1. Sustainable Development Partnership Board 20 th October 2009 Regeneration: Issues, Challenges and Questions

2. 1: Recession: the backdrop 1997-2007: Decade of significant growth which fuels significant commercial and personal debt built largely on the housing market. Commercial and personal credit dries up as banking sector crashes following US sub prime crisis. Massive falls in UK housing and commercial property market. Significant rises in UK unemployment across all sectors. Suggestions that by 2011 up to 1.2 million young people will be unemployed, with over 60% of these out of work for over a year.

3. 1: Continued Credit squeeze starts to hit PPP sector as debt is harder and more expensive to secure. (Big impact on PFI sector). Consumer behaviour still resistant to spending more Personal savings at record highs. (Mirrors the banks need to shore up balance sheets). Growing graduate unemployment at a time when student admissions are at all time high. Expectations of short to medium term pressure to reduce public expenditure across all sectors.

4. 2: Regeneration challenges and questions for Lewisham How clear is it that the private residential market will recover sufficiently to deliver key regeneration projects in the Borough? (Target is 21,650 new homes by 2025). How can Lewisham maximise the ‘benefits’ from the significant growth of the private rented sector (now at around 30% of the stock? Is institutional investment in the private rental market the key to delivering good quality choice? If the retail sector fails to significantly recover what is the future for all the town centres in the Borough?

5. 2: Continued Is it realistic to plan for a significant growth in local employment in Lewisham, or should we concentrate on better access to the wider London labour market? What additional stimulus can the public sector give to regeneration in Lewisham? In a period of only very slow growth (at best) how can Lewisham continue to deliver on the climate change agenda?