University of Liverpool visiting professor lecture series

Following the successful TCPA/University of Liverpool Northern Futures conference, this lecture series explores from different perspectives the ways in which positive planning in the new political context can help reduce the north south divide.

Thursday 9 February 2012

Plans That Worked

The culture of British planning and its implications for Northern revival

Prof Ian Wray, Former Chief Planner, Northwest Development Agency

Are current planning reforms in a great tradition of British plans, or an experiment in anarchism? Are Atlantic Gateway and the Heseltine/ Leahy report on Liverpool classic examples of British planning style? This lecture will shed some light on such questions by looking at four case studies of success in British planning for major infrastructure: Birkenhead Park; Colossus (arguably the world's first electronic computer); the M6 Motorway; and the Channel Tunnel Rail Link. All four case studies seem to suggest that the defining characteristics of successful plans are individualism, improvisation, determined personal initiative, and decentralised governance. The lecture will briefly consider why this should be the case, reflecting on the nature of government and civil society in Britain.

Thursday 23 February 2012

Location, Location, Localism

Implications for property investors and infrastructure providers

Prof Peter Nears, Strategic Planning Director, Peel Holdings

There is a saying in the property business – Location, Location, Location. It is ultimately reflected in land values; higher in city centres, but also the South of England.

Planning plays a role in regulating use and, in doing so, limits supply and hence enhances values. It also seeks to regenerate areas of low value. It does this through the spatial element of planning aligned to economic

initiatives. But even in a period of prosperity, national imbalance and local divergence increased. The move to a localism agenda in a difficult economic landscape has implications for private sector property investors and infrastructure providers. Can Atlantic Gateway help rebalance the national economy and drive forward growth?

Thurs 16 February 2012

Mersey 2030?

The sustainable development of Atlantic

Gateway

Prof Walter Menzies, Former Chief

Executive, Mersey Basin Campaign

The economy is engulfed in a perfect storm of resource inefficiency, inequalities, value destruction – and the abandonment of regions and regional planning. It is the wholly owned subsidiary of the environment. How to evolve from the age of stupid towards utopia – the world's

cleanest urban river in a landscape and cityscape for prosperity by 2030? Smart, sustainable development with a redefinition of northern prosperity is the only credible route. This demands a visionary, area-focused initiative. Over 25 years, the Mersey Basin Campaign proved that regeneration of degraded waters and watersides on an unprecedented scale was achievable. Its critical success factors can help shape its successor – the emerging Atlantic Gateway Partnership – as the next transformative global exemplar

Thursday 1 March 2012

Living on the Edge: A Mersey Belt perspective

Prof Robert Barr, Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group Warrington BC "Edge Cities" are developments outside the main historical built up areas which cluster around motorway junctions. They were described in the United States by the journalist Joel Garreau. They have a distinctive pattern of land use and are seen quite differently by the people who live work, shop or play there. The rich motorway network of the Mersey Belt has had the, largely unintended, effect of encouraging such developments at its junctions. In this talk we will consider the competition between the emerging "edge cities" and traditional town and city centres in the Mersey Belt and will ask if they can coexist in a sustainable way if planned for effectively.

The events are free of charge and open to all, so please join us and contribute to the debate. Refreshments will be available after each lecture.

Department of Civic Design, School of Environmental Sciences Northern Futures in a Rebalanced Britain Visiting Professor Lecture Series Time : 5.30 – 7pm

Venue : Victoria Gallery and Museum