Two at the Top

City development companies are the shiny new GTIs in the car fleet of regeneration delivery agencies. With a broader-ranging remit than their immediate predecessors, the urban regeneration companies, they will need experienced drivers to get the best out of them. The first CDCs have exactly that. Some big figures with expertise across both public and private sector gleaned from national and international regeneration are being attracted to take on the role of having a physical impact on a city, and laying the foundations for, they hope, sustainable prosperity.

While some may shudder at the thought of government creating yet another quango, CDCs promise an outcome that the government finds highly attractive in allying economic growth with physical regeneration. There is also the potential for CDCs to reduce quango numbers at a local level, as a number are being created from existing urban regeneration companies (URCs), and can incorporate other agencies, as at Creative Sheffield which incorporates URC Sheffield One, investment agency Sheffield First and the Cultural Industries Quarter Agency.

The government set out its proposals for the CDC concept for English cities and city-regions in the 2006 local government white paper and published a consultation document on their role last December. Already cities are seizing the nettle and embarking on the process of establishing a CDC. Sheffield led the way with Creative Sheffield, which officially came into being in April this year. Others are following suit, like Hull Forward.

Hull Forward

Former deputy prime minister John Prescott may have retired from the regeneration stage, but his former constituency is still in the vanguard of delivering change. Upcoming city development company Hull Forward is set to grow out of the urban regeneration company Hull Citybuild and former director of regeneration at One North East John Holmes last month took on the job of chief executive of Hull Citybuild and chief executive designate of the CDC. Holmes has worked in private and public sectors, including a stint as urban renewal consultant to the then Department of the Environment.

How far has Hull Citybuild brought the city in five years? The URC has focused on five or six developments in the city centre. They are all within a very tight area and are interrelated. Some have taken a while to get off the ground, but there is a feeling that here is a city that is on the cusp of something big. When you add all the initiatives going on here together – the URC activity, Building Schools for the Future and Housing Market Renewal you have a couple of billion pounds of investment in the area.

With good universities, the port and employers like Smith and Nephew it is an increasingly outward facing city.

How much further has the city got to go?

In terms of major developments the 50,000m² St Stephens opened last month. That is the first major scheme completed here. Then Humber Quays is on the way, the Fruit Market is in the process of selecting a developer, we have planning permission for a residential and hotel development and the Quay West mixed-use scheme is in masterplanning.

Are this year’s floods a setback to the aspirations?

There may have to be tweaks on the housing side in the light of them, but the city centre was virtually unaffected. Confidence in the city has not been affected.

What difference will CDC status make to delivery and what will Hull Forward’s priorities be?

CDCs have the flexibility to encompass economic regeneration. We need to make sure the area is sustainable, that graduates stay and that the companies that set up business remain. A priority will be to make sure policies are aligned – the CDC has to reflect the regional economic strategy and the strategies of the Northern Way and Yorkshire Forward. We also need to make sure that private sector players feel a part of it; we have a business forum up and running already.

But how will Hull Forward distinguish Hull from all the other locations trying to attract businesses and people?

We have to be realistic about what’s there and what can be delivered. We’ll have to play on our USPs – for example, we have the port, so there is the potential for port logistics. Then there’s tourism – a million people pass through the passenger terminal. I've had to queue around the corner to get into the aquarium the Deep – it has been an incredible success and the city also has a historic core with a museum on William Wilberforce. There is the potential for cruise tourism.

What are your biggest challenges now?

Our biggest challenge is getting there. I want to hit the ground running. But it will all need careful management between now and next April when the CDC becomes operational.

What made you want to move to Hull, and particularly to a CDC?

Given my background in physical regeneration it was a good opportunity and it was timely that the URC was moving into a CDC. I have worked in Hull before; in the late 1980s I was seconded by the Department of the Environment to work as project manager on Victoria Dock.

What are the most important lessons that working in the private sector has taught you – and from the public sector?

From the private sector, learned resilience in being able to talk the talk with investors. From the public sector, I have learned how systems work, at a national, regional and sub-regional level.