Urban regeneration minister, David Curry MP, invited a second round of bidding for the Single Regeneration Budget Challenge Fund on April 12. Worth £240 million in total, £40 million is available in 1996/97 for partnership projects involving companies, local authorities and the voluntary sector. The SRB Challenge Fund brings together money previously spent under 20 separate programmes and is administered by the ten Government Offices for the Regions. The deadline for bids is September 18. Contact Department of the Environment on 0171 276 0900
SINGLE REGENERATION GUIDELINES
New guidelines have been published by the Community Development Foundation on community involvement in the Single Regeneration Budget Challenge Fund. They highlight the need for partnerships at local level, particularly between professional voluntary organisations and the business community, in community economic development initiatives. Explaining why community groups should be involved, the guidelines identify five roles of the community: as beneficiaries/users of services, as consultees and representatives, as sources of general community activity, as programme deliverers and as long-term partners. ContactÿElizabeth George, the Community Development Foundation, on 0171 226 5375
THE SRB STOCKTAKE
The Centre for Urban and Regional Studies, part of the School of Public Policy at Birmingham University, has produced a report, Single Regeneration Budget: the stocktake. Prepared for the Association of County Councils, District Councils and Metropolitan Authorities, it reviews the history of the SRB and the first round bidding. The private sector provided £2.9 million in matched funding, half the total, but only 15 private sector-led bids were successful. The report recommends a review of information gathering and appraisal techniques to ensure policy decisions are based on the most up-to-date information, more consistency in the second bidding round and the establishment of a network of regional support for the voluntary sector on regeneration and SRB. Contact John Mawson, The Centre for Urban and Regional Studies, on 0121 414 3260
REGENERATION FAILS
A report by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, published on April 6 argues that past lessons on urban renewal have been ignored. Schemes such as City Challenge and the Single Regeneration Budget lack resources and are too short to have a lasting impact. Made to last: creating sustainable neighbourhood and estate regeneration suggests that the private sector has shown little response to regeneration programmes and that employers are unwilling to hire staff from deprived areas. Contact Geoff Fordham, GFA Consulting, on 01279 466066 or for copies of the report BEBC Distribution on 01202 715555
INNER CITY FINANCE
Birmingham is the focus of a new inner city fund, the Aston Reinvestment Trust. The Trust, engaged in talks with NatWest, the Co-operative Bank and Mercury Provident, intends to raise £3.5 million in capital by next year, in a bid to bring financial services into inner city areas in Birmingham, through social housing, enterprise and support small businesses. Aston ward, one of Birmingham’s poorest areas, saw the closure of around twenty banks and building societies between 1989 and 1994. Contact Aston Reinvestment Trust on 0121 236 4808
THAMES ADVISORY GROUP
The Environment Minister, John Gummer MP, announced a new Thames Advisory Group on May 9, together with a Strategy report, which sets out guidelines for the protection and enhancement of the river, its natural and developed environment, from Greenwich to Hampton Court. The group includes Stuart Lipton, Chief Executive of Stanhope Properties, architect Sir Richard Rogers and Eric Sorensen, Chief Executive of LDDC. Contact Thames Advisory Group on 0171 276 0900
PARKS IN DECLINE
A study by the think-tank Demos and the consultancy Comedia argues that urban parks are in serious decline. Published on May 23, the study, Park Life: Urban Parks and Social Renewal, says that parks need new management, staffing and funding, as well as additional buildings, particularly childcare and health centres, to draw in new sources of revenue and activity. Contact Martin Bartle, Demos, on 0171 353 4479
BEST PRACTICE AWARDS
The British Urban Regeneration Association (BURA) has announced the six winners of its Best Practice Awards, sponsored by English Partnerships, KPMG and British Nuclear Fuels. Presented by BURA’s President, Lord Jenkin of Roding, the six awards went to the Italian Centre in Glasgow, the Eureka! Museum in Halifax, the Custard Factory in Birmingham, Carlisle Campus Complex and Brewery Hall of Residence, Whitfield Partnership in Dundee and Heart of Wapping and Wapping Waterside in the London Docklands. The awards seek to recognise the contribution of projects, economic and social, to the regeneration of a particular area. Contact Gerald Cary-Elwes, BURA, on 0171 253 5054
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