Allister Hayman,
Regeneration & Renewal,
16 January 2009
Residents living near regeneration schemes have not benefited from the training and jobs opportunities created by them, say MPs.
A report by the All Party Urban Development Group (APUDG), a cross-party group of MPs and peers seen exclusively by Regeneration & Renewal, says that, while the UK's cities have undergone comprehensive physical regeneration over the past two decades, with resultant economic growth, those living near regeneration areas have not benefited by way of employment.
Planning agreements for new developments should prioritise local employment, the report says. It recommends that new regeneration quango the Homes and Communities Agency, along with public bodies such as councils, should make better use of section 106 planning gain agreements with developers in order to provide more jobs for residents.
The report says town halls must also promote the use of local labour on their own developments and fast-track planning applications that promise significant numbers of jobs for local residents.
Clive Betts MP, chair of the APUDG, said that regeneration projects have significant potential for getting local people trained and into work, but in many cases, newly built city centres and other areas of successful physical regeneration have been juxtaposed by continued deprivation and worklessness.
He said that more effort must be made to ensure that physical regeneration is better linked to local employment as the market turns.
Betts added: "The planning process provides a prime opportunity for councils to negotiate with private developers, thereby providing good training and job opportunities to local unemployed."
The report also recommends that adult skills budgets be devolved to statutory city-regions, so that training programmes can be better tailored to local conditions. It also recommends that an independent kite mark scheme be established that will enable public bodies to rank potential development partners based on their commitment to local employment outcomes.
- Building Jobs is available via www.regen.net/doc.
