As we look to build back better from the effects of the global pandemic, many local councils find themselves in the unenviable position of having to balance the provision of core services whilst delivering the essential housing, facilities and infrastructure that can secure growth and recovery for their towns and cities. Years of austerity has meant many local councils have not built facilities and infrastructure for decades and will lack teams with enough experience or technical resource to deliver complex regeneration schemes.
Such schemes are often completed over a long period of time and need to be implemented as part of a holistic approach, taking into account both social and economic needs. Assembling the right ingredients for these schemes presents a layer of complexity that can be difficult for either public or private organisations to resolve alone. By pooling together the powers, resources, management skills and technical know-how of both sectors, public-private partnerships offer the potential for a genuine focus on local priorities, especially in terms of the end users.
We know that collaborative working can be successful, as Urban Edge’s work with local councils to deliver town-centre regeneration projects via the Government’s Towns Fund initiative has proven. However, experience in the delivery of such schemes tells us that public-private partnerships can be complex and challenging, even for seemingly simple initiatives. A structured and carefully controlled process needs to be put in place and there are a number of key steps that councils embarking on such partnerships should consider.
Firstly, it is important that the local council sets a robust vision from the outset and creates a comprehensive brief. This can help to facilitate a long-term relationship with private-sector partners that will endure through any economic and political changes that may occur over the course of the project. The short-term nature of the UK’s local or national electoral cycle can often disrupt local programming and established implementation agreements. We have seen the whole process be reassessed or, in some cases, be discarded completely under a new leadership with a different set of priorities. In an ideal world, it would benefit everyone if regeneration or extensive infrastructure programmes were devised with cross-party support to outlast governmental changes and mitigate disruption.
Regardless, early engagement between the local council and the design team can ensure unviable options are eliminated from the outset and will avoid costly delays further down the line. On a number of occasions, having undertaken initial feasibility studies, we have been able to unlock sites which were previously deemed undevelopable thus opening up new avenues and opportunities for the local council to explore. In turn, this can allow for early engagement with relevant stakeholders and help avoid potential parcel price uplifts or ransom strips.
It is also advisable that the local council test the project’s route to market. A series of more detailed and developed options of the proposals will be created by the Design and Management Team in the form of feasibility studies and costings which will allow for a soft market test. This will give the local council, and partnership as a whole, the confidence to commit and move forward. This stage is also important for non-binding dialogue, which will shape the proposals and allow for certain elements to be reconsidered and reevaluated before a formal appointment process begins, shaping the partnership and ensuring fundability.
Once the partnership is formally agreed, making a strong start is important and will set the template for success and pace of delivery. However, maintaining the momentum of the project can often be the most challenging aspect of public-private partnerships and we would recommend agreeing to and setting out a series of actions, such as a continuous review and revision of KPIs and targets, as well as lessons learned, to help keep the project on track and allow for better outcomes.
Despite the fact that large-scale regeneration and essential infrastructure schemes can take years to get off the ground, they are essential for the ongoing prosperity of our local centres. Carefully planned and properly set-up, public-private partnerships can be an effective and appropriate delivery mechanism for improving not only the built environment, but also to create genuine economic and employment opportunities, paving a brighter future for generations to come.
Alexandros Marcoulides is associate director at Urban Edge Architecture
