Plenary session on strategies for town centre regeneration, from Future of London's 23 June conference. Speaking in this sessions were: * Daniel Moylan, Chair, Mayor’s Design Advisory Group, Greater London Authority * Sue Foster OBE, Strategic Director for Delivery, LB Lambeth * Jerome Frost OBE, Global Planning Director and Leader of Consulting (UKMEA), Arup * Victoria Hills, Chief Executive Officer, Old Oak & Park Royal Development Corporation * Gerry Hughes, Senior Director and National Head of Planning, Development & Regeneration, Bilfinger GVA www.futureoflondon.org.uk

1. CREATING RESILIENT TOWN CENTRES
TUESDAY, 23 JUNE 2015
HILTON TOWER BRIDGE, LONDON SE1 2BY

2. Welcome!
Future of London is a not-for-profit urban policy network, helping to build
skills, knowledge and connections across sectors and across London.
We focus on the practical aspects of housing, regeneration, infrastructure
and economic development, guided by our public-sector members.
This event and ensuing report are part of our effort to bring practitioners
from a range of disciplines and levels together. We hope you get some
fresh ideas today – and meet some new people!
#FoLTownCentres
@futureofldn

3. CREATING RESILIENT TOWN CENTRES
TUESDAY, 23 JUNE 2015
HILTON TOWER BRIDGE, LONDON SE1 2BY
Thanks to…
#FoLTownCentres

4. CREATING RESILIENT TOWN CENTRES
TUESDAY, 23 JUNE 2015
HILTON TOWER BRIDGE, LONDON SE1 2BY
AM Agenda:
09:30 – 10:35 Intro, Keynote and Plenary : Strategy (Tower B+C)
10:40 – 11:30 Delivering Large-Scale Change (Tower B+C)
Coffee break
11:50 – 12:40 Working With Complex Places (Tower B+C)
12:45 – 13:30 Buffet lunch in main reception
#FoLTownCentres

5. CREATING RESILIENT TOWN CENTRES
TUESDAY, 23 JUNE 2015
HILTON TOWER BRIDGE, LONDON SE1 2BY
AM Plenary: STRATEGY
Keynote/Chair: Daniel Moylan, Chair, Mayor’s Design Advisory Group, GLA
Panel: Jerome Frost OBE, Global Planning Director and Leader of Consulting
(UKMEA), Arup
Sue Foster OBE, Strategic Director for Delivery, LB Lambeth
Victoria Hills, Chief Executive Officer, Old Oak & Park Royal
Development Corporation
Gerry Hughes, Senior Director and National Head of Planning,
Development & Regeneration, Bilfinger GVA
#FoLTownCentres

6. Strategy
Jerome Frost OBE
Global Planning Director and Leader of Consulting (UKMEA)
ARUP
CREATING RESILIENT TOWN CENTRES
TUESDAY, 23 JUNE 2015
HILTON TOWER BRIDGE, LONDON SE1 2BY

7. Creating Resilient Town
Centres
Jerome Frost, Arup

8. Who is the Town Centre for?

9. Apple Watch can now be picked up from shops, but not bought
there

10. High Street vs Internet

11. The Great Inversion (and other urban theory)

12. North West Urban Transformation
Sydney, Australia
Castellanas Norte
Madrid, Spain
Croydon
London, UK

13. The Centre of your life, not the place you go to shop…

15. Creating a ‘living’Town Centre

19. The Town Centre is the Millennial's living room

20. If we designed homes like we do Cities…

21. Hotel
Cafe
Shop
Homes
CafeBar
Gym Studio
Social
Space
Market
Play
Restauran
t
Library
School
If we designed Town Centres like we do homes…

22. Strategy
Sue Foster, OBE
Strategic Director for Delivery, London Borough of Lambeth
CREATING RESILIENT TOWN CENTRES
TUESDAY, 23 JUNE 2015
HILTON TOWER BRIDGE, LONDON SE1 2BY

23. Resilient town centres
Sue Foster, OBE
Strategic Director, Delivery, LB Lambeth

25. Co-produced master plan
Council a major land owner
A stewardship role, but also a catalyst for change
Opportunities BUT big challenges

26. Challenges

27. Brixton - a rapidly changing place
Gentrification – a double edged sword – positive
change, but displacement too…
Complex challenges and solutions

28. Increase in land
values
House prices in
Lambeth now 10 x
average earnings
(it was 4 x in 1997)
Network Rail arch
refurbishment plan
– concerns at rent
rises & lease
terminations
Planning
deregulation – loss
of employment
floor space

29. Protest and
Challenge
Reclaim: Brixton
Many global
issues felt locally

30. …but Brixton is a
contested space…

31. Constrained & congested spaces - need to build in extra
capacity through better design
Resolve conflicting uses on the street
(markets/shops/bus stops/refuse)
New public spaces & seating, more greening

32. Night time economy hotspot
Major economic benefits to town centre – including jobs
Concern for us in relation to violence with injury
Overlapped with a main transport hub and issues with gang violence
in adjacent neighbourhoods
Prevention agenda
Resilience of public environments – designing out crime
Improving regulation of licensed other public premises
24 hour tube – will this have beneficial or adverse effect?

33. Brixton Rec – iconic – key to
community identity
But also needs major investment

34. Opportunities

35. Physical
change…
Markets and
public ream
Improve
transport
interchange
3 major
redevelopment
projects

36. Estimated 1,000 new job opportunities
Construction jobs and apprenticeships could be over
1,000 each year
700 new homes - at least 40% should be affordable –
many at Council rent levels
New residential population estimated to spend £2.3m
per year in the Brixton economy

37. Your New Town Hall
Consolidated 14 Council offices into 2
194 homes
Refurbished town hall to including community uses and enterprise space

38. Somerleyton Road
Council is building around 300 homes
Setting up a local housing co-op
Ovalhouse Theatre

39. Brixton Central
Potential for 250 new homes
Step change is amount of employment space in town
Opportunity to extend indoor markets & major improvements to train station
Nature of relationship with Network Rail (owns part of the site) currently being
considered

40. About programming
and better
management of
spaces
Harnessing the power
of local people
Testing new ideas and
uses for spaces
Developing shared
aspirations &
objectives with
partners

41. The markets
the heart of Brixton

42. Covered
markets..
Saved from
redevelopment,
but were
struggling
Listed –
including for
their cultural
importance to
Black Caribbean
community

43. Linked up
owner with
Space makers
17 units
offered free
for 3 months
Now has
waiting list of
over 300

46. Street markets
Largest award of High Street
Fund grant
A street market strategy
including future management
A master plan for the market
streets
Major public realm
improvements to Electric
Avenue
Working with traders & the BID
Integration with indoor markets
& adjacent businesses key
challenge

47. Electric Ave -
Heritage Lottery
Funded Townscape
Heritage Initiative
£2.6m grant based
scheme to improve
shop fronts and
heritage assets

48. Testing ideas

49. The Impact Hub Brixton –
testing out enterprise
space in the town hall

51. Pop Brixton : Meanwhile
project
Focus on local employment & enterprise
Test out potential future long-term uses
85% businesses from Lambeth
Commitment to employ locally
10 subsidised units (retail, office &
workshop)
Training space (including each tenant
volunteering ½ day per month)
Free community use of various spaces
Space for the Impact Hub
Until at least October 2017

54. No. 6
Somerleyton
Road
Former meals-
on-wheels
kitchen
Community
space leased for
free to Brixton
Green
Brixton Street
Gym

55. Brixton Works – considering setting up an agency to
manage the affordable workspace we build

56. Supporting local creatives
e.g London Design Week
Raise profile of Brixton as
place of work & industry

57. Great connectivity – but could be better –
London Overground stop
• Clapham Junction
• Canary Wharf
• Old Oak Common

58. Next Steps
• Continue innovating
• Work with partners – BID, Community Interest
Companies – manage spaces in the future
• Better connectivity – rail, tube, over-ground and
cycling
• Seek “Area of intensification” in London Plan
• Housing Zone bid to help unlock development
• A national policy framework to support
enterprise & new business growth
•

60. Strategy
Victoria Hills
Chief Executive Officer, Old Oak & Park Royal Development
Corporation
CREATING RESILIENT TOWN CENTRES
TUESDAY, 23 JUNE 2015
HILTON TOWER BRIDGE, LONDON SE1 2BY

61. V I C T O R I A H I L L S – C H I E F E X E C U T I V E O F F I C E R
O l d O a k a n d P a r k R o y a l – C r e a t i n g R e s i l i e n t
T o w n C e n t r e s
2 3 J U N E 2 0 1 5

62. L O C A T I O N

63. H S 2 C O N N E C T I O N S

64. O P D C O V E R V I E W
TH E V IS ION
OLD OAK WILL BE A SUSTAINABLE NEW TOWN LOCATED IN THE CENTRE
OF LONDON THAT IS AN EXEMPLAR IN ACCESSIBLE, HIGH QUALITY AND
‘SMART’ REGENERATION. FOCUSSED AROUND A WORLD CLASS
TRANSPORT ‘SUPER-HUB’ AND SUPPORTED BY NEW SOCIAL & GREEN
INFRASTRUCTURE, OLD OAK WILL DELIVER SIGNIFICANT LEVELS OF
HOUSING AND EMPLOYMENT CREATION FOR LONDON.
PARK ROYAL WILL BE ENHANCED WITH NEW CONNECTIONS, SERVICES
AND INNOVATIVE INFRASTRUCTURE TO STRENGTHEN ITS POSITION AS
THE UK’S LARGEST INDUSTRIAL PARK.
THE TREASURED WORMWOOD SCRUBS WILL BENEFIT FROM SENSITIVE
ENHANCEMENTS AGREED BY THE COMMUNITY.

65. L L D C C O M P A R I S O N

66. O L D O A K – K I N G S C R O S S
Kings Cross
26 ha
2,000 new homes
32,000 new jobs
Old Oak =105 ha (in this
image red outline)
24,000 new homes
55,000 jobs

67. O L D O A K - V N E B
VNEB
100 ha
18,000 new homes
25,000 new jobs
Old Oak =105 ha (in this
image red outline)
24,000 new homes
55,000 jobs

69. 66%
150%
90%
202 TRAINS AT PEAK
TIMES
250,000 PASSENGERS &
50,000 PASSENGERS
EXITING THE STATION
8 MINUTES FROM
HEATHROW
10 MINUTES FROM THE
WEST END
38 MINUTES FROM
BIRMINGHAM
W H AT ’ S P L A N N E D
69
90%
LO N D O N WAT E R LO O

70. 66%
150%
55,000 NEW J OBS
( 2/3 OF C AN ARY W H AR F)
24,000 N EW H OMES
52,800 N EW R ESID EN TS
( 1.5 EBBSFLEETS)
£7B N PER A N N U M OF GVA TO U K EC ON OMY
(DRAFT FIGURE WITH MORE WORK UNDERWAY)
70
C A N A RY W H A R F
E B B S F L E E T
W H AT ’ S P L A N N E D

71. B E F O R E
71
HS2 STATION SITE
WORMWOOD SCRUBS
WILLESDEN JUNCTION

72. A F T E R
72
HS2 STATION SITE
WORMWOOD SCRUBS
WILLESDEN JUNCTION

73. LAND USE
Harlesden
Ealing Shepherd’s Bush
Opportunity Area Planning Framework:
“Town centre uses should cater for the
day to day needs of development and not
negatively impact on nearby centres”.

74. LAND USE
Harlesden
Ealing Shepherd’s Bush
- Adjacent to Old Oak
- District town centre
- mixed retail

75. LAND USE
Harlesden
Ealing Shepherd’s Bush
- 5 minutes on Crossrail
- Metropolitan town centre
- 125,000sqm floorspace (2012)
- Mid-range retail

76. LAND USE
Harlesden
Ealing Shepherd’s Bush
- 5 minutes on West London
Line
- Metropolitan town centre
- 200,000sqm floorspace (2012)
- Mid/high end retail

77. OLD OAK MASTERPLAN

78. Willesden Junction
Hythe Road
Old Oak Common Lane
Old Oak Common
North Acton
Harlesden

79. Old Oak High Street

80. Old Oak Common Lane
Station (London
Overground)

81. Old Oak Common Station
(HS2/Crossrail and
National Rail

82. Grand Union Canal

83. Old Oak High Street

84. Retail and Leisure Needs Study
- OPDC have commissioned Peter Brett Associates
- Investigates quantity, location and phasing of retail
and leisure that could be provided without impacting
on existing centres
- Qualitative recommendations (affordable retail,
meanwhile uses, opportunities and challenges for
nearby centres)
- Will inform OPDC’s Local Plan policy. Initial findings
due August 2015

85. Strategy
Gerry Hughes
Senior Director and National Head of Planning,
Development & Regeneration, Bilfinger GVA
CREATING RESILIENT TOWN CENTRES
TUESDAY, 23 JUNE 2015
HILTON TOWER BRIDGE, LONDON SE1 2BY

86. gva.co.uk
Setting a Strategy
for a Successful
Town Centre
June 2015
Gerry Hughes
National Head of Planning,
Development &
Regeneration
Bilfinger GVA

87. The town centre is not dead – it is rapidly changing and we need an adaptive, flexible response
Short presentation title here / November 2010

88. The importance of our Town
Centres/High Streets as illustrated in
London
Short presentation title here / November 2010
2/3 of all
Londoners live
within 5
minutes walk
47% of all
businesses
outside CAZ on
a high
street/town
centre
2/3 of
London’s
developable
land is within
200m of High
street/town
centre
54% of all jobs
in London
outside CAZ
on high
street/town
centre
It is about more than shopping

89. Short presentation title here / November 2010
• Understand the change
• Develop bespoke response to the change
• Apply creative management & stewardship

90. Understanding the local forces of
change
Short presentation title here / November 2010
Medium Term
• Planning Policy
• Local Institutional support
• Alternative trading formats
Short Term
• Declining spending power
• Market confidence
• Economic distribution
Town Centres
High Streets
Longer Term
‘Slow Burns’
• Demographic Change
• Aging
• Ethnic diversity
• Polarisation
• Leisure Demands
• Digitisation
• Internet Sales
• Networking
• Social Media
• Convenience Culture
• Ease of access
• Instant availability
• Move away from one stop shop
• Localised convenience
Source: Economic and Social Research Council

91. Responding to this change
A viable Town Centre needs to be multi - functional
Town
Centre
Shopping
Cultural /
Arts
Residential
Public
ServicesLeisure /
Entertainment
Private /
community
services
Commercial
/ Offices /
Industrial

92. ▪ 36% of adults visit coffee shops in a typical week
▪ 51% prefer to shop in an area with more than
several coffee shops
▪ 52% of these people will stay longer
▪ A boost of 2-4% for surrounding businesses
…but illustrates the importance of functional diversity
Source: ESRC
Our obsession with coffee………
Short presentation title here / November 2010

93. Response: Setting Strategy
Short presentation title here / November 2010
3 Stages
- Robust diagnosis – the Place
- A holistic response – solution that is feasible and viable
- Delivery – actions, responsibilities, timescales, stewardship
Public sector as enabler/facilitator

94. Principal Considerations
Short presentation title here / November 2010
• Role & function
• Catchment – users, stakeholders & their needs
• Potential / capacity
• The right cocktail – a blended response
• Shopping, having fun, working, living, accessing services
• Getting there easily
• Making a visit an enjoyable experience – a pleasant place
• Directly address problems / issues.

95. Principal Considerations
Short presentation title here / November 2010
• Introduce activity – markets, ‘meanwhile uses’
• Address conflicts
• Create sense of community ownership
• Public / private role – deploy assets
• Ensure affordable, viable & deliverable
• Build in management / stewardship
• Use planning as a positive tool – not just a ‘control mechanism’
• Define responsibility and accountability

96. Stewardship: Managing the
Experience
Short presentation title here / November 2010
A
Coordinated
Offer
Ensure
Availability &
Convenience
Ensure a high
quality
experience
Increase dwell
time and
spend
Influence
journeys /
movement /
connections
InformationManagement
CommunicationInnovation

97. Nunhead Village,
Southwark

100. Several of our current town centre
projects in London

101. Several of our current town centre
projects in London

102. DISCUSSION
#FoLTownCentres
CREATING RESILIENT TOWN CENTRES
TUESDAY, 23 JUNE 2015
HILTON TOWER BRIDGE, LONDON SE1 2BY