Regeneration

Brian Binley Excerpts

Thursday 19th April 2012 Westminster Hall

[Mr Betts]

I will explain what I think it is about. The hon. Gentleman anticipates me. I do not know whether it is helpful to give a simple definition of regeneration to cover all possible examples, but it should reflect some elements of regeneration schemes.

The hon. Gentleman’s first point is right. There was a lot of mixing up of regeneration and growth. For example, High Speed 2 and Crossrail were mentioned in the Government’s regeneration paper as examples of funding to help regeneration. It is a fairly big stretch of anyone’s imagination to link HS2 and Crossrail to the potential for regeneration schemes. That is a little step too far. I am happy to support those schemes and believe they will help economic growth nationally, but I am not sure whether they really relate to particular regeneration.

[Mr Brian Binley (Northampton South) (Con)]

The hon. Gentleman is making a great presentation and has produced an important report. In respect of Crossrail, particularly, Committee members were able to get a station in Woolwich, which was an important part of the process in this House that will have a massive effect on regeneration in that area, which so badly needs it. Perhaps the hon. Gentleman should be a little careful about sizeable projects and their impact on specific communities.

[Mr Betts]

I am all in favour of HS2, which will be good for growth in northern cities, such as Sheffield. I am a strong supporter of that and have been for a long time. When considering specific areas—coming back to the point made by the hon. Member for Halesowen and Rowley Regis (James Morris)—regeneration is a response to market failure, as we saw in Burnley, where houses were sold for next to nothing. To take the point made by the hon. Member for Gillingham and Rainham (Rehman Chishti), there is a wider issue of failure of environment, dereliction, failure of skills and lack of employment opportunities.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Brian Binley (Northampton South) (Con)]

It is a pleasure, Sir Alan, to serve under your chairmanship again. We spent two and a half years almost living together on Crossrail, and if you would like me to define that further, I am happy to, but perhaps you are pleased to let it go. It is good to be working with you again.

I again congratulate the hon. Member for—is it Sheffield, Brightside?

[Mr Betts]

Sheffield South East.

[Mr Binley]

I apologise. Perhaps it is my history that takes me back to Brightside.

The hon. Member for Sheffield South East (Mr Betts) has, with other Committee members, done a remarkable and important job. I also congratulate him on obtaining this debate on regeneration, which is a vital part of coming out of recession. This is an opportune time to be discussing the subject.

I welcome the report. I understand the Government’s emphasis on a localist footprint, which is very encouraging, and that was echoed by the hon. Gentleman. However, some resonances in the report caused me concern. The anticipated absence of funding must be taken into account. We created local enterprise partnerships from a perspective of getting local involvement, but we rather underestimated the importance of funding, particularly in the early stages of their work. That is not directly under the Minister’s control, but it is an important part of the subject.

Too much emphasis can be placed on changing the planning system to solve our problems. The issue is not all about what the Government and local government organisations can do. Planning always needs changing. It never pleases everyone at the same time, and can be over-bureaucratic, but its reformation—we have seen a number of reforms over the years—is not necessarily the great Aladdin’s lamp that it is painted as being. I have some concern about that.

The Committee’s enthusiasm for a national regeneration strategy could muddy the waters if done incorrectly. That needs careful consideration but, having known its Chairman for a considerable time, I know that that will be in his mind.

The trouble with our economy at the moment is that we are faced with a massively changing dynamic within the economic world, which has created a heavy price for some localities. De-industrialisation has left a vacuum in many communities and needs special attention. I am thinking particularly of the coal community, and communities that relied on heavy manufacturing. It is not a new problem, but it is an existing one, and we must recognise it. It brings with it a changing pattern of employment and lifestyle, which has often rendered existing infrastructure outdated and sometimes even irrelevant. That adds to the problems that regeneration revolves around, and we must be careful to take those matters into account.

A very disturbing problem is young people who have struggled to find their place in the labour market. When I left school at 15, I knew that I would go straight into employment. I knew that there would be a job. It was in a shoe factory, which was the local industry, but that did not matter. I went into the workplace, and working has always been an integral concept and part of my life. It affected and moulded my lifestyle and my attitude to life. If we allow a generation to continue to think that life can be about not working, and if we allow some people even to see that as a potential career, we will do massive damage to their chance of enjoyment and achievement in life. We must take that into account when talking about regeneration.

The mindset about regeneration is often negative and backward looking in that many people grow attached to a specific area and the work they are involved in. Often, regeneration, if done badly, can create the mindset of backward-looking negativity. We must be aware of that.

I beg the Minister to recognise that risk aversion is almost a national disease now. If many of the risk management techniques that we have now had existed at the time of the industrial revolution, many projects would not have got off the ground, and Britain might still be messing about in a pre-industrial age. I want to change the concept of risk management. It should not be about stopping things happening, but it often becomes that, because that is an easy way of looking at it. I beg the Minister to see risk aversion as a problem instead of an answer.

If we are to make regeneration effective, we must focus on the positive. When regenerating an area, we must encourage people to feel part of that regeneration. Investors need to experience the confidence of the knowledge that people are involved and have ownership of their areas. All too often, regeneration has been seen as a council responsibility and, by golly, we know that when government becomes involved in projects, as many things go wrong as go right. I want people to be involved so that they can check, police and give to a regeneration policy, to avoid such negativity. I want regeneration to be owned by the local citizenry. We must find ways of involving them. It is no good just putting up posters advertising a 12-week consultation. If a project lasts 10 or 15 years, they must be involved for 10 or 15 years. We must listen to them, and react to what they say. Otherwise, they will not feel that they have ownership, and that is important.

I turn to Northampton, as the Minister knew I would. It is one of the fastest growing towns in the country, which also creates problems. Housing was the object of the previous Government’s growth agenda, as it is of the present Government. By about 2030, our population will increase by 50%, which is a massive change. It is a difficult change, whether for good or bad, and it needs to be managed properly. I have some leaflets here if anyone wants to know about the Northampton Alive project in more depth. You allowed me to get away with that, Sir Alan. The 10 to 15-year project involves heritage, and Northampton has a long heritage. Parliament met there during the days of Edward II and Edward III. Thomas à Becket was there but, not surprisingly, shot out of town quickly when the king asked,

“Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?”

Sadly, we saw the result of that later.

Northampton enjoys a massive heritage, and we must include that in our view of regeneration. It is central, well connected, and has an enviable record of world-class business investment with the prospect of an even brighter future. The Northampton Alive project consists of a series of 14 or so ambitious regeneration schemes across the piece including, hopefully, an iconic new railway, a landmark waterside development, new and improved shopping—I could go on. The project has captured the people’s imagination, which is what this is all about. We are not focusing on missed opportunities from the past, but preparing to optimise our chances for the future. That is about involving people and getting them excited. When I knocked on people’s doors in the election, some said, “Northampton’s been dead for 40 years.” Reinvigorating those people is a vital part of regeneration. We must understand that regeneration changes the mindset of individuals, as well as the structure of towns.

The real strength of Northampton Alive is that it reaches beyond the confines of development to involve our university, our schools and colleges, local businesses, the borough and county councils, political parties across the piece, West Northamptonshire Development Corporation and the local enterprise partnership. Ownership is diversified because all those organisations are involved in at least one project, and many are involved in several.

[Mark Pawsey]

One thing that came out of the Select Committee’s work was the need to engage local communities. My hon. Friend mentioned a number of bodies involved in the Northampton scheme, but many of them strike me as fairly corporate. What is happening to communicate with individual people in local communities across the piece?

[Mr Binley]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right to mention that. I can show Members my newsletter. Councillors from all political parties have encouraged people to become involved in Northampton Alive. In the town, we have built a small steering group, as well as a forum of 60 to 80 leading people from across the business, cultural and heritage sectors, the political parties and the Churches. This is a bounce-back, talk-to, ideas-back operation, and those involved meet every four to six months. This is a 10 to 15-year project, and we know we have the involvement and input of local people. We are not only telling all the people of the town about Northampton Alive, but advising them to become involved in it, and that is important.

[Neil Carmichael (Stroud) (Con)]

I, too, am keen on regeneration. In Stroud, we have the huge, £20 million canal project. The local authority is very much involved, but I would emphasise the need to involve the community. I have set up a canal forum with the aim and objective of making sure that communities—those without the labels my hon. Friend the Member for Rugby (Mark Pawsey) mentioned—are involved. Does my hon. Friend the Member for Northampton South (Mr Binley) agree that the key instrument in this—the one I shall be using —is neighbourhood planning, which will be a useful tool in engaging our local communities and enabling them to set out the framework and the ideas for these projects?

[Mr Binley]

There is no end to the consultation and involvement we should have with the people of our communities. All too often, such projects have been seen as the council’s business, and things often happen in people’s backyards without their even knowing they are happening. That is totally unacceptable. I want to explore every way of involving people and to make every effort to ensure that their views are taken into account. In that way, we will create a successful project, even when it lasts for 10 to 15 years. I therefore accept my hon. Friend’s comments.

My county stands at the crossroads of England, and it has a number of things going for it. Those of us involved in regeneration have focused on relationships, and we have kept our ambitions in line with what we can achieve. There are three real priorities. Improved connectivity is vital. Leadership in climate change and biodiversity are also important. Finally, there is a stronger, greener community.

Our opportunities are limited, but also enhanced, by certain factors. Population growth is a key factor, and I have talked about the town’s growth. Our economy is worth more than £13.5 billion, but £1 billion of the money earned in the town is spent outside it because our retail offer is not good enough. Dealing with that is another part of the regeneration exercise.

We do, however, have impressive links with the rest of the world, particularly the middle east and China. We can use those links to attract businesses to the jewel in the crown of our regeneration—the enterprise zone. We hope to create 10,000 jobs, and perhaps more, in the next eight years, with 390 new businesses, £5 billion of private sector investment and about 400,000 square metres of new employment and retail space. That is a massive operation, which needs to be sold globally if we are to attract enough people, particularly in high technology and precision engineering. That is what we need to do if our enterprise zone, which is the biggest in the country, with more than half the land area of all the enterprise zones announced in the second tranche, is to work.

Northamptonshire provides an important lesson. It is an important pilot project, from which other people can, I hope, learn. Regeneration is an opportunity that should be grasped positively. Too often, chances across the country have been missed through misdirected optimism and inflated ambitions. When we set out on such projects, we must be realistic and know that they can happen. That is why we need to involve all the groups we are talking about, and more. As I have said, everybody needs to own the project.

Regeneration can unlock so much that is good about a locality. When we sell regeneration, it is vital that we also sell lifestyle. We are talking not just about buildings, construction and fabric. People will not move to Northampton for a decent business site alone, although having one helps; they will move there if we can make sure the town has heart and life and can provide them and their children with a good lifestyle. The more I speak, the more I hope Members will realise that regeneration is a big package, which requires all the involvement I have described.

I am talking about the people retaking ownership of regeneration. That means dropping the pervading negativity. It means stopping focusing on what money is spent and how. It means ensuring that the private and voluntary sectors can work alongside communities. If they work together, projects will gain people’s respect and involvement, and people will want to be part of the regeneration. If we achieve that, the rest will follow.

We can make regeneration an adventure for our local community and for those people who, when I knocked on their doors, repeatedly told me, “Northampton’s been dead for 40 years. Milton Keynes down the road is much healthier and much better placed.” To those people, I say no, it is not. It does not have our regeneration potential, our history, our heritage or our craft industries. We are very well placed—all we have to do is make Northampton alive.

--- Later in debate ---

[Jessica Lee]

I thank the hon. Lady for her intervention, but she may not be surprised when I say that she is tempting me down a path that I am afraid I will resist going down. That is because what is required is a broader approach, which I see being presented through a wider context such as the Localism Act 2011. The emphasis on infrastructure is also important, and I see the coalition Government proceeding with that and putting it in place throughout this year and next year. That is what I hope we can achieve in Erewash.

[Mr Binley]

I thank my hon. Friend for giving way and it is good to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Howarth.

We were involved in the previous Government’s sustainable communities project, which did not have much local involvement at all. It reported directly to the relevant Minister; I think that the first one was Mr John Prescott, as he then was. Lord Rooker was responsible for the report that started that project, but when he was asked about local involvement at a meeting, he said, “Our job is to push through the Government’s plans.” That attitude concerns me enormously, and we need to learn from it. Does my hon. Friend think that that is a proper view to take?

[Jessica Lee]

I essentially agree with my hon. Friend’s points. Local communities have a better understanding of their needs and of their vision for the future than do civil servants and politicians based a long way away—certainly far from Erewash—down in London. I accept that a number of factors are involved, but having strong local leadership and empowering it must be at the heart of what we are all trying to achieve.

I thought that it would assist if I set out this afternoon that it is never just one aspect of such leadership that is required, but a number of different cogs in the wheel. My constituency is very varied, and pockets of it have some of the highest levels of social deprivation in Derbyshire. Erewash is in the south-east corner of the county and, historically, it was in some ways neglected by the county council. Now, however, its needs are recognised and understood, and strong leadership is in place. For example, our local enterprise business partnership—the Erewash partnership—is made up of representatives from across the board, including local government, large companies and small and medium-sized enterprises. Together, they create a robust networking organisation, which brings strong business support for new start-ups and beyond. It is an organisation with vision, and has won national awards for its success. It grew organically, and has always been supported by the local council, which sees that it is a successful formula. Such decisions are best made locally, and not far away in Whitehall or Westminster.

We have also had the benefit of other projects. The Long Eaton townscape heritage initiative has drawn on the constituency’s background. Erewash is in the heart of the east midlands, and lace making, textiles, furniture making and upholstery are an important part of our heritage. It is difficult for me to get through a speech in the House of Commons without reminding Members that we have the one remaining traditional lace factory in the country—Cluny Lace—which made part of the lace for the Duchess of Cambridge’s wedding dress. I will not cease to mention that.

My point is that that heritage has perhaps gone. Local businesses have moved into the service industry, and we have a lot of support for high-tech firms and SMEs moving in. The heritage of train building is extremely important to the area, and also to my family—my grandfather worked on the trains all his life. The local council was able to support the local community, by understanding that heritage and implementing appropriate regeneration in the town centre, to give it a vision and make it an enjoyable place to live and work. That project is ongoing.

The feeling is equally strongly in Ilkeston. The Minister will be pleased to hear that we have set up our town team there and have submitted—as have many other Members—a bid under the Portas pilot scheme. We have our fingers and toes crossed. The project brought together not only the local authority and the local enterprise partnership but transport groups, Able Disabled Ltd, Wash Arts, and other small businesses, to provide what is required for regeneration—vision and strong local leadership, as I said originally.

I attended this debate because I wanted to point out that regeneration has to be locally focused. It has to be what is right for a local community, and if communities are empowered with the right structure, opportunities and funding, that can be achieved. We will certainly continue to do all that we can in Erewash.

--- Later in debate ---

[Roberta Blackman-Woods]

My hon. Friend makes an excellent point. She said something earlier that I want to touch on. When I was reading the Government’s document on regeneration, I had an image in my head of people washing their hands. I had that image because the words on the paper were telling me that the Government are saying that they will just provide a whole new set of powers, but will not provide support to enable anything to be done. That is a travesty.

More than anything, the previous schemes showed that we need a holistic approach to regeneration. As the Chair of the Select Committee said, we have learned that we need a long-term approach to regeneration. My experience in my area of County Durham, which suffered massively from the deindustrialisation of the 1980s, is that by 2007 those areas were only just starting to be turned around after about 10 years of investment, because it takes a very long time, especially when trying to turn round areas that have gone through years and years of dilapidation, lack of investment and unemployment. It takes a long time to change cultures and to embed new opportunities.

I, for one, think it is a tragedy that when I met my local authority a couple of weeks ago to find out what we were going to do about two areas in Durham whose regeneration has stalled, it said that it had very few resources available, but of course will do what it can with the council’s budget to support community-based regeneration in one or two areas, although the level and scale will not address the issues.

[Mr Binley]

The hon. Lady’s comments are both interesting and constructive, in keeping with this debate. My concern about money is where it can be taken from to ensure that the sort of investment that is wanted in regeneration takes place. We would have to find money from somewhere else to give more to regeneration.

[Roberta Blackman-Woods]

The hon. Gentleman makes an important point, and I will come to it in a moment.

Before abandoning regeneration altogether, we need to know whether the Minister sought a comprehensive evaluation of what worked previously, and what could be improved. Under this coalition Government, we are witnessing a return to the same old Tory policies, with a 42% cut in the decent homes programme and the failure adequately to support the building of new homes and facilities that many communities are crying out for and which, importantly, could be a catalyst for private sector development in the area.

Interestingly, the report documents 76 initiatives that the Government claim are policies that citizens can draw on to regenerate their areas. I am sure that communities are ecstatic about the fact that a civil society red tape taskforce is on hand to help to regenerate their areas, alongside the local government resources review taskforce, which will no doubt help regeneration. I have a very specific question for the Minister. I was surprised by some of the initiatives listed in the document, particularly the Supporting People fund. I understand that the fund assists local authorities to help people with acute care needs to pay for the assistance they need. Is the Minister seriously suggesting that the Supporting People budget should be diverted to regeneration initiatives? That is the point that the hon. Gentleman raised. We are making it difficult for local authorities in terms of the priorities for spending that they are facing.

Even the few schemes that could have a positive impact on communities are not working. For example, a survey for Inside Housing found that only 21% of the authorities surveyed were spending the new homes bonus on housing and planning-related projects, and that not all of them provided direct benefits to communities in exchange for consent to development. That prompts the question why the new homes bonus is even on the list of regeneration initiatives if the money is not being ploughed into communities.

The Minister and others have made much of the regional growth fund, but I will not repeat the comments by Lord Heseltine. We appreciate what he said, although I am not sure that the Minister has fully understood exactly what he said. I accept that, so far, the regional growth fund has done reasonably well for the north-east in terms of the number of projects, but not necessarily the money involved—[Interruption.] I am rather worried about the thunder, which may be anger, but I am sure that it is not directed at me, so I shall carry on. The crucial point is that even businesses that received round one money received only 20% of the money, so it has had little impact on the ground, and those companies do not necessarily provide employment for people from the most disadvantaged communities. That is why the definition of regeneration is so important. I will not stand in the Chamber and say that economic regeneration is not important; of course it is, and Opposition Members are pushing the Government to have a plan for growth in the economy. My point is merely that economic growth and regeneration are not the same things, and I am not sure that that is clear from what the Government say because the whole concentration is on economic development.

Given all that, as the Minister knows well, there is no strategy for regeneration. The concept of localism is being used to say, particularly to poorer communities, “Here you are, this is the Localism Act. Get on with it.” There is no understanding of the need to direct funds to certain neighbourhoods to compensate for market failure, or to assist when market conditions make development and regeneration more difficult.

Regeneration is about renewing large-scale infrastructure, and the Labour party welcomes the money that is going into projects such as Crossrail. We think that large-scale infrastructure development is crucial for the future economic development of the country, but regeneration is also about renewing communities and developing policies to enable that to happen.

[Mr Binley]

The shadow Minister is being generous in giving way and I am grateful. Is there not an opportunity to use the enterprise zones that are connected with the new community infrastructure levies—I am actually still a section 106 man—to ensure that people provide jobs and training for some of the NEETs about whom we are concerned?

[Roberta Blackman-Woods]

The hon. Gentleman has raised two important issues. I was going to come on to those points, but I will make a comment now. The evidence given to the Select Committee about enterprise zones, and indeed my experience—I remember the first time that we had enterprise zones—suggest that although businesses moved into those zones because of the tax incentives and grants, the jobs were not necessarily new. It remains to be seen whether enterprise zones will create new jobs: if they do, that will be great. However, those jobs will not necessarily be available to people from the most disadvantaged areas, because other things such as training, skills, transport and good housing have to be in place. There has to be a holistic approach.

I am glad that the hon. Gentleman mentioned CILs. One worrying thing about the late changes that were made to the Localism Bill before it became an Act was that it became easier for developers to wangle their way out of a CIL and for schemes to be designated as unviable if a CIL were applied. That is something that we will have to watch carefully over time. Of course we know that it is a difficult economic environment and that things will be difficult for many developers. Nevertheless, it is important that CILs are applied where possible.

In my last few minutes—

--- Later in debate ---

[Grant Shapps]

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his intervention, which may just describe a fundamental difference in belief and understanding between the Government and the Opposition about what drives an economy. If by regeneration, the hon. Gentleman simply means how much public money we can pump in to create public sector jobs in order to continue to sustain an unsustainable future, then perhaps he makes a point. My understanding of economics and the economy says that unless we are able to create wealth in this country and produce jobs that are not simply the Government employing people but the private sector employing people, we will never see real growth.

It is good to see that 500,000 new jobs have been created in the economy since the election and that unemployment has fallen this week. That shift is fundamental; it is important and it happens through regeneration, which excludes things such as the regional growth fund. It includes the enterprise zones, to which hon. Members have referred. The hon. Member for City of Durham (Roberta Blackman-Woods) made some good points about whether such schemes can end up displacing activity, but I do not believe that that will be the case. Hertfordshire, in my part of the country, does not have an enterprise zone, and I do not think that all of our businesses will get up and move to an area that does. Enterprise zones are about creating the right economic dynamic for new businesses, which is really important.

Local enterprise partnerships are a really important driving factor. In trying to understand our approach to regeneration, hon. Members talk about having some big Government document. Essentially what the Select Committee report says is that our document is too thin. From what I have heard and read in the report, it says, “What we need is a big document. If we had a big document somehow the country would regenerate better.” That has been tried and it has failed time and again. What we are giving the communities in this country is the ability to run their own regeneration policy and to do it through schemes such as the enterprise zones and the local enterprise partnerships, which make a real and sustainable difference.

I have heard some very impassioned speeches this afternoon about what is happening in different parts of the country, including Northampton Alive, which shows how communities can and will, if they have the leadership and determination, come together to regenerate.

[Mr Binley]

The Minister is most generous in giving way and I am grateful for what he says because it will work well at home. Does he recognise that our enterprise zone, which is the largest in the second tranche, is specifically for precision engineering and high technology? In order to fill it up with 400 companies, we have to go and sell abroad, because we have not got those companies that would want to move in this country anyway. The enterprise zone is a major driver to get inward investment into this country from the developed nations.