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Urban Regeneration Companies: A Consultation Paper
5. Scottish context
As we have previously said in this paper, there is nothing in the URC model that is exceptionally new or conceptually challenging. Neither should the existing Scottish framework be an impediment to creating such companies.
In Scotland, the Local Government in Scotland Act and its associated guidance, underlines the opportunities to bring potential URCs, or similar vehicles, within the wider Community Planning agenda.
In considering their approach to urban regeneration and whether or not to establish new delivery vehicles like URCs, local partners will want to consider how a new body might interact with the Community Planning Partnership (CPP). For example, is there a need for a new delivery body or can services be delivered through existing organisations under the strategic direction of the CPP? Would creating a new delivery mechanism ensure a better focus on urban regeneration issues? If local partners agree that there is a need for a new delivery body, how might that body best work with the CPP? For example, should the URC be represented on the CPP? How will the URC relate to neighbourhood community-planning structures and decisions? And crucially, how will communities themselves be involved?
Current local government legislation and guidance supports flexibility in delivering change and improvement in other ways. For example:
- through the power to advance wellbeing. A local authority can undertake activities, either within its area or outwith it, which it considered likely to promote or improve the wellbeing of its area and/or the people in it. Examples of potential uses of the power include giving grants, loans, guarantees, indemnities and support to bodies such as URCs; and
- the power to advance wellbeing may also be used to make arrangements or agreements with any person and to allow local authorities to co-operate with, or facilitate, or co-ordinate the activities of any such person. For example, the formation or participation in companies or any other form of association or vehicle for joint working such as joint boards, joint committees or trusts.
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Relationship with Local Economic Forum
Although an URC focuses on a specific geographical area, it is vital that its work is interconnected with the wider Community Plan of an area and fits with other key strategies and initiatives. In England for example, URCs have been required to form close links with Local Strategic Partnerships. In Scotland, we would expect any prospective URC to have carefully considered the relationship it would have with the Local Economic Forum, given that Forums have the lead role in providing the economic development input into the community-planning process. Forum members are drawn from local authorities, the local learning sector, tourism agencies, local enterprise companies and private businesses.
Relationship with Social Inclusive Partnerships (SIPs)
In England, URCs have tended to focus on the physical and economic regeneration of old industrial or commercial areas with significant problems around vacant and derelict land - rather than wider community regeneration activities. As such, they have tended to be areas without a significant resident population. Therefore, they have not necessarily provided immediate opportunities for disadvantaged communities.
Many SIPs areas and other disadvantaged areas require significant physical regeneration. The integration of SIPs into Community Planning Partnerships will link such regeneration to the wider Community Planand related strategies and initiatives. There is nothing to prevent an URC being set up to cover part of, or indeed the whole of, a SIP area. However, any such proposal would have to be clear about:
- the extent to which the private sector would see the area as providing sufficient development opportunities for them to become involved; and
- how the URC would be linked into other training and employment strategies and programmes inside or outwith the area that would realise opportunities for those living in the community.
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Question 6 How should an URC relate to other local partnerships and agencies? |
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