Brendan Nevin

Going for Growth: Prestige Projects in Three British Cities

In response to the global restructuring of industry in the 1970s and 1980s, the elected governments of economically depressed cities have increasingly adopted growth-orientated local economic development policies. A key component of pro-growth local economic development strategies, adopted by UK city governments and central government agencies has been investment in, and promotion of, high-profile prestige property developments and civic boosterism activities. This paper provides a review of the local economic development responses of three UK local authorities (Birmingham, Sheffield and Manchester) to economic restructuring and the intensification of inter-city competition. Through an examination of the three case studies, the paper highlights: the debate concerning the validity of pro-growth, local economic development policies; the rationales behind the adoption of such policies; the financing and implementation of pro-growth strategies; economic impacts; and the distributional consequences of pro-growth strategies focused on prestige developments.

Prestige Projects and Urban Regeneration in the 1980s and 1990s: a review of benefits and limitations

A prominent feature of urban regeneration initiatives implemented in Britain in the 1980s and early 1990s has been the development of agship projects and in particular prestige projects (a hybrid form of agship). Over the past 15 years numerous urban development corporations and increasingly local authorities, governing large cities such as Birmingham, Manchester and Shef® eld, have sought to utilise such developments as an important tool of local economic development and as a means of securing the physical regeneration of declining urban areas (Hoyle, 1988; CLES, 1990; Coulson, 1990; Hambleton, 1990, 1991; Foley, 1991; Bianchini et al., 1992; Imrie & Thomas, 1993; Wilkinson, 1992; Loftman & Nevin, 1994a; Smyth, 1994). This approach to urban regeneration, termed `the prestige model’ (see Loftman & Nevin, 1994a), is underpinned by the ideology of privatism, which emphasises the primacy of the private sector in reviving the fortunes of depressed urban areas, and the secondary role of the public sector in creating the `right’ conditions for private sector wealth creation (Barnekov et al., 1989; Loftman & Nevin, 1992). The rationale behind the development of agship projects as a vehicle for vehicle for urban regeneration was not, however, `new’ to urban policy in the 1980s. This is evidenced by the establishment of earlier agships such as Birmingham’ s National Exhibition Centre in the 1970s and the Bull Ring Shopping Centre development in the 1960s. What was new , however, during the 1980s was the a remarkable consensus about the usefulness of agships among public and private actors involved in the process of urban regenerationo (Bianchini et al., 1992, p. 247). This consensus was re ected in the commonly held view amongst policy and decision makers that a a city without a agship did not have a regeneration strategyo (O’ Toole & Usher, 1992, p. 221). In this context urban regeneration became synonymous with the physical and economic revitalisation of urban areasÐ that is, transforming parts of urban areas and making them attractive to property developers and inward private investors. Nevertheless, despite this apparent consensus a number of commentators have consistently

Prestige project developments: Economic renaissance or economic myth? A case study of Birmingham

Outline This article examines the City of Birminghams attempt to generate economic activity through the construction of “prestige projects” and the refurbishment of its Central Business District in the 1980s. Birmingham City Councils claims to have generated thousands of jobs and £2 billion of private sector investment from its prestige developments are examined and the distributional impacts of the “claimed” job creation totals are also detailed. The article concludes that the global investment and employment figures claimed have been exaggerated and many of the jobs directly generated have contributed to the growth of the secondary labour market in Birmingham.

The Housing Market Renewal Programme: Origins, Outcomes and the Effectiveness of Public Policy Interventions in a Volatile Market

This paper examines the operation of the Housing Market Renewal Pathfinder Programme in England over the period 2002–10. The programme aimed to address high vacancy rates and low house prices in inner-city and declining industrial areas of northern and Midlands cities. The programme achieved some success in generating new housing supply in areas where private developers had previously been reluctant to invest, but had only limited impacts on high vacancy rates. House prices rose sharply in the programme areas, but also in similar areas outside the scope of the programme, driven by wider market-led pressures, including increased demand arising from international in-migration and a boom in speculative investment. With a change in government in 2010, the programme was abruptly wound up and the future of the programme areas is uncertain.

Renewing the black country. An assessment of the employment impact of the black country UDC

Summary The combination of the tendency for reclaimed sites to be occupied by firms moving around the Black Country and for corporate relocations to involve a significant importation of staff, in conjunction with modest levels of additionality for grant‐aided activity, helps to explain the persistently high relative levels of unemployment both in the UDA and the wider Black Country area. The focus on securing investment which was likely to be attracted to the area anyway has been an integral part of the BCDCs development strategy. The 1995 Corporate Plan notes that the aim was to attract: local and Midlands‐based companies; external enquiries having a clear need for a Midlands location; large inward investment enquiries which could go anywhere, but have a low level of plant and machinery and to whom grant is of a lesser significance. The success in attracting corporate relocations was noted in the research conducted by Prisim (1995) which examined the performance of the Black Country economy compared to ...

Dealing with Housing Abandonment: A Coherent Framework to Facilitate Urban Restructuring?

A constant feature of English Urban Policy over the last 30 years has been an uniformity of approach, driven by a broad consensus surrounding the causes of economic decline, decentralisation and the concentrations of disadvantage which have characterised the larger towns and cities. This geographical homogeneity was effectively ended with the introduction of the Sustainable Communities Plan by the Government in 2003 (ODPM, 2003). This Plan recognises that there are major imbalances in supply and demand for labour and housing between the North and South of England and proposes major house building in ‘growth areas’ in the South and East of England and ‘Market Renewal Areas’ in parts of the Midlands and the North. The Communities Plan represents a considerable commitment by Government to achieving ‘sustainable communities’ in varying urban and economic environments. During the spending review period 2003/04 – 2005/06, £610 million has been allocated to fund the growth areas whilst a further £500 million has been allocated to Market Renewal Areas. This article briefly focuses on the Policy Framework within which the Market Renewal pathfinders will operate and argues that the Government will have to rapidly improve its ability to co-ordinate regeneration and planning at the national and regional level if the initiatives are to succeed. This conclusion is illustrated by exploring the policy framework in the North West of England, the English Region which is experiencing the most widespread low demand for low income housing (DTLR, 2000).