Manchester roundtable: Funding

With the private sector still fragile and looming cuts in public spending it was no surprise the panel felt regeneration players have to adapt to win the arguments for funding from now on.

Government support for regeneration must go to flagship projects that have the best chance of succeeding, said Mike Horner of Muse Developments.

Eddie Smith of New East Manchester picked up this point: "There has always been an issue about whether funding follows opportunity and the ability to create wealth for UK plc or is money going to follow the need to manage decline in areas. At a time when public money is going to be reduced very significantly where do you put that limited resource."

The dependence on public subsidy is already leading to a greater focus on the sustainability credentials of projects. Public sector occupiers demand the greenest space, pointed out Phil Basten, head of the property finance unit at the Co-operative Bank, and the institutional investors want the public sector covenants.

He added: "The people that invest in Manchester aren't just Mancunians, they're from London, from the West Midlands, from Asia and a lot of what we do depends on the perception of Manchester where they are being absolutely spot on. It is essential that Manchester is still moving forward and creating places to invest in and that new image of itself."

Public sector gap-funding remains crucial but should only go where the private sector is interested in following. Karen Hirst, development director at Central Salford, said: "If you're not ready with a vision and a plan and projects then when the opportunities arise you can't respond.

"If you look at the way in which public spending is allocated there will unfortunately be some projects that don't come to fruition and that money needs to be spent somewhere else."

Richard Hatton, director of Urban Splash, added: "The BBC coming to Salford is going to emanate and reverberate around the property market and help investment.

Manchester and its hinterland has to continue to promise and deliver a return for UK plc.