Concern expressed over lack of estate regeneration funding

Lack of financial support is stymying much needed estate regeneration; our West Yorkshire Development Conference has heard.

Andrew Wallhead, Director of Investment at Wakefield District Housing (WDH), said that some of the West Yorkshire association’s older estates are “far too large and need wholesale regeneration”.
[emaillocker id=”71749″]
But while money is increasingly going into new build, there is “not much support” for “pure regeneration”, he said: “They need rethinking but there is very little funding out there for that. They won’t be tackled until some serious money starts going in.”

“There’s very little funding out there to support us doing that kind of work. It’s difficult because we are cash flow business and you can’t just take 300 properties out. That’s a lot of money to take out of a business and we survive off the income we generate.”

And it is a struggle to generate demand for housing in some areas, like former pit communities, which have had problems since the 1980s, Wallhead said: “Now the mines are gone, they are in a beautiful rural setting and are great places to live but have a terrible image.”

And noting that 29,000 of the association’s 32,000 properties are located in Wakefield, he said that introduce non-social housing tenures may help to sustain communities’ long-term viability.

He said: “Sometimes more social housing in particular locations might not be the right answer. We have a long term vested interest in the success of that location and if Wakefield goes down the pan our business goes down the pan.”

To view the next events in your area click here > 

Helen Lennon, Chief Executive of Connect Housing, said the north had suffered a loss of funding, highlighting the National Housing Federation’s push for a 10-year regeneration programme.

Angela Barnicle, Chief Officer for Asset Management & Regeneration at Leeds City Council, defended local government investment in commercial property: “There is a lot of criticism that local government shouldn’t be investing in property. But we are actively investing in the region that we are securing. Why should public sector not share in risk and rewards?”

And despite suffering a 62% cut to its budget over the past decade, she said Leeds had maintained its support for children’s centres, which had been identified as a factor in the city’s recently recognised success in tackling childhood obesity.

Barnicle said this decision was an example of the “brave” decisions that the council had taken, which also included pressing ahead with its own City of Culture in 2023 even though Coventry has been selected by the Government to become the host city for the next national year-long celebration.

“Property is pretty simple. Good place making is about creating places where people want to be. As a city, we need to create a place where people want to be, which is why we are pursuing city of culture.”

Sean Fallon, Co-Founder & Managing Director at Fallons, identified the Tees Valley Combined Authority’s acquisition of its local airport as another example of courageous civic leadership. He said: “I really admire what they are doing and it makes you want to invest there.”

But authorities should be prepared to lift car parking charges to encourage members of the public to use their town centre, Fallon said: “Parking is deterring people from parking in town centres because they realise they only have a limited amount of time.”

He also showcased a number of projects that his company is working on. These include the Tyrone Lakes luxury lakeside villages near Doncaster, and Mont Leven, which will create the-largest retirement community in the UK.

He also revealed Fallon’s desire to build a Agri-leisure park in north Yorkshire, whilst sharing a vision for a velodrome in Yorkshire.
[/emaillocker]