Urban regeneration companies (urcs) will remain a key mechanism for delivering strategic regeneration in towns and cities, an English Partnerships director insisted this week.

Paul Spooner, director responsible for national programmes, told New Start that urcs had made significant achievements which would be built on as they approach their tenth anniversary next year.

His comments came ahead of next week’s annual urcs conference, organised by EP, which has the overarching theme of building on success and adapting to change. The conference will include a session on the evolution of the urc model and see the launch of two pieces of research, including one by Michael Parkinson, director of the European Institute for Urban Affairs.

Mr Spooner said the trend of urcs evolving into more wide-ranging economic development companies (EDCs), formerly city development companies, did not mean urcs had been sidelined.

He said urcs had ‘a promising future’ and predicted more local authorities would be establishing them to drive forward physical regeneration.

‘It’s very much up to local partners whether to become an EDC or not,’ he said. ‘East Manchester has chosen to continue as a urc, while Hull and Sheffield have become EDCs.’

Mr Spooner added that urcs remained a government priority and had been identified as a delivery mechanism in the sub-national review and the housing green paper. ‘They could support investment in new housing and infrastructure,’ he said.

The urcs conference takes place on 29 May in Birmingham.