PROPERTY LED REGENERATION

Property Led Regeneration  Property-led regeneration involves the regeneration of an inner-city area by changing the image of the area, improving the environment, attracting private investment and improving confidence for further investment.  In many cases, it involves ‘flagship’ projects such as at Canary Wharf in the London Docklands.  UDCs are the main form of property-led regeneration.

CARDIFF BAY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION

Where is Cardiff Bay ?

Context  Cardiff : a late 19 th century boom-town

Context  Originally a port city  And around the port grew a dockland community : multi-ethnic, internationally connected, but semi-detached socially and economically within the city

Context  from the early 1900s Cardiff had a more diversified economic base  even so, by 1913 the city was among the world’s leading coal exporting ports.  in 1886 a coal exchange had been established in the Docks area

Context  from the 1920s, the port declined  the city grew…away from the port

Cardiff’s docklands in the 1980s  A poor and stigmatised multi-racial community  Here is the 2000 position

Cardiff’s docklands in the 1980s  a great deal of under-used land  poorly linked by road or rail  a disproportionate amount of local employment in manufacturing (in a service sector city)  commercial and industrial property in poor repair, and largely unwanted

Cardiff’s docklands in the 1980s  A poor and stigmatised multi-racial community  Here is the 2000 position

Cardiff’s land use in the late 1980s

The regeneration  late 1970s/early 1980s : local authorities tried to give grants to local firms and improve the environment.  1987 Cardiff Bay Development Corporation set up by national government

Cardiff Bay Development Corporation  run by a board of government appointees  fixed term (originally envisaged 10 years, eventually was 13 years – i.e until 2000); its approach has continued, though  had big budget : eventually spent £440million  largely on a barrage (£200m+), land acquisition (£91m), highways (£81m) and land reclamation (£26m)  community and training had £14m, marketing had £22m

The regeneration  late 1970s/early 1980s : local authorities tried to give grants to local firms and improve the environment.  a drop in the ocean  1987 Cardiff Bay Development Corporation set up by national government

Cardiff Bay Development Corporation  run by a board of government appointees  fixed term (originally envisaged 10 years, eventually was 13 years – i.e until 2000); its approach has continued, though  had big budget : eventually spent £440million  largely on a barrage (£200m+), land acquisition (£91m), highways (£81m) and land reclamation (£26m)  community and training had £14m, marketing had £22m

CBDC’s objectives The objectives of regeneration were :  to reunite the city and its waterfront  to promote a superb environment in which people will want to live, work and play  achieve highest standards of design in all developments  create wide range of opportunities  stimulate residential development for a cross-section  establish the area as a recognised centre of excellence in regeneration

The objectives quantified  Private sector investment : £1.4 billion  Leverage (public:private) 1:3.8  2 million visitors by 2000  29,000 jobs  Industrial and commercial development: 1.15 million sq m  5,900 units of housing

What this meant : a new kind of docklands  it is (and always was) clear that this amounts to a new vision of Cardiff Bay  one that is socially and physically different However…  nothing on sustainability  nothing on social justice

The method A distinctive approach has been taken to regenerating Cardiff Bay :  top-down (appointed board)  property-led  market-responsive/market-dependent

Drawbacks of this approach  can ignore the aspirations of local people : Cardiff Bay’s regeneration hasn’t primarily been about improving the welfare of local people  it’s vulnerable to volatility of property markets : in the late 1980s and early 1990s little was built in Cardiff Bay because of a slump in property

The method  in essence, the strategy has been to make property development in Cardiff Bay attractive (ie profitable) to developers  they develop, which attracts economic and social activity – thus regenerating the area  the benefits then ‘trickle down’ to poorer members of the community  eg a hotel development creates profits for developers and operators, but also jobs for porters and cleaners.

Outcomes - physical  a transformation  327 hectares of land reclaimed  1.1million square metres of non-residential development  close to 5000 new flats and houses  42 km of roads built or up-graded  a 1.2 km barrage built

Outcomes - physical  It looks new

Outcomes - economic  Cardiff Bay is visibly busier than it was twenty years ago  yet, no net increase in employment (still around 15,000/16,000)  but a huge change in employment sectors  Cardiff Bay is now an area of service based employment, as Cardiff has long been  not much ‘poaching’ of firms from elsewhere in Cardiff (one study found 20% of property take up in this category)  but not much excitation of property markets outside Cardiff either

Outputs - economic  Manufacturing sector employment in Cardiff Bay

Outcomes - economic  little evidence of much ‘trickle down’  the most deprived sub-ward (Super Output Area) in Wales on 2005 data is Butetown  more than half the residents of Butetown (ward) are in receipt of means-tested benefits  Unemployment still disproportionately high among Cardiff’s ethnic minorities

Outcomes - social  over 1000 new units of social housing have been built in Cardiff Bay  but there are evident social divides: consider this blurb from the brochure of a new apartment development: ‘If you do wish to retreat from the metropolis, Bayside has its own luxurious spa with superb leisure facilties, including Wales’ first lap-lane swimming pool (17m x 3m), a spa pool, gymnasium, steam room and sauna. Privacy is guaranteed.’

The social rift in Butetown  Compare so-called Lower tier super output area data from 2001 Census for the three parts of Butetown (%)  Area 1 Area 2 Area 3 Muslim37164 White No quals

Outcomes - cultural  the regeneration has always been about creating a new sense of place, and a new image  three-pronged strategy :

new kinds of public spaces

new kinds of activities and people  two million visitors to the core area of the Bay  a programme of events, especially in the summer  and one internationally-significant new attraction – the Millennium Centre – which also houses national (Welsh) and local activities

new image  ‘Cardiff Bay’ is itself a new name, yet now very well established  the redevelopments have overwhelmed local history in a wave of faux-maritime place-names: Brigantine Place, Ocean Park, Atlantic Wharf, etc..  CBDC spent more on marketing than on training

Some final thoughts (1)  Undoubtedly, a great deal has happened.  A great deal of land has been developed; landowners, developers, and construction companies have done well  Many new kinds of jobs have been created  Might these have not been created in Cardiff if this development had not occurred?  A lot of new public areas have been created.  Overall, a space of production has become a space of consumption  How will the new developments link to the city centre?

Some final thoughts (2)  Might there have been a greater concern for transport connections to the Bay ?  And less reliance on private transport  Might there have been better targeted programmes to improve the welfare of Butetown’s residents?  And more opportunity for them, and Cardiff’s residents, to have an input into the regeneration?

Student Tasks  Use the video, Cardiff Bay Factsheet, Geo Factsheet 91, your notes and internet research to answer the following questions  How was the CBDC funded?  Outline the redevelopment of Cardiff Bay between 1987 and  Describe the economic, social and environmental benefits of the Cardiff Bay redevelopment scheme.  Was there universal approval of the work of the CBDC?