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CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND
Introduction
1.1 Urban Regeneration Companies ( URCs) are a relatively new and exciting development in Scottish regeneration policy. The Companies themselves - as this report will demonstrate - provide an important opportunity to bring focus, integration, strong coordination and of course increased investment to areas of Scotland that have significant and complex regeneration needs.
1.2 This report - commissioned by the Scottish Executive - looks specifically at the establishment of URCs in Scotland and some of the issues inherent in that process, from producing business plans to raising private finance. The focus of the report is intended to highlight good practice and to illustrate examples of how the different URCs have gone about addressing various aspects of their business.
1.3 Considered in this context, the objective is to throw light on the circumstances in which the URC approach is effective, and what is required to make it effective. It holds lessons for those who are considering what the URC approach might have to offer them and in what circumstances it may work well.
Background
1.4 We must emphasise that this study is not an evaluation of the URCs. It is instead an initial review to draw out the lessons that can be learned so far in the establishment of URCs in Scotland - in Raploch (Stirling), Craigmillar (Edinburgh) and Clydebank. It highlights positive actions by Pathfinder URCs whilst also pointing out pitfalls to be avoided. The report also discusses examples of good practice being developed more recently in Irvine Bay and Riverside Inverclyde.
1.5 Whilst not an evaluation per se, the report does form part of a longer term, phased evaluation programme. The overall aim of that programme will be to appraise the URCs' effectiveness in delivering complex regeneration projects and in levering private sector investment as part of this process. As the URCs are designed to run for a period of 8-15 years, the evaluation programme will be in phases. This report represents the first major phase of that programme - by highlighting lessons that have been learned so far and can be applied again in the future.
1.6 Subsequent evaluation will provide on-going monitoring and evaluation of URCs using the monitoring framework established within this study.
Terms of Reference
1.7 The terms of reference that were agreed for the study include:
- Identifying examples of best practice/lessons learnt in establishing the first three Pathfinder URCs in relation to:
- company structure: legal structure, partners involved, engagement of the private sector, funding arrangements - both public and private, board composition
- early management/governance issues: procurement of consultants, development partners, company decision-making etc
- early delivery issues: land assembly, use of public sector assets (land and property), planning etc
- other issues: e.g. community engagement
- Developing a baseline monitoring framework for the future monitoring and evaluation of URCs consisting of project level/ strategic indicators and hard/soft indicators. The monitoring framework applies to all six URCs.
- Identifying key achievements and progress so far within the three Pathfinder URCs; in particular to assessing whether the URCs have met their business plan objectives to date.
- Establishing a methodology to identify the URC area of influence beyond their defined geographical areas.
- Highlighting examples of best practice within URC partnerships in terms of their operation as regeneration delivery models. These should address some of the following questions:
- What are the types of issues that have emerged so far in relation to setting up URCs.
- What examples of best practice can we identify with regard to areas such as business plan development, partnership working and legal structures.
- What works? What doesn't? For example, in terms of procurement processes and company structure.
- What lessons can we learn from the start-up experiences of these initial URCs?
Methodology
1.8 The approach adopted for the assignment involved a review of secondary information and data that related to the URCs, combined with a highly consultative programme to fill any information gaps, and to help us get behind and understand the dynamics of what that information was revealing. Broadly, this involved:
- Setting the context for the URCs in Scotland - this covered the wider strategy and policy context as well as strategies, business plans and other corporate documents specific to each of the URCs.
- Developing a structured topic guide ( Appendix B) that formed the basis of our discussions with key staff and board members from each of the URCs as well as other key stakeholders (including private sector partners, developers/agents and representatives from key public sector partner organisations). We also proposed to attend URC board meetings to observe discussions as well as the working and operation of the boards, although in the event, it was only possible to attend one board meeting.
- Interviewing significant number of stakeholders outside the URCs themselves (local government officers, private sector developers and land owners) as well as key personnel within the Scottish Executive (via regular meetings).
- Facilitating discussions with community representatives. The focus here was to understand community perceptions and concerns about the URCs and their performance and progress. Existing channels and mechanisms of communication, developed by the URCs were used to facilitate these workshops.
- The production of a Draft Report and formal meeting with an Advisory Group at which the findings of the document were debated, refined and agreed.
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