Insider on the outside - Jon Rouse, chief executive, London Borough of Croydon

Adam Branson, Regeneration & Renewal, 3 October 2008

Rosue: Enjoying tacking Croydon's local concerns

Jon Rouse, chief executive of the London Borough of Croydon, the ninth biggest unitary authority in England, is all affability as he shakes my right hand. With my left hand, however, I pass him a confidential council paper that has been left lying on the coffee table in his outer office. The contents are nothing to interest readers of this magazine - or else the paper would have been pocketed swiftly - but the indiscretion is enough to disturb Rouse's bonhomie. He excuses himself for a few minutes, then returns with the smile intact. "Thank you," he says. A polite fellow, maybe, but I'm glad not to have been the one leaving sensitive council papers lying around for the press to find.

Aged just 40, Rouse is a singular man. A lot of ambitious people who come to London and find success don't leave. Or if they do, they leave for the comfort of an Olde England, Home Counties idyll. Rouse, however, former chief executive of social homes agency the Housing Corporation and the man who set up and led advisory body the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment, is cut of a different cloth. Asked to name his dream job, he often replies: "Chief executive of Bradford City Council" - Bradford being the city of his birth.

For now, however, Rouse is focused on the job he's doing - these are, after all, interesting times for Croydon. The council most recently made the headlines when it lost its fight over the Croydon Gateway project. It had wanted to proceed with a scheme proposed by developer Arrowcroft, which involved building a multi-purpose stadium. However, when in August communities secretary Hazel Blears turned down the council's bid to serve a compulsory purchase order on the site's owner, rival developer Stanhope, she effectively gave the green light to Stanhope's plans for the gateway site.

"There were many positive things about (the Arrowcroft) proposal, which the inspector recognised," says Rouse. "The fundamental problem was one of viability. Now, we'll never know whether the decision on viability would have been different had it been made a year-and-a-half earlier in a different economic climate."

Rouse says that he is now more than happy to proceed with negotiations with Stanhope. "There comes a point where you have to say: 'We've pursued this for ten years and we haven't actually delivered what we had hoped to deliver', and then be humble enough to say: 'Okay, let's go with someone else's plan'." The bigger issue now, he adds, is how much Stanhope is going to be able to do, given the current economic downturn.

"Our job is to try to facilitate that as much as we can, which means looking for inward investment." However, Rouse also believes that sacrifices may have to be made if the project is to get off the ground. "On the residential elements, we need to be open and flexible in terms of the tenure mix and making sure that the scheme has the best chance possible of being deliverable," he says. "Having said that, what we don't want to do is to compromise, to bend over to such an extent that in four years' time we go: 'Oh my god, did we really allow that to happen?'"

Croydon's hopes of getting development moving have also been raised by the fact that it is tipped to become the first local authority in the country to set up a local asset-backed vehicle (LABV). The vehicles work by combining council-owned land and property assets with an equivalent amount of cash from a developer and investing both into a newly formed company, and Rouse says he is on the cusp of signing an agreement with John Laing Projects and Developments.

The LABV will initially develop four sites, all of which are currently owned by the council. It is this mix of public and private investment - and the consequent sharing of risk - that makes LABVs less vulnerable to market fluctuations, says Rouse. "It's a 20-year relationship - that's longer than most marriages. So, we can phase the development appropriately."

However, given that John Laing was selected as the preferred partner in June, negotiations seem to have been protracted. For his part, Rouse isn't concerned: "It's mostly about governance. We're making sure we've got the board structure right, the relationship between the two clients right - all the things involved in setting up any joint venture," he says, adding that he expects the deal to be signed this month.

Croydon also hit the headlines last year as a result of the Will Alsop masterplan for the town. Attracting headlines such as "Croydon to be the new Barcelona", Alsop's controversial reputation ensured that Croydon spent several days in the media spotlight. However, Alsop's plans sometimes seem to make a splash and then fall off the radar. His plan to build a lake in central Bradford, for instance, was described as a "publicity stunt" by one source close to the council.

But Rouse denies that Croydon's decision to use Alsop was an attempt to attract media attention. "It was never that! Will used to live here. He knows the history of Croydon. He knows the narrative of the place," says Rouse. "The work he did here was much more sober, much more reflective." Rouse says Croydon is still committed to the Alsop plan and that the architect is on a retainer to the council. "I see no reason why that plan would not last Croydon for 20 years," he adds.

Rouse also has high hopes that the new Homes and Communities Agency (Haca), which is being formed by a merger of Rouse's old employers the Housing Corporation and national regeneration agency English Partnerships, will help to give Croydon a boost. "It's no surprise to say that Croydon is going to be a major investment hub for Haca. David Lunts (Haca's London regional director) and I have already had that conversation and of course it is - it's self-evident."

Haca chief executive designate Sir Bob Kerslake has said that the new super-quango will have "single conversations" with local authorities that will lead to single investment plans aimed at addressing key local priorities over a fixed funding period of three years, and, according to Rouse, possibly five years, Treasury approval permitting. It is an approach that he welcomes with open arms. "What we crave is what they're offering ... If Haca can deliver that, it will be a major step forward for regeneration in this country," he says.

But does Rouse really think that it's practical for Haca to have single conversations with every local authority in the country? "I think there would be a hell of a lot of conversations!" he replies. "I think that, realistically, there will have to be a move towards sub-regional engagement," he adds.

The Gateway project, the LABV, Alsop's masterplan ... there is certainly a lot going on in Croydon. But how does everything fit together? Is there some grand vision that unifies all the projects and plans? "To be honest, that was the main strategic flaw that I found when I came into the borough," replies Rouse. "I asked to see the vision and there wasn't one. That has to be corrected." In response, Rouse has commissioned consultants Renaisi to produce a report tying up the loose ends.

With the volume and mix of projects happening in the area, Croydon seems better placed than most to get on with regeneration, despite the difficult financial times. There's the sneaking suspicion that if it doesn't go to plan then Rouse will stick around until it does. If it goes swimmingly, then Bradford knows what to expect.

CV HIGHLIGHTS

1990: Appointed private secretary to the then minister for housing and local government David Curry. Works on secondment for the Energy Saving Trust and the London Borough of Ealing.

1995: Made policy and communications manager at English Partnerships.

1998: Works as secretary to the Urban Task Force.

2000: Becomes chief executive of the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment.

2004: Made chief executive of the Housing Corporation.

2007: Appointed chief executive of the London Borough of Croydon.