VIDEO | How do we ensure regeneration projects reach their full potential?
With a focus on developing around railway stations, representatives from local authorities, Network Rail, and the private sector delved into the ins and outs of not only creating a great masterplan, but also ensuring it gets delivered at a roundtable discussion hosted by WW+P Architects and RJP Town Planners.
Participants
- Andrew Dixon, head of high-speed rail infrastructure, delivery, and development programme at Manchester City Council
- James Heather, development director at JSH Consulting
- Ruth Jackson, director at RJP Town Planners
- Kathryn Jump, partner at Shoosmiths
- Nicola Kane, director at Steer
- Alan McBride, technical director at Muse
- Shoaib Mohammad, director of infrastructure at Salford City Council
- Rob Naybour, chair of WW+P Architects
- Jill Stephenson, principal development manager at Network Rail
- Chaired by Julia Hatmaker, editor of Place North West
Key talking points
The conversation started with a focus on masterplanning around railway stations, but quickly morphed into a boarder discussion on best practices regarding delivering large-scale regeneration schemes that involve multiple partners.
Railway stations, and their potential to be the beating heart of their communities, were referenced continually – with an agreement that prioritising getting an area’s infrastructure correct early doors was essential to any project’s success. This does not always mean the railway station itself but could mean getting the roads and active travel pathways redesigned in a way that encourages wayfinding and unlocks land for development.
With schemes that involve transport, there are automatically a lot of partners involved – such as rail companies, local authorities, and public transport bodies. The group’s consensus was that having a clear end vision, one that all partners have bought into, was necessary. Stakeholders need to be brought in as well to ensure they have skin in the game and will work to ensure the project succeeds.
Participants agreed a few key elements to a masterplan’s vision: it must be future-focussed, include design life, and factor in time and duration. Partners for any such project must be willing to compromise, with one guest noting that perfection should never get in the way of delivery. Sometimes, they noted, “good” is genuinely good enough.
Funding is always tricky for large projects, with the group acknowledging that having a speculative scheme that is shovel-ready is important so that you can apply for funding rounds as they emerge.
Finally, the participants agreed it was important to dream big and be greedy – particularly when it comes to land. The more land there is to play with, the more options there are to play with. Given these are projects that take a considerable amount of time to deliver, having that flexibility ensures that the scheme is ready for whatever the future holds.
For more from this roundtable discussion, you can simply watch the video at the top of this article or on the Place North YouTube channel. Learn more about WW+P Architects by visiting wwparchitects.com and RJP Town Planners by going to rjptownplanners.com.
