MIDDLESBROUGH COUNCIL

EXECUTIVE REPORT

Report Title: Regeneration Department – Major Projects – half yearly update

Executive Member for Regeneration and Economic Development – Councillor Charles Rooney

Director: Kevin Parkes

Date: 26th May 2010

PURPOSE OF THE REPORT

  1. The purpose of the report is to provide the Executive Member for Regeneration and Economic Development with an update of the progress on the major regeneration projects in Middlesbrough over the past six months, up to 31st March 2010 and identifying key milestones for each scheme for the next half year period and seek the Executive Members approval to this programme.
SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS
  1. It is recommended that the Executive Member for Regeneration and Economic Development notes the progress made on the major regeneration schemes up to the end of March 2010 and agrees the future programme of activities for the first six months of the 2010/11 financial year.

IF THIS IS A KEY DECISION WHICH KEY DECISION TEST APPLIES?

It is over the financial threshold (£75,000)
It has a significant impact on 2 or more wards / x
Non Key

DECISION IMPLEMENTATION DEADLINE

  1. For the purposes of the scrutiny call in procedure this report is

Non-urgent / x
Urgent report

If urgent please give full reasons

BACKGROUND AND EXTERNAL CONSULTATION

  1. There is a wide range of regeneration projects being taken forward in Middlesbrough at the current time. Whilst the recession is clearly having an impact on the development industry and the availability of funding, the report demonstrates considerable progress on regeneration being made in the town. This report sets out a brief summary of the development of eight key schemes during the six months up to 31st March 2010 and sets out associated milestones for each project for the following six months. These projects are:

a)Greater Middlehaven;

b)Older Housing Vision;

c)Grove Hill;

d)Hemlington Grange;

e)Cannon Park/Town Centre West;

f)Cultural Quarter;

g)Linthorpe Centre and University; and

h)Accommodating future housing needs.

Greater Middlehaven

  1. Greater Middlehaven comprises the area around the former Middlesbrough dock, Central Industrial Area and St. Hilda’s. It comprises 100 hectares in total. There has been a long history to the development of the Greater Middlehaven scheme. The project is led overall by Tees Valley Unlimited (Tees Valley Regeneration up to 31st March 2010). The overall vision for Middlehaven was originally set out in the Alsop Masterplan which was approved by the Executive in July 2004. This has been subsequently ratified in the statutory Local Development Framework.
  1. The past six months has represented a significant milestone in the development of Middlehaven. A number of aspects of the scheme are now developing clear momentum and there is genuine energy emerging in terms of delivering of the wider vision. Some of the key notable developments over the last six months have included:

a)the commencement of residential development by BioRegional Quintain (BRQ) in phase 1, adjacent to the dock. The first residential cube, CIAC, has now commenced and will provide for 80 apartments and ancillary facilities. It is anticipated that this first unit will be completed by Autumn 2011 ;

b)after many years of delay, significant acquisitions have been made in the Central Industrial Area in the last six months. Notable acquisitions include Able UK (8ha), Cleveland Cable (3.6ha) and the Bankhill Trustees site (1ha). This now means that over 90 percent of the Central Industrial Area has been consolidated by the Middlehaven Partnership;

c)MyPlace – planning permission and ListedBuilding consent have been granted for this £4.5m scheme, led by Middlesbrough Council in the former Customs House in the St. Hilda’s area. In March 2010 funding approval was received from Government to commence the development;

d)construction of the major public art scheme – Temenos, designed by internationally acclaimed Anish Kapoor has commenced and is clearly visible in the skyline of the town between the football ground and the Transporter Bridge;

e)negotiations have commenced with MiddlesbroughCollege with regard to further facilities to add to their existing premises on Middlehaven, including complementary sporting opportunities. Additionally, the College won the British Urban Regeneration Association (BURA) award for Best Practice in Regeneration 2009;

f)the Boho 2 (Bohouse), live work space, on Sussex Street has commenced. This will provide 20 residential units for people working in the creative industries, associated with the Boho development and is being sponsored by Erimus Housing and the Homes and Communities Agency;

g)the new Wellington Street Hostel has commenced, been taken forward by the Riverside Housing Group, with support from the Homes and Communities Agency and the Council;

h)acquisition of property in St. Hilda’s has continued. The Council has now acquired all but one property outside Tower Green, where 13 properties remain. In March 2010 the Council also acquired, with funding from One NorthEast, the Captain Cook public house on Durham Street. This listed building was being disposed of by the owner and it was felt appropriate to bring it under public ownership in order that its re-use could be integrated within the wider vision for the Middlehaven area;

i)development funding of £111,500 from the Heritage Lottery Fund was awarded to help progress the plans towards a full bid for £2.03 million which will be used to create major improvements to the Transporter Bridge which celebrates its centenary in 2011; and,

j)£1.16m funding was received from One NorthEast to allow the renovation and improvement on Crown House on Zetland Square and the improvement of the public realm between Bridge Street West and the town centre. This is augmented by a further £200,000 from the Council’s capital programme. This provides an important link between the western end of the Greater Middlehaven site and the town centre/Linthorpe Road.

Future Actions

  1. Whilst significant progress has been made on the Greater Middlehaven scheme, it has become increasingly apparent that there is a need to refresh the masterplan that was prepared by Alsop in 2004. The Middlehaven Partners have agreed to commission a new framework for the area, which will take account of the existing and likely future economic conditions and the changes that have occurred to the development industry and its ability to deliver since the advent of the recession. It is anticipated that the new masterplanning exercise will commence in May 2010 and will take approximately six months to complete. However, in the intervening period, it is anticipated that negotiations will continue with a number of potential opportunistic schemes in the area and which will be complementary to the wider vision for Greater Middlehaven. Following completion of the masterplanning work a report will be brought forward to the Executive setting out the principles of the scheme for formal approval.
  1. Over the next six months a number of projects within the Greater Middlehaven area will either commence or be completed, including:

a)the MyPlace scheme will commence implementation;

b)it is hoped BRQ will be able to bring forward a planning application for a hotel development on the dockside;

c)Temenos will be formally completed in May 2010 and there will be a formal launch of the scheme for the media in June 2010;

d)construction of the Boho 2 Live Work units will be completed;

e)phase 1 of the Wellington Street Hostel development will be completed and phase 2 will commence;

f)interest will be sort for a development partner for the Kitchen Warehouse site;

g)the car parking facilities for phase 1 at the dock will commence, being delivered by BRQ; and,

h)new project delivery arrangements will be put in place for the scheme, reflecting the change from Tees Valley Regeneration to Tees Valley Unlimited.

OLDER HOUSING VISION

  1. The vision for the older housing area of central Middlesbrough was adopted by the Executive in July 2005. Significant progress has been made in acquisitions but by 2009 it became apparent that as a consequence of the current recession and the likely reductions in the availability of public money that realistically the project could not be completed within a reasonable time frame. As a consequence, in October 2009 the Executive agreed to a formal review of the overall vision with the mandate that the scheme had to be deliverable within a reasonable time span. Additionally, the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) agreed to work with the Council to ensure that any new vision would accord with its own objectives and the likely funding it has available. Consultants were appointed in October 2009 and have been working with the Council and the HCA on the development of a new vision. This has included consultation with local residents groups.
  1. In March 2010 new options for the demolition area in an around Gresham/Middlehaven were presented to the community and consultation is currently being undertaken on these. The preferred option presented reduces the numbers of demolitions from 1453 to 773. The scheme also allows for 152 units, which will be comprehensively refurbished and 75 units, which will be subject to a comprehensive facelift. It is expected that the outcomes of the consultation of final option will be presented to the Executive in the summer of 2010. Following this it is hoped that the HCA will commit to a formal progress of investment in the scheme, which will allow all of the properties to be acquired by 2014/15.
  1. Acquisitions in phase 1 have remained buoyant and during 2009/10 the Council acquired a further 99 residential units. This was assisted by Middlesbrough being able to utilise £900k underspend from other TeesValley authorities (notably Stockton). The Council now owns a total of 390 units in Gresham.
  1. However, the programme is not just about acquisition and redevelopment, it covers a broad range of programmes to improve the quality of life within Middlesbrough’s inner housing area. In addition to the ongoing development of the private sector landlord licensing scheme and neighbourhood management, there is an active programme of housing improvement. In the past six months 187 properties have received facelift improvements in the Gresham and University Ward areas.

Future Actions

  1. The predominant issues are in respect of ensuring that a decision is made on the new preferred option for the delivery of the older housing vision. This anticipated in the summer of 2010. The Council will concurrently be having negotiations with the HCA to secure the requisite funding package to deliver this vision. In the meantime, this will mean that there will be extensive and ongoing consultations and liaisons with residents in the area to ensure that they have the necessary information on the Council’s proposals and how this directly affects them. The Council has been providing ongoing support for residents and this will continue throughout the progress.
  1. Furthermore, there will be a need to make a decision on the streets to be prioritised for facelift funding, reflecting on the emerging options that are currently subject to consultation. Further acquisitions will be on-going through this period focusing on consolidating terraced blocks in phase one. Potentially the first demolitions could be agreed and commence, subject to the outcome of the master-planning process.

Grove Hill

  1. Over the past six months, the main focus of activity has been on the preparation of the Area Regeneration Framework (ARF) and its adoption as statutory planning guidance which was achieved at the end of March 2010. During this period there has been extensive public consultation over three periods. Wide levels of community support have been achieved in terms of developing a consensus on a way forward, with the majority of comments being received from residents acknowledging the need for comprehensive change.
  1. Erimus Housing has continued the programme of relocating its tenants within the area to be cleared and redeveloped. In addition in mid 2009, the Council also agreed to the use of its Growth Point Funding (£791,000 – 2009/11 allocation) to start the process of acquiring privately owned properties within the area. Negotiations have already commenced with a number of owner occupiers. Erimus continue with a programme of selective demolitions where empty properties have been consolidated and can be cleared.
  1. Work has now commenced with the HCA and Erimus Housing to undertake a comprehensive due diligence and business model for the delivery of the Grove Hill Programme. It is anticipated this will help inform the HCA in order to allow it to provide the gap in funding that is needed to deliver the wider vision for Grove Hill.

Future Actions

  1. The most significant issue to develop is the business plan and programme of implementation for the delivery of Grove Hill and gain the support of the HCA on this. This will be ongoing over the next six months.
  1. In addition to ongoing relocation of residents and the acquisition of privately owned property, a full delivery programme for the delivery of the scheme is to be drawn up, setting up the phases of implementation and associated key milestones.
  1. Additionally, it is anticipated that a detailed study of the existing community facilities in the Grove Hill area, for utilisation and associated future requirements will be undertaken. This will then enable options to be drawn up in terms of the provision of community buildings in Grove Hill. Alongside this, and in conjunction with this task, the retail provision within the Eastbourne Road local centre will also be assessed and proposals will be identified regarding the most viable and sustainable way forward.
  1. Working with LSP partners, it is also anticipated that work will commence on looking at Grove Hill as an area based Total Place scheme to ensure that the physical regeneration aspirations are complemented by the range of ongoing service delivery by a variety of public sector agencies in the area. A report will be presented to the Executive on this matter in May/June 2010.
  1. In parallel to the regeneration proposals, and as part of the Primary Strategy for Change programme, MartonGroveSchool is to be federated and relocated to the BeechwoodPrimary School site. This will provide a single school with investment of £4.5m. It is envisaged that the works will be complete and ready for the September 2011 school intake.

Hemlington Grange

  1. The Hemlington Grange site is 56 hectares at the south end of the town. It has been formally allocated within the LDF for a mix of residential and business development. The site is primarily Council owned and in March 2009, the Executive agreed that potentially some of the resource from the disposal of Hemlington Grange could be potentially used for contributing to a regeneration delivery vehicle to help augment other schemes in the town. In recent months, the Council has been working with the HCA to ensure that the delivery mechanism to taking development forward at the site both secures a high quality development but also optimises the capital receipt in this context.

Future Actions

  1. It is anticipated that the current business modelling exercise in terms of the disposal of Hemlington Grange will be completed and a process for the sale and delivery of the Hemlington Grange site will be agreed. Following completion of this work a further report will be presented to the Executive.

CANNON PARK/TOWN CENTRE WEST

  1. The CannonPark area is allocated within the LDF for potential retail development. The eastern end of the town, closest to the town centre, is allocated for appropriate convenience retailing which will be complementary to the function of the town centre overall. The western end of the site, closest to Newport roundabout, is allocated for bulky goods retailing, as the town has a deficiency in this form of retail opportunity. It is also felt this is the right location for development which will add value to Middlesbrough overall.
  1. The Council does have considerable property interests in the wider CannonPark area but primarily the scheme will be taken forward by the private sector. The Council has been in negotiations with private sector landowners and retail operators over recent years with regard to facilitation of the site. However, the economic circumstances/recession have had a major impact on the deliverability of the scheme. Furthermore, issues have arisen about ensuring that revised guidance from the Health Safety Executive (HSE) are fully taken into account with regard to both the gasholders within the site and nearby installations on the north bank of the River Tees.

Future Actions

  1. Ongoing liaisons with the property owners and potential developers within the CannonPark area are ongoing. Potentially, a planning application for a new flagship Barker and Stonehouse store at the western end of the site could be submitted for planning approval within the next six months
  1. However, the integration of CannonPark as part of organic extension to the town centre overall could be largely dependant on how the areas integrated between the western end of the Hill Street Centre/Bus Station and CannonPark itself. The Council does have some ownership interest in this area and is working with other property owners.
  1. It is therefore anticipated that a further design framework needs to be prepared to ensure that the integration of the CannonPark scheme with the western end of the town centre is successfully achieved and the development agreement/planning permissions reflect this. It is anticipated that the production of the revised framework will take approximately 12 – 18 months to complete.

CULTURAL QUARTER