate of such articles in the next few weeks. There has been waste. And people are right to be angry.

BURA chips away at our mission to share best practice and we are making some real inroads at sharing what works out there and - more importantly - what doesn't. We must step up our efforts on this front.

Our very best offer is Regeneration Masterclass 2010. Never before has it been as important to have a forum to enable senior managers from the public private and community sectors to meet, learn and share knowledge.

A lovely guy came up to me after the Sheffield gig the other day and thanked me for being kind to him a few months ago, when he had on-spec approached me after he had been made redundant by St Modwen.

Nigel Cunis - who is clearly a very talented bloke - has now found gainful employment at Sheffield City Council in their property department. So that's great for him and even greater for Sheffield.

It was a delight to meet him, and his colleague, Nalin Seneviratne, a pair of complete charmers, both ex-private sector and both great appointments for any council badly needing professionals who bring a bit of business discipline and rigour to a challenging property portfolio.

I can see the two of these as being very proactive in this market; they clearly had not missed the fact that it could be land of opportunity out there, and this is a refreshing new mindset for a local authority.

There should be more opportunities for people to cross from the private sector to the public sector, and back, for the health of regeneration. This should not be the rarity, this should be the norm. I always encourage folk I meet from the private sector (like those made redundant in recent years from real estate consultancies) to have a stint in the public sector. And vice versa.

It's done wonders for the likes of Reg, who is now a fully rounded urban regeneration professional if ever you needed an exemplar (despite his slightly irreverent remarks on this blog) and I would encourage others to follow suit. Out of your comfort zone, you learn. You develop.

I don't know why we never learn. There are a number of excellent business reasons, more than enough really, for public sector agencies, particularly those with land or other assets seeking partners for development, to be out at MIPIM.

But already this year Croydon's had a serious drubbing in the weekend papers and who knows how many red-top reporters will be sent out to stalk Boris Johnson around the duty-free shop in Nice airport as he attempts to buy some perfume for the missus whilst beating a hasty retreat having (apologetically) spent only one day at the event in order not to provoke press attention.

As with so many other things, we never seem to share best practice. We need to pool local authority experience and devise a blueprint for public sector attendees at MIPIM to get the best price for participation, and the best value for so doing.

Too frequently, elected members and officers alike are left defenceless before the onslaught of journalists on the hunt for waste-of-public-money stories. We need to track contacts made by local authorities at MIPIM over the last ten years and see what investment was leveraged as a result; the more sensationalist in the press pack may not have much of a leg to stand on then!

Smart local authorities see clearly that MIPIM is a valuable forum in which to promote regeneration projects and attract inward investment. Having said that, with a potential 25% cut in public sector budgets over next few years, we're going to have to work cuter and smarter if we are to keep local authorities - so very vital to the Cannes experience - in the MIPIM fold.

To Sheffield, for a lovely day out with my NBFs, Pro-Sheffield, stylishly hosted by Nabarro in their superb canal-side office. If you ever were looking for a living example of a regeneration strategy predicated entirely on superlative public realm delivery, Sheffield is, of course, the pre-eminent city in the UK.

Given what an exemplar it is, it is to my eternal discredit that I hadn't been there since I was a student and my old mate Mark Hatton had been President of Sheffield Poly (so about 1806, then).

Yes, I was mightily impressed by Sheffield! And also mightily impressed also by the group of concerned professionals who had come together to debate "Shaping the Agenda for Regeneration and the Built Environment". These are serious people who care passionately about what happens next.

And we had a bit of knock about fun. I was characteristically badly behaved as usual (actually, I think I'm getting worse! I just can't help myself really as I do find my default position to be incandescent-with-rage at the waste in the regeneration sector over the last ten or more years of the rising market).

And I didn't merely rehearse my usual "why oh why" shtick about TIFs (although that came out too of course) but I found myself fulminating at the tiers of intermediate structures, the top heavy apparatus of the regeneration sector. It is a sad fact that there is simply no other industry that can support the amount of overhead currently committed to regeneration structures (not actual delivery, note, but back office activity).

The kidult texted me from Exeter to say (and I quote) "Until 1948 there was a medal for town planning in the Olympic games. Love you." Can this be true?  (The medal for town planning thing, not the love bit). 

Mike Hayes? Leonora? Alex? Can you shed any light please?  

On interrogation it transpires that kidult got this from QI - that fount of all adolescent knowledge - so I guess it must be true. 

How absolutely marvellous! Let's get this medal reinstated immediately. After all, it's our show next, surely. (And you try telling that to the IOC!).

Talking of town planning, some of my correspondents have been anxious as to what transpired down in Ambridge - er, Lopen, sorry - at the planning committee the other night. I tapped up Teresa Sienkiewicz for a report on the latest in the saga. It seems that the proposal to extend the site has been withdrawn!

Please see the very nice photograph(s) of me in a digger-thing on the South Kilburn estate. I have to say, what a total thrill!

Of course, the reality is I wouldn't have any idea as to what to do with the digger-thing (other than pose for pictures in it) but it does your heart good to see the next round of demolition seriously underway at South Kilburn and four more planning permissions in the pipeline. 

Councillor Anthony Dunn, our resident and vigilant eco-warrior, is seeing us right on the greening of the estate and, given that we're necessarily doing things piecemeal, there has had to be some innovative fancy footwork from the planners on the phasing. 

There is a massive element of retro-fitting involved here, and it's complicated. Pragmatism is the watchword. This does not quite go to the heart of the affordability versus sustainability debate (more on this, this week I suspect), but it certainly makes some contribution. 

I was out plotting again with some pals the other evening, all senior regeneration practitioners (for which read: "old") of one sort or another and, admittedly, a glass or two of wine had been taken.

We got onto discussing whether "sustainability is the new regeneration" in terms of being the new emerging exciting industry to be part of, for the Noughties and the Tens, in the same way as regeneration was the party-to-be-at for the Eighties and the Nineties. And our verdict was: well, yes!

The parallels are all there. Environmental jobs are created on the fringe and (at least in the general perception) are still not mainstream. Despite a pretty coherent case, environmentalists still seem to be outsiders, banging on the door of the establishment. Those who choose the environment industry tend to be as messianic and passionate, as pointy-headed, as we were when we "invented" urban regeneration, in London Docklands (among other places) all those years ago.

Environmental projects tend to need the same skills that we deploy in urban regeneration - partnership working, building alliances and coalitions, an ability to manage cocktail funding, a forensic understanding of risk management capacity in both the public and private sectors. All this coupled with excellent technical grasp of one's subject and the patience of a saint! What's the betting that all this sounds very familiar to anyone in a so-called "green job"?

Just had to post this fantastic picture of Dan Sequerra, chair of the BURA Community Inspired Awards Panel, giving Stewart Jackson MP, the Conservative spokesperson on Regeneration, the "finger treatment" at BURA@20.

I adore Dan-Dan-the-Portuguese-Man. I love him with a fierce passion, but there is no avoiding the fact that the bloke can talk for Britain. Poor Stewart Jackson couldn't get a word in! And then you've got dear old Jim Briscoe of CB Richard Ellis looking on in exasperation, patiently waiting to have a serious conversation with Mr Jackson about the Private Rented Sector Initiative.

Ross Sturley is running a caption competition for this photograph around the BURA family as we speak. Current leader is "and you can put your localism...".

On a serious note though, it was a joy to bring something fresh and new to the table at BURA@20. Something that specifically addresses the heart of the problems that we're facing today: the need for us to have to respond to massive regeneration challenges with no money AND the need to find work for regeneration professionals who are out of work.

The admirable "Place West London" weekly e-letter carries the news this morning that Boris and Brent council have approved plans for the phased demolition and redevelopment of the Barham Park Estate. 

This is hot on the heels of the hefty approval that we got in nearby South Kilburn last week, thus neatly proving not one, but two, of my recent pet theses: first that Brent is the new Southwark and, secondly, that there is no better time than this point in the cycle for local authorities to bring their de-risked projects to market.

Get your skates on out there!

Construction at Barham will start this summer and is estimated to take five years to complete, in this case by our old friends Notting Hill Housing Association and the late Alan Cherry's Countryside Properties (btw, Richard, Guy and others, I can only apologise about not being able to attend Alan's Memorial Service in a couple of weeks. I will be strutting my stuff out at MIPIM on that day, and I have to earn my crust. I will be deeply sad not to be with you).   

If it's not one darned thing, it's another!  No sooner do I get through the BURA@20 Conference last week then we have to start working on our BURA@20 Seminar at Mipim: "More-for-Less Regeneration".

No peace for the wicked, I guess.

The BURA@20 Seminar will be the hot ticket this year, to be held in the Room Croisette, Gray D'Albion Hotel, 38 Rue des Serbes, Cannes, at midday on Wednesday 17 March. 

We are trying to achieve rather a lot at this event but it promises much, and fresh from our interesting debates of last week, we already have a great deal of interest. 

BURA always aims to combine an interesting mix of people - life's rich tapestry if you like - and we have tried to get a balance between private sector and public sector speakers (and also, from the local authority side, both a senior officer and a distinguished elected member).