Richard Carmichael (regeneration officer Scotswood project):

It changed our point of view'

'Because we have developed our plans alongside the ReUrbA project we have been able to take in a lot of the theories and translate them into our project', says Richard Carmichael, regeneration officer for the Scotswood project. 'Especially two of the themes, lifestyles and value orientated planning are underlying our ambitious master plan. The problem in the Scotswood area, apart from a very negative external image, is that the housing is unable to adapt to the changing needs of family life. This is why we are developing the concept of 'Long life, Loose fit'. Traditionally, British houses are mainly brick boxes that do not allow flexibility or adaptability. We want to design modular houses, that can be adapted according to the needs of the people who live there.' This will enable families to remain in the area of Scotswood rather than having to move elsewhere as their circumstances change.
'The second theme we learned through ReUrbA is the value orientated planning.It has fundamentally changed the way we are looking at financing and delivering the project. The West Newcastle team is encouraging the use of a Property Regeneration Partnership to delivery the Housing Expo and Master plan in Scotswood. However, this type of public private partnership is relatively untried in England, except on some schemes in London. The Partnership will be formed on the council providing the land (as an asset) and the investors a capital amount equal to this land asset. This will allow significant investment up front at the start of the development process. It is considered that we will lose money in the first years of the project, but as the first phases of the project are finished, the value of the land will be increasing. We will then capture this value in the years to come on future projects to make an overall profit.' Interest of investors in the Newcastle recipe is real. To give the project more momentum, the first phase will be presented as an international expo, to be held in 2010.
>>> The benefits for 'London'
>>> The benefits for 'Saarbrücken'
>>> The Closing Conference in The Hague