Much hope appears to rest on a new wave of development corporations to help the nation get to 1.5 million new homes. We can expect such entities to spearhead the Government’s drive to deliver New Towns over the coming years and more.
At UK Reiif, several Mayors talked about the prospect of creating new Mayoral Development Corporations. One said to me with misty eyes they can supercharge delivery – and their political objectives.
If the exam question is simply do Development Corporations get more housing, research leans towards the positive. Public First analysis in association with the RTPI suggests that a Development Corporation will generate more housing than the status quo whilst achieving good value for money.
However, expectation management. They need the right conditions to succeed and some patience.
Neither fish nor fowl
Development Corporations come in different shapes and sizes. Not all have the same powers or the same objectives.
Most built environment followers will recall Michael Heseltine’s decision to establish The London Docklands Development Corporation in 1981. However, even before 1981, the Development Corporation was a well understood tool. First established in the 1946 New Towns Act, they had been the agents of change delivering much post war housing.
The LLDC was a slightly different beast to the early New Town corporations. Knitting together over 20 kms of land, it sparked the creation of Canary Wharf.
It was as much a political animal as a infrastructure enabler however. It allowed the Thatcher Government to sideline left leaning East London Boroughs who may have had a different view on what development should be offering in their local patches.
With the rise of Mayors there has been a more regional focus with newer Corporations. London has been using Corporations with some success for over a decade with the creations of the London Legacy Development Corporation and the Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation. There is even discussion about an Oxford Street Corporation. Now with a new set of regional Mayors sprouting across the country we can expect more entities to come to the fore.
Right place, right time
Development Corporations make most sense where there is a special objective in play. For example, the Olympics was such an event which afforded the nation to spark a wave of investment and regeneration.
Old Oak Common will see a huge upgrade in transport infrastructure. The nation should be taking advantage of this by bringing significant high density housing development into play.
The Elizabeth Line is a missed opportunity. Look at the under development around the new Elizabeth line stations and you would ask whether a Corporation responsible for station side development across the line might have achieved more?
Where Boroughs intersect and where big public infrastructure is happening, it makes sense sometimes for local politics to be a second order priority if the nation’s taxes are being spent. It should not mean that communities get sidelined though and a balance needs to be struck between urban renewal and social inclusion. That is tricky but can be achieved if the Corporation includes voices from the local area.
Local Government is a powerful actor of change, sometimes
Sidelining local government like perhaps the Docklands Development Corporation sought to do, is not a sign of functional Government. The LDDC perhaps got lucky due to long stable Tory rule. But a change of Government after five years or so might have seen the project scrapped if the local political wounds were not properly dressed.
There are also plenty of examples of where local council led regeneration has succeeded. Take Nine Elms – my old patch but also Kings Cross and latterly Argent’s Brent Cross Town as successes which did not need the intervention of a Corporation.
At Leeds again, I spoke to one senior planner at Birmingham City Council who questioned the need for Corporations where planning consents are achievable and politics is sensible. Indeed, setting up a Corporation to replicate existing functions of the Town Hall is an expensive and time consuming process. Mobilising the resourcing, finding the personnel and then getting the organization culture well honed doesn’t happen over night. It can take years and that’s before you factor in the development cycle!
Is it worth all the time and expense if there is already a well-established management team in the town hall. Hence the importance of special circumstances.
If the Government is serious about New Towns, there is a special case for new Development Corporations. However, we must be careful that these entities don’t become Mayoral political tools which bypass local politics which may or may not be aligned to the new Mayors. Development is a long term game. It needs long term consensus if it is to succeed.
