Work began this week on a £10m facelift for the heart of Stratford in east London.
Funding from the London Thames Gateway Development Corporation will turn the High Street, a major route to the Olympic games in 2012, into a ‘Manhattan-style’ boulevard.
Thames Gateway minister Shahid Malik broke the ground today to formally start work on the 12-month project.
Road and pavements will be resurfaced, street furniture and railings removed and more than 3,500 shrubs and 70 trees planted.
New high-rise developments have been granted planning approval and over the next decade the high street will become home to over 12,000 more people.
Peter Andrews, chief executive of the London Thames Gateway Development Corporation, said: ‘Stratford High Street is the gateway to east London and our improvement aims to make it a fitting entrance to the London 2012 games, a proud global advert to inward investors and an early legacy benefit to the local communities that will be able to linger and enjoy it more.’
A manifesto drawn up by the Thames Gateway London Partnership this week called for high-speed rail plans to include Stratford station.
Affordable housing needs to be built in areas with the strongest economies if the UK is to ensure future growth.
A Centre for Cities report warns economic recovery will stall if more homes are not built in our most dynamic cities.
The think tank cites Brighton, which has high employment and a large graduate population, but where houses cost over eight times an average salary and house building rates are 55% below the England average.
It recommends devolving regional and national planning decisions to the local level and calls for the national brownfield target to be abandoned and responsibility for protecting the green belt given to local authorities.
Dermot Finch, chief executive of Centre for Cities, said: ‘The decade-long push to build on brownfield has run its course. Over the next decade, local authorities will need new incentives to build houses where they are needed.
‘This also means a fresh look at the green belt. It’s a myth that the entire green belt is a picture postcard rural idyll. A very small slice of it could be used for housing.’
One of the report’s more radical ideas is to pilot land auctions, which will ensure less money is made from speculation and will allow councils to make and share greater gains from new housing.
Just 1.1% of England is used for housing and insufficient land has been provided for housing growth, pushing house prices to unaffordable levels. None of the political parties are tackling all dimensions of the problem, the report says, and it calls for a clarification of housing policies in the run-up to the general election.
Investment in the Thames Gateway is essential for the economic success of the whole country, according to a cross-party manifesto for the area.
Drawn up by the Thames Gateway London Partnership, it calls for politicians to pledge their support for the area's continued redevelopment.
Return on capital; a prospectus for the future of the London Thames Gateway wants commitments to building the eastern end of Crossrail, and for new high-speed rail plans to include London’s Stratford station.
Lord Falconer, chair of the cross-party partnership, said: ‘The current redevelopment of the east London transport network provides an ideal platform for further growth.
'With high-speed and international rail, Crossrail and Olympic transport developments we can transform the way the east London and the Thames Gateway links to the rest of the UK, to the benefit of the entire country.’
The manifesto also calls for a new methodology for calculating the population data that determines local authority funding, and for funding for growth areas which have seen significant population increases.
The public mood is moving from a ‘me’ to a ‘we’ generation but a major shift from centralised power sources is needed to harness that change and to avoid future crises of finance, climate change and political trust.
These are the findings of an independent inquiry into civil society, published today.
Funded by the Carnegie UK Trust and headed by Young Foundation director Geoff Mulgan, the inquiry has spent the past two years researching and drawing on expertise from the charity, faith, business and political sectors.
Making good society calls on political leaders to move beyond rhetoric in their support for the voluntary sector and for civil society, and to back a shift of power to the neighbourhood level.
It says that civil society is ‘less than it could be’, having been pushed to the margins by commerce and the state.
‘It has been paid lip service but generally neglected. And it has lost ground in areas it was once strong, like finance and childhood,’ says Mr Mulgan in his introduction to the report.
The inquiry sets out an argument to put civil society ‘at the centre’, in particular for it to play a greater role in finance, the economy, the media and the environment.
It recommends an Office for Civil Society be established to support civil activity and a refashioning of parliament to allow for more dialogue and public engagement. It wants greater partnership with civil society and new financing tools to fund civil society activity.
It calls for a rapid transition to a low-carbon economy using the assets of civil society, and for the growth of local news media with financial support from government and philanthropic organisations.
Mr Mulgan said: ‘This report sets out a radical agenda to claim back power for civil society – calling for a definitive shift from doing things “to” and “for” people, to doing “with”. It is a much more radical agenda than any of the parties have yet engaged with.’
The government’s fuel poverty strategy is outmoded and a more radical approach is needed, according to a leading think-tank.
The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) calls for an independent fuel poverty commission to be set up, and for fuel poverty initiatives to focus more heavily on energy efficiency.
In The long cold winter: beating fuel poverty it argues that while the current fuel poverty strategy has had some successes, the fuel context has now changed significantly.
When the current strategy was devised energy prices were falling; energy prices are now expected to rise, however, and technological changes offer new options for fuel poverty.
IPPR calls for an independent, wide-ranging review of the UK’s fuel poverty strategy which considers a redefinition of the term ‘fuel poverty’ and looks at whether plans to eradicate fuel poverty are appropriate.
It wants to see energy efficiency measures installed free of charge to fuel-poor households and for the deployment of technologies such as smart meters and micro-generation schemes.
Co-director of the IPPR Carey Oppenheim said: ‘Extremely cold weather conditions seen in the UK over the past months have highlighted the pressing need for a radical overhaul of fuel poverty measures and policy. Millions of households across the UK still struggle to afford adequate warmth and the fuel poverty strategy devised in 2001 is increasingly out of step with reality in 2010.’
Europe’s former industrial cities can show the rest of the world’s urban giants how to survive a new age of recession, environmental pressure and social crisis, according to a new study.
Published tomorrow Phoenix Cities: the fall and rise of great industrial cities, explores how seven areas, including Sheffield, Bremen, St Etienne and Belfast, recovered from steep industrial decline through a ‘hands-on’ approach comprising strengths such as social enterprise, green technologies and civic involvement.
The text’s authors – Anne Power, Jörg Plöger and Astrid Winkler – say, having survived the ages of industrial boom and post-industrial regeneration, the same cities can now show the way forward as the world enters a third urban age of ‘financial, environmental and social crisis’.
The study, published by Policy Press for the London School of Economics and Political Science and funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, says the leading seven cities – which also include Bilbao, Leipzig, and Torino, recovered thanks to a number of measures:
• Reinvestment in city buildings, public spaces and public transport
• Special neighbourhood programmes and social enterprise
• Environmental reclamation and green technologies.
• Innovative enterprises and new skills development
• New-style city leadership and civic involvement
The authors champion the hands-on approach of European urban policy makers, compared with America’s more hands-off method which, they say, weakened the ability of US rust-belt cities, to ‘round the corner to recovery’.
Prof Power said of the seven European areas: ‘Their resilience offers lessons for other cities, showing how national reinvestment, grounded in local programmes, can win citizen support and turn conditions around.’
A local authority, an urban regeneration company and a football club have formed a joint development board in a bid to deliver lasting economic and community growth in east Manchester.
Manchester Council, New East Manchester (NEM) and Manchester City FC signed the formal agreement to collaborate on a transformation plan for the area around the City of Manchester stadium.
The combined interests of land held by the three parties represents approximately 80ha, including the existing Sportcity campus.
In the short term, the board aims to improve the area around the Sportcity site, including better space for fans during football events and providing year-round activities for residents and visitors on non-match days.
In the medium to long term, the three organisations want to create a ‘nationally significant destination’.
Local employment and suppliers will be involved and all parties have signed up to supporting Manchester’s low carbon city ambitions for any future development plans.
NEM chair Simon Bate described the agreement as ‘truly pivotal’ for the area.
‘It will gives us the chance to restore economic dynamism to east Manchester, enabling businesses, local residents and football supporters alike to benefit from future investment,’ he said.
An online initiative to help new businesses find affordable premises and reduce the number of vacant units across the capital has been launched.
The London New Enterprise website, backed by London mayor Boris Johnson and the British Property Federation (BPF), is designed to act as a broker, bringing together start-ups looking for office space and landlords with empty property to let.
The site, built free of charge by the Workspace Group, encourages landlords to list available units to new companies at significantly reduced commercial rates and also provides business, legal and financial guidance for new firms.
The number of empty premises in the capital has increased considerably since the recession. A BPF report by the Local Data Company found London had a 13.9% shop vacancy rate compared with the national figure of 12.5%, while more than a quarter of new business ventures supported by the Prince’s Trust fail as a result of a lack of affordable property in the right locations.
The new online portal aims to highlight short-term lets and flexible work environments for new businesses. It also includes specific sections for those in the social enterprise and charitable sectors as well as organisations looking to set up ‘pop up shops’.
BPF chief executive Liz Peace described the website as ‘the perfect way for us to convey that landlords are committed to the long-term prosperity of communities’, adding: ‘By overcoming the financial burdens of getting into property and offering the right advice, the industry can also help itself at a time when vacancies are still rising.’
There is no obvious link between billions of pounds of NHS funding spent in England and improvement in tackling health inequalities, according to the Audit Commission.
Its review of public health performance and spending says it is also hard to get ‘any clear view of value for money’.
The Healthy balance briefing estimates that more than £20bn was allocated in 2009/10 on the basis of health inequalities.
But despite the health of the nation improving overall over the last decade, the commission concludes that, ‘if the big picture is positive, stark problems remain’.
Inequalities in the health of people from certain areas and social background has ‘stubbornly resisted improvement’, and has, in some cases, even increased.
The gap in death rates between the England average and the 20% of areas with the worst rates of deprivation and early death rose between 1998 and 2007 for both men and women. The gap in infant mortality at first narrowed and had been on course to meet the government’s target of a 10% reduction by 2010, but the figures show ‘little improvement’ during the past four years.
Despite the sums of money allocated, said the commission, ‘it is not always clear how much has been spent on improving health inequalities and what the impact has been’.
It also called for ‘more ruthless targeting of money and services and close attention to outcomes’.
Plans to deliver a high-speed rail network will not cut the use of cars and planes, according to the leading UK authority on sustainable transport.
Transport secretary Andrew Adonis today announced proposals for an initial core high-speed rail network linking London to Birmingham, Manchester, the east midlands, Sheffield and Leeds, with train speeds of up to 250mph.
The development of a 335-mile 'Y'-shaped network would ‘revolutionise Britain's rail network’, according to the government.
But the Campaign for Better Transport (CBT) said the government had ‘failed to prove its high-speed rail plan would be green’.
CBT executive director Stephen Joseph said: ‘The danger is that a high-speed line will suck money out of the current transport network.
‘The last thing people want is service cuts, higher fares and more potholes, while the executive classes are treated to gleaming new high-speed trains.
‘Even with extra money on the table, there must be a strategy to get people onto rail. The government’s plan is high-speed rail plus business as usual. It will make no difference to carbon emissions, and could even make things worse. Fares must be cheaper than flying and driving and high speed rail must be an alternative to new motorways and airports.’
Ralph Smyth, senior transport campaigner for the Campaign to Protect Rural England commented: ‘By using existing and disused transport corridors as well as tunnelling, the impact on the Chilterns is less than feared. But the impact on the Warwickshire, where the line is proposed to run through open countryside, is a major concern.
‘There is a strong need for more than just fine-tuning. The firm commitment to community consultation made by Lord Adonis must be backed up by real engagement and flexibility. As with the Channel Tunnel Rail Link, local people’s contribution can help turn a contentious route into something that works both national and locally.’
Neil Darwin, Regional Cities East director, described the decision to ‘completely bypass the east of England’ as ‘a big disappointment’, adding: ‘There’s also a danger that the huge costs of high-speed rail will drain investment from other parts of the rail network. Routes like the Great Eastern Mainline, which connects Norwich, Ipswich and Colchester to London, are in desperate need of upgrades.
‘Important though high-speed rail is, we can’t afford to leave other areas lagging behind.’
The announcement was welcomed more positively by the Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA). Interim chief executive, Kate Henderson said high-speed rail had a ‘big part to play in delivering a sustainable future for the nation’.
‘Large infrastructure projects such as this, which will span over several electoral cycles, are vital to Britain’s economic viability and competitiveness, as well as being part of the route to a low carbon economy with less dependency on short haul flights and car travel.’
‘High-speed rail must also fit in with a larger integrated transport investment strategy in which each piece of the system makes its own optimal contribution, linking together into a seamless web of efficient and sustainable connections.’
The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) also declared support for the rail proposals. David Frost, director general, said: ‘Continued investment in Britain's transport infrastructure will underpin economic growth, support business in driving recovery and create jobs.
‘That is why the BCC supports a comprehensive high-speed rail network that provides vital extra capacity and helps British companies compete on a global scale.
‘With the public finances in such a poor state, the budget for this important project needs to be carefully considered. High-speed rail is a long-term investment but it cannot be built at the expense of the current rail network.
‘There must now be a binding, cross-party political consensus to ensure that both HSR and upgrades to the existing rail system proceed over the next two decades.’
Merton will this week launch its Low Carbon Zone with the first in a series of advice surgeries for residents. The Wandle Valley Low Carbon Zone is made up of 1,000 properties across 12 streets, including schools, businesses and community groups. Two ‘green doctors’ have also been recruited to provide free energy saving equipment and advice to homeowners.
Public spending cuts would lead to heavy job losses for women and substantially reduce their income in retirement, according to a TUC report. It warns female employment would be hit hardest as approximately four in ten women work in public sector occupations, compared with less than a fifth of men.
Vital Regeneration has received a Microsoft Britain Works grant. The grant, to promote innovation, digital learning and employment opportunities within socially excluded communities in Westminster, will help the London charity fund a makeover of a digital learning centre and provide state-of-the art IT facilities to the local community.
Public awareness of social enterprises in Scotland has risen by 11% in six months, according to a Mori poll. Commissioned by the Scottish Social Enterprise Coalition, the findings revealed 65% know about the sector and the majority want the UK government to do more to encourage investment in social enterprises.
Property developer Places for People has instructed Birmingham law firm Shakespeare Putsman to advise on the creation of two new communities. Once completed, Brooklands in Milton Keynes will provide a new 2,500 home community including three new schools, offices, shops and leisure facilities. The Marlborough Park development in Swindon will comprise 616 homes with a small local commercial centre.
Businesses are increasingly aware of the benefits of adopting environmental strategies, according to EEF’s latest research. The manufacturing organisation’s survey discovered ‘engagement and commitment’ from businesses and described the notion of the environmental agenda detracting from profitability as ‘outmoded’.
Entries are now open for this year’s Prime Minister’s Better Public Building Award recognising new buildings, places and spaces that improve public service delivery and offer a sense of identity and community. Entrants will be judged on areas including economic and social value and sustainability. The closing date is 15 April.
Urban regeneration company New East Manchester has completed its senior management team with the appointment of Ian Slater as deputy chief executive, responsible for the regeneration arm of the organisation. Mr Slater has worked for Manchester Council for more than 20 years, initially in the housing department and more recently in regeneration, as director of the Manchester-Salford housing market renewal pathfinder.
The Olympic Park Legacy Company has appointed three leading figures in real estate and planning to its executive management team to help lead the development of a new metropolitan centre on the site after the 2012 games. The appointments of Duncan Innes as executive director of real estate, Niall McNevin as director of planning and John Anderson as chief adviser of major projects and infrastructure, follow the team’s first three appointments in January.
Tracey Walker is the new associate director of business development for Countryside Properties’ partnership division, the company’s affordable housing arm. She brings with her experience working with both construction consultants and major house building companies.
Hanover has appointed Rona Nicholson as chief operations officer to help the provider deliver housing for older people. Prior to joining Hanover, Ms Nicholson was London regional director at the Housing Corporation, responsible for a £1.75bn development programme and regulation of some of the largest housing associations, and also helped organise the 'national conversation' with tenants as part of the transition to the Tenant Services Authority.
Midlands Housing Association Nehemiah UCHA has appointed a tenant to the main board following two successful years serving as a committee member on the association’s operations committee. Jamil Bakhsh, who lives in Hockley and has been a Nehemiah tenant for six years, will now have a wider remit of representing the voice of fellow tenants in decision-making.
Wolverhampton based loans company Black Country Reinvestment Society (BCRS) has co-opted Wolverhampton University’s pro vice-chancellor of research and enterprise Ian Oakes and Adrian Wilkinson, superintendent pharmacist at the Midcounties Co-operative, onto the board.
Despite targets to reduce reoffending, half of prisoners serving short custodial sentences are not involved in work or courses and spend almost all day in their cells.
A National Audit Office (NAO) report into managing offenders serving sentences of under 12 months deemed the provision of daytime activity to be ‘generally inadequate to meet HM Inspectorate of Prisons’ standards for a healthy prison’ and said ‘more could be done’ to rehabilitate and reduce the risk of reoffending.
The National Offender Management Service (Noms) was judged to be keeping prisoners secure, safe and well, but the NAO also found only a small proportion of budget was spent on activity intended to reduce reoffending among those on short sentences.
Overcrowding and a lack of activity spaces for all prisoners were partly to blame, it said.
Some 60% of short-term prisoners are reconvicted within a year of release, at an estimated economic and social cost of between £7bn to £10bn a year.
NAO head Amyas Morse said: ‘Achieving Noms’ goal of reducing reoffending by short-sentenced prisoners is challenging both because there are so many prisoners and because of the few weeks they have in custody.
‘However, it is reasonable to expect progress towards that goal. More coherent plans for prisoners, tailored to reducing their risk of reoffending would be a good first step.’
The Ministry of Justice and Noms are developing a new strategy to improve the management of prisoners sentenced to less than 12 months, but pilots are yet to be completed.
A national charity has called for more inclusive schools and less ‘interfaith’ work within local authorities.
In its local and general election manifestos, the British Humanist Association (BHA) claims faith and sectarian schools ‘run contrary to community cohesion’ and says councils should stop their expansion and support local community schools.
It also wants the government not to pay ‘undue attention’ to panels of faith advisers or give specialist grants to faith groups.
As a result of the government’s current focus on contracting public services to the voluntary and community sector, the non-religious charity also wants to see councils strengthen contractual obligations on religious providers to ‘mitigate the risk’ of discrimination to staff and users.
The general election manifesto says: ‘We want local authorities not to champion exclusive “interfaith” work or to privilege religious groups over the rest of the voluntary sector…in access to policy making.’
The documents set out the BHA’s vision on a number of core areas, including local issues, human rights, ethics and equality, and also raise questions for political candidates on issues including assisted dying for the terminally ill and removing bishops from the House of Lords.
Pepper Harow, BHA campaigns officer, said non-religious voices and concerns could trigger real changes to policies.
‘Support for democracy and political participation at local and national levels is core to humanist thinking and we have a lot of issues where we need to make our voices heard,’ she said.
Novas Scarman Group (NSG) has settled its dispute with Marsh Farm Outreach, agreeing to repay almost £125,000 to the social enterprise.
The disagreement arose when NSG was given £130,000 by the Learning and Skills Council to act as the accountable body for a Marsh Farm organizational development programme.
The local government office later objected to NSG taking up the role, but NSG initially offered to repay only £80,000 of the funds.
Following a meeting last week the dispute has now been settled and NSG has agreed to repay £123,174.69 to Marsh Farm Outreach, after taking deductions for costs.
In a statement interim chief executive of NSG Susie Parsons said: ‘We are pleased to be able to have reached an agreement on this long standing issue and wish Marsh Farm Outreach every success in the future.’
Glenn Jenkins, spokesperson at Marsh Farm Outreach, said the decision ‘clears the way for us to deliver the UK’s first Organisational Workshop and everyone will see why we were so eager to resolve the issue.’
The workshop will take place in July and August this year. Based on a Brazilian technique of social scale business start-ups, it will create seven or eight local social enterprises to help generate and lock-in local wealth.