How meanwhile use can build bridges in the community

The MoD’s Prince Philip Barracks in Bordon, Hampshire, is a constant hive of activity: The sports pitches and swimming pool are ever popular, the officers’ mess alive with functions, army buildings are full of workers and logistics vehicles drive back and forth. This is despite the fact that the 1,500 soldiers of the Bordon Garrison vacated in 2015. The activity is down to meanwhile use, which allows numerous commercial and community groups take advantage of the old army facilities. “Meanwhile use” is the catchall title for the temporary operation of buildings or land on an interim basis before development begins. At its base level it provides rental or commercial revenue, which offsets the ongoing costs of insurance, maintenance and security. James Childs, project director at Whitehill & Bordon Regeneration Company, the partnership responsible for creating a new town on the site, says: “We could have just demolished the whole base but we would have missed out on a world of opportunity.’” [caption id="attachment_883250" align="alignright" width="210"] The area of land set to be redeveloped[/caption] The benefits go beyond income. Meanwhile use can install life and activity in an area, generate interest and help placemaking in new locations and act as a testing ground for future development. It is also one of the most efficient ways of harnessing and maintaining community involvement and support. Andrew Cribb, chief executive of non-profit consultant 3Space, says: “Huge efforts in regeneration go on attracting new people to areas  but developers often forget the holy grail, which is to help and harness those already there.” Many planning authorities take meanwhile uses into consideration as they fear negativity from blighted sites and encourage economic development. Childs feels its meanwhile use policy was a major factor in receiving unanimous approval from the local authority. Penny Humphrey, head of marketing at regeneration specialist U+I, says while many public consultations are just box-ticking exercises, meanwhile use is a more effective process allowing the community to physically connect with a development. It lets developers assess viability of occupiers with early-stage market testing. Emily Berwyn, director of social enterprise Meanwhile Space, says: “Regeneration isn’t Field of Dreams: ‘If you build it, they will come.’ If you take that approach you will build a white elephant”. She says meanwhile use enables low-cost, low-risk opportunities for small enterprises, businesses or community groups to have high-profile space while developers assimilate prototypes for the permanent uses that will follow. This is an approach being taken at Bordon and U+I has successfully used in Brighton. If the temporary businesses flourish, they can provide ready-made tenants that decant into permanent space. Cribb says: “The challenge is securing a legacy from transitory investments” In Australia, Docklands Spaces, the 146ha regeneration around Melbourne’s waterfront, kickstarted its commercial development programme by providing rent-free temporary accommodation to 21 community businesses: 19 of the spaces are now permanently occupied. Regeneration isn’t Field of Dreams: ‘If you build it, they will come.’ If you take that approach you will build a white elephant As well as incubating start-ups, meanwhile uses can enhance a location’s attractiveness to potential future tenants. In Greenwich, the Cathedral Group (now U+I) created the high-quality Movement Café which attracted visitors who may not otherwise have known the area or what was going on. Childs says many of the new Bordon residents became aware of the development through either working at, or visiting, the meanwhile uses. Concern over extra costs and workload of meanwhile use has meant adoption outside the UK’s big cities is limited. Humphrey says U+I loses money on its meanwhile projects, adding: “But it’s not about the spreadsheet; we gain goodwill and harness the community.” Cribb says the costs involved are a small part of marketing budgets and are offset by the PR and goodwill produced. Whilst Berwyn says how important it is not to be seen as wastefu, she adds: “It’s not good to have your branding on an empty site.” For the future, Cribb says developers and the authorities must ingrain meanwhile use into every day thinking. “If, for instance, driverless cars take off, what will happen with car parks? You can’t wait for a cultural quarter to just come along, you must develop meanwhile use as a catalyst for change.” Community-led meanwhile use U+I Meanwhile use is intrinsic to U+I’s ethos. “From day one, we talk, consult and involve the community in our projects,” says Penny Humphrey, head of marketing. At Mayfield, the £850m, 24-acre, 10-year project in central Manchester, U+I is using meanwhile space to open the disused railway site to the local community after more than 30 years of being out of bounds. From the start, U+I is creating public open space and street food stalls at the site to bring in the public. As well as community involvement, it is believed that today’s visitors may become workers or residents there in 10 years’ time. Humphreys says: “People didn’t know about Mayfield. Our projects reconnect and familiarise people.” Throughout its projects, U+I provides low-cost incubator space so start-ups can concentrate resources into growing their businesses and ultimately, hopefully, taking space in the finished scheme. EDI EDI’s Fountainbridge regeneration project in Edinburgh is a masterpiece of community-led meanwhile use. Initiatives include The Forge, a community workshop housed in shipping containers, The Pianodrome amphitheatre made out of old pianos, a junk playground and a community garden. Denise Havard, community development manager, says such initiatives establish a dialogue between EDI and the local community, keeping them involved at all stages of a project and ultimately reducing the chance of a public backlash. It also gets people accustomed to using a space. Havard says: “Meanwhile use increases security, gets publicity and creates a buzz. It ultimately encourages regeneration.” Whitehill & Bordon regeneration Meanwhile use projects at the MoD’s Prince Philip Barracks regeneration project have helped restore belief in the Hampshire community affected by the departure of the 1,500 Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers personnel. It has also allayed doubts of development since the rescinding of the government’s promise to develop an eco town there. James Childs, project director at Whitehill & Bordon Regeneration, says: “By opening up the barracks, the locals could come on site and see what is happening. It installs a sense of belief that change is for good.” Locals can make use of the swimming pool and other sports facilities until the leisure centre opens in 2019 and community functions take place in the old army buildings. Also fire and police services train there. As well as the community use, local businesses have let 500,000 sq ft of space. Childs says new business has been brought into the town, going a long way to replace the economy that was lost when the army left. The aim is that successful businesses will be incorporated into the 200,000 sq ft of commercial space that is being developed. While the income from the commercial lettings goes a long way to subsidising the MoD’s Lyneham development, Childs says the meanwhile use is not driven by maximising income. “We take a holistic view,” he says. “This is vital to raising awareness and understanding our regeneration programme.”