Implementation Opportunities

Regeneration is dependent upon partnership between the public and private sector. Two important tasks will be required:

i) To champion the vision for St. George’s
This is about promoting the area as an attractive place in which to invest. It will require raising awareness, building confidence and encouraging appropriate development projects. A key role will be in facilitating contact, mutual understanding and agreement between private and public sectors. One way of bringing this forward could be to establish a ‘St. George’s Development Forum’, where a wide range of parties could come together regularly to discuss issues, report on progress and resolve differences. It could also monitor the effectiveness of the guidance to ensure it remains relevant, credible and widely supported. The remit, membership and chair of such a forum will require further consideration.

ii) To help bring forward site development
Whilst some sites will require no assistance in developing, others may require more pro-active intervention. This might involve action to:

• Identify owners and their intentions for particular sites.
• Encourage redevelopment ideas on the basis of the Strategy.
• Broker an agreed action plan for development (who is involved, what is intended, when will it happen).
• Help in marketing the site and the selection of a preferred developer.
• Demonstrate financial feasibility/profitability.
• Assist in identifying alternative premises if required.
• Attract and channel external gap funding.
• Resolve planning and control issues.
• Pursue the feasibility of CPO.

It is clear that the City Council will play a key role in such activity. It may be that the new Leicester Regeneration Company will also be instrumental in the delivery process. (URCs are private/public development companies jointly funded by the local authority, the regional development agency and English Partnerships).

Partnership between the public and private sectors helps facilitate implementation in the following ways:

• By identifying development opportunities and improvements to existing routes and public spaces.
• Providing information on site areas, existing uses and land ownership.
• Providing at an early stage in the development process the key requirements that the City Council will seek from development proposals enabling developers to take into account any additional costs when negotiating land purchases.
• Helping to reduce delays and increase confidence in the planning process by providing greater certainty.
• By identifying external funding sources.
• By raising the profile of the area and promoting the area to key developers within Leicester and further afield.
• Identifying on individual sites the key parties that will need to be involved in implementing development.
• Putting development in the context of other strategies within the area and in relation to other sites.

The City Council will work with English Partnerships, the East Midlands Development Agency, the Leicester URC and with the private sector to ensure St. Georges is a priority for sustainable regeneration.