Open Meeting 2002: Synopsis

Margaret Ford
Chairman, English Partnerships

"Our new overriding aim is to support high quality sustainable growth in England and this encompasses all of our activity, whether designed to address housing pressure, urban regeneration, creation of sustainable urban extensions, or best practice in design. Everything we do will be of a high quality and we will set ourselves new standards, put them into practice, and challenge the market to respond."

John Walker
Acting Chief Executive, English Partnerships

"Over the last financial year we approved project investments of £131 million, which it is estimated will give rise to 466 hectares of land reclaimed or serviced, over 14,800 job opportunities, some 932,000 square metres of industrial commercial floor space, nearly 2,000 residential units and £820 million of private sector investment.

" Partnership is key to successful regeneration. The involvement of key stakeholders and the alignment of varying interests early in the development process is vital for the success of a partnership and the delivery of its objectives. Partnerships allow for the integrated approach necessary to meet the challenges posed by any area of need, aiming at a range of social, economic and environmental improvements."

David Shelton
Development Director, English Partnerships

"It´s our belief that whether we´re tackling the problems of deprivation, housing market failure, the opportunities to secure the regeneration and renaissance in our towns and cities or focusing on accommodating growth sustainably in the greater south-east, bringing previously developed land into productive use is a major driver for change."

"We think it is now time for the regeneration community to make a psychological change in how we view and define previously developed land because if we can do that, we can make a far greater impact within our existing urban areas."

Peter Springett
Area Director - Housing (South), English Partnerships

"Development is a very live, active process. We have to look at how we can improve the product, improve the delivery of that product. So we´re moving from adapting to improving. As I said, it´s a question of learning from the past. It´s important, therefore, in learning from the past, to repeat the successes of the past, but it´s vital - and much more important - to avoid the mistakes. It is all about maximising potential rather than limiting the possibilities and concentrating on what we can achieve, rather than what we could achieve."

Cllr Arthur McCutcheon
Northampton Borough Council and Northamptonshire County Council

"The Enquiry by Design process has now become sufficiently well established for us to be quite sure that tomorrow morning when the Queen is making a speech in parliament, that she´ll be mentioning Enquiry by Design as being part of the basis of developments in the future. Because we´re in partnership on brownfield sites as well, we´re looking forward to working with English Partnerships for a long time into the future."

Miles Anderson
Divisional Director - Portfolio Development, English Partnerships

"English Partnerships and the Housing Corporation have had common interests for as long as they have both been in existence. What we´re now doing is recognising the strength of that relationship and building on it. This strengthening is about helping the Deputy Prime Minister to achieve his vision of "Living Communities" through, amongst other things, the provision of affordable and key worker housing. Both organisations are fully committed to working together to achieve this objective and more importantly are working actively together."

Neil Hadden
Assistant Chief Executive, Housing Corporation

"The next big announcement is likely to be the Deputy Prime Minister´s planned statement sometime in the New Year, where he will set out his vision for housing in this country. From where I sit, it seems to me that the relationship we´re building between English Partnerships and the Housing Corporation will make sure that both of our organisations are in a good position to deliver the step change required."

Euan Hall
Divisional Director - Coalfields /JVs, English Partnerships

"Since the late 1970s, almost 250,000 jobs have been lost in Britain´s coal industry, and over 150 pits have shut. But that isn´t the whole picture, because on top of those 250,000 jobs over 1.5m people actually lived in pit villages, so over four million people across England were dependent on the mining industry for their livelihood."

"Regeneration, if we´re going to truly achieve it means energising and inspiring local communities. We work in partnership. Our principal partners are the Regional Development Agencies, but also include the private sector, local authorities and - very importantly - the voluntary sector, which is at the forefront of creating community involvement."

Graham Parry
Chief Executive, En-Prove

"We believe that prosperity will only be achieved in coalfield communities if regeneration programmes are co-ordinated to raise the aspirations and skills of individuals, hand in hand with the physical renewal required to bring about inward investment and jobs." "And time and time again you see that this process of training individuals, involving individuals, and inspiring individuals brings about an even more profound effect on their lives than we originally thought."