Securing Private Sector Investment in Town Centre Regeneration
What are Learning Points?
Learning Points share what people have learned from their experience in regeneration - from people working or talking together, or from research into issues and evaluation of what is happening. Learning Points can help people and organisations to improve their practice through identifying what works and what doesn't.
The views described in learning points do not mean that the Scottish Centre for Regeneration or the Scottish Government necessarily support them. They simply reflect what has been debated and what those involved in the event considered useful learning and lessons from their perspectives.
This event focused on how to secure private sector investment in town centre regeneration. It brought together people from the public, private and voluntary sector across Scotland to debate issues and share experiences.
The event was jointly hosted by the Town Centres and Local High Streets Learning Network and Business Improvement Districts Scotland (BIDS), in association with Scottish Business in the Community.
What are the important issues?
- Why is private sector investment in town centres important? How can it contribute to regeneration?
- How can new investment be attracted to our towns? What is it that makes businesses want to invest, to achieve their own outcomes?
- How can investment which builds on the existing strengths and knowledge of communities be encouraged?
- How can both hard and soft data be used to demonstrate the need for private sector investment?
- How can the individuality and identity of our town centres be retained while attracting new investment?
- How can the private sector enhance the town centre environment? Does this have benefits for communities and businesses?
- Does the public and voluntary sector have the necessary skills to work jointly with the private sector to regenerate Scotland's towns?
- The Scottish Government is committed to regenerating our town centres. It has supported Business Improvement Districts Scotland, the Town Centre Regeneration Fund, Urban Regeneration Companies and the Town Centres and Local High Streets Learning Network
- Private sector investment in our town centres can include many different activities, including: (1) choosing to locate in the town centre, (2) participating in a Business Improvement District or other activity to enhance the retail environment or jointly promote the area, (3) donating land or facilities, (4) working with local businesses and schools and (5) encouraging volunteering and making other social contributions
- Retail can be an important part of generating a mixed, sustainable community. It can encourage different people to come to the area and is often the first rung on the employment ladder for local people
- The challenges town centres face have often been created by many years of decline. But the current economic climate may make it more challenging to encourage the private sector to invest in our town centres and to make new developments work. Many existing town centres have been very badly affected
- We need to work together - and across the public, private, voluntary and community sector - to tackle disadvantage and regenerate our town centres. Work on town centres needs to be seen in the context of the whole town
What have we learned?
A clear vision is needed for our town centres:
- Before beginning work to attract private sector investment, partners need to be clear about what they want to achieve and how the private sector could contribute
- The approach taken to attracting investment should be based on an overall vision for the area. In some cases a large and well known retailer may encourage people to the area, or attract further investment. In others, supporting a range of smaller, local retailers can encourage diversity and variety
- People working in the public sector to tackle disadvantage can use jargon as shorthand. The private sector doesn't always use and understand this kind of language
Communities should be involved from the outset:
- Town centres need to be thought of in the context of what they mean to people who live in these towns. It is important to understand how people use and identify with their town and town centre before working to attract private sector investment
- Identifying 'the community' can be challenging. There are often few residents, but many people who use the town centre are influenced by decisions about what happens there. It is also important to involve people who are both for and against regeneration proposals
- Community members and local organisations have valuable knowledge and experience. Sometimes what businesses think is right for the area won't meet local demand
- Communities may need support and capacity building activity to ensure that they can influence decisions in an equal and informed way
Focus on community strengths and skills:
- Labeling communities as 'deprived' isn't always helpful. Communities don't always see themselves that way. And businesses won't always see the potential opportunities and strengths in these communities
- It can be useful to encourage businesses to tap into 'under-served markets'. An important part of attracting businesses is challenging perceptions - for example about community safety, buying power or social mix and income
We can influence decisions about investment:
- Businesses need clear economic data - both quantitative and qualitative -about the area, to help them to decide whether to invest
- Most businesses have their own model for how they judge areas. Sometimes you have to challenge these. For example, by including local activity like street retailing, the Harlem community demonstrated that there was an additional 20 per cent of spending going on than retailers had estimated
- A useful way of demonstrating need for local businesses is tracking 'leakage'. This is where people and businesses go elsewhere to buy goods or services. This can help build a picture of under-served markets
- Anecdotal experience can be powerful. But consideration should be given to how best to record such data. There is a need to show that this type of data is reliable and to share it widely with a range of private sector interests.
- It is best to engage with retailers directly on a one to one basis, if possible. This allows approaches and messages to be specifically tailored
- Businesses often balance economic and wider social aims. To some businesses, working in more challenging areas will be a low priority. But many will think about more than simply profitability when making their decisions
Large and high profile businesses can be valuable:
- Large or high profile businesses can provide a regular income, encourage people to visit the area, change perceptions of the area, or provide a status symbol. In Harlem, when Starbucks came to the area this sent a signal to the rest of the private sector
- Early private sector businesses choosing to locate in the area can have more power and flexibility
- As other businesses come to the area, partners can become more specific about the type of area they want to create, and any conditions that businesses need to meet
- Remember that businesses are taking a relative decision - comparing different areas for investment
Identity and individuality need to be considered:
- Small, specialist businesses can help with effective place making and identity. To avoid standardised retail opportunities across towns in Scotland partners should consider differentiation, distinctiveness and identity
- In smaller towns and more rural areas, identity is often particularly important. Using community heritage and memories can be valuable in supporting the community to decide what it wants the area to be like in the future
- Maintaining and supporting existing private sector investment is also important. Before working to attract new investment partners may want to work with existing local businesses to find out what they need and want
Joint private sector investment in town centres can add value:
- Local businesses can work together to create a positive environment to operate in. An example of this is where businesses work together through Business Improvement Districts (BIDs). This involves local businesses agreeing to jointly invest in local improvements, over and above the services already delivered by statutory organisations
- Joint private sector investment in the town centre environment can make businesses more competitive and profitable, at the same time as creating more sustainable, attractive and vibrant town centres
- When businesses work together they can have a much stronger and more influential voice, and can get involved at a more strategic level to influence decision making about the town centre
- It is important to think about the role of communities in BIDs. There is some concern that BIDs take decision making out of the hands of communities and the public sector. We need to consider how decisions about the town centre environment can involve local people, as well as local businesses, on an ongoing basis
Investing in skills and learning:
- Promoting private sector investment requires strong negotiation skills and flexible ways of working. There is a need to provide practical support and build the skills and capacity of staff in local authorities to work in this way more effectively. Elected members can have a significant influence and may also require training and support
- The Learning Network has a key role to play in spreading best practice amongst officers and elected members, to raise awareness and understanding. The Network may also be able to help to raise the profile of retail in Scotland, and promote its links with tackling disadvantage
What next?
- The issues identified at this event will form part of a programme of activity for the Town Centres and Local High Streets learning network, which the Scottish Centre for Regeneration will deliver in partnership with Business Improvement Districts Scotland.
- The learning network will provide support and help people to exchange information and ideas. This will include organising further events to share good practice; identifying and publishing information about case studies of good practice; and developing other opportunities for sharing experiences through study visits and Action Learning Sets.
- You can join the Learning Network online, or contact Yvonne Gavan, Learning Network Coordinator, on 0141 271 3734.
Further information
Scottish Centre for Regeneration
This document is published by the Scottish Centre for Regeneration, which is part of the Scottish Government. We support our public, private and voluntary sector delivery partners to become more effective at:
- regenerating communities and tackling poverty
- developing more successful town centres and local high streets
- creating and managing mixed and sustainable communities
- making housing more energy efficient
- managing housing more efficiently and effectively
We do this through:
- coordinating learning networks which bring people together to identify the challenges they face and to support them to tackle these through events, networking and capacity building programmes
- identifying and sharing innovation and practice through publishing documents detailing examples of projects and programmes and highlighting lessons learned
- developing partnerships with key players in the housing and regeneration sector to ensure that our activities meet their needs and support their work
Scottish Centre for Regeneration
Scottish Government
Highlander House
58 Waterloo Street
Glasgow
G2 7DA
Tel: 0141 271 3736
Email: contactscr@scotland.gsi.gov.uk
Website: www.partnersinregeneration.com
The views expressed in case studies are not necessarily shared by the Scottish Centre for Regeneration or the Scottish Government.
March 2010