Meanwhile, in Mayfield: community buy-in before spades are in the ground

COMMENT As the world slowly returns to normal, minds are focused on the future, and plans to drive regeneration and boost economic recovery are beginning to materialise. The government has made it clear that regeneration projects across the UK will form crucial components of the recovery, as well as its levelling-up agenda. However, the long lead times on these often-complex schemes don’t satisfy communities’ need for action and progress now. This is where meanwhile uses come into their own. They encourage positive perceptions of projects, helping them to be seen as exciting evolutions of neighbourhoods rather than just disruptive construction sites. This is all thanks to the community buy-in they generate. Any developer or planner will tell you that public support for a project is crucial to its long-term success, otherwise you are faced with a steep uphill battle from the outset. Project teams should allow communities to build a relationship with a new development, making them part of the regeneration process rather than merely a witness to plans and public consultations. Plus, construction sites aren’t pretty – anything that helps to deliver more usable and attractive spaces can only be a good thing. And what better way to create excitement around a project than to give people a taste of what to expect? Meanwhile in Mayfield An example of a successful meanwhile use in action can be found at Mayfield in Manchester. Along with Manchester City Council, Transport for Greater Manchester and specialist regeneration developer U+I, we form part of the Mayfield Partnership, which is working to deliver the £1.4bn, 24-acre placemaking development. Once complete, it will feature 1,300 new homes, 1.7m sq ft of commercial space and a 6.5-acre park – Manchester’s first city centre park in more than a century. While development is ongoing, Escape to Freight Island – a vibrant food, drink and live entertainment destination that has drawn independent traders from across the region, as well as thousands of visitors – is already open to the public. The venue makes use of the former railway depot and adjacent outdoor space which will form phase two of the development, while phase 1a on the other side of Mayfield makes headway, unearthing the city’s historic Medlock river, which will run through the centre of the park. Importantly, Mancunians and the city’s visitors aren’t waiting years to see one of the region’s biggest projects come to life – they can experience it now, making use of a space that had previously lain derelict for more than three decades. In turn, Mayfield is helping to attract new visitors to Manchester, and generating spend for businesses located within the development and elsewhere in the city. This is what regeneration driving an economic recovery should look like. However, as many project stakeholders will know, bringing such initiatives to fruition is easier said than done. What’s required to make meanwhile plans reality is a collaborative approach, with all parties bound by the same vision for the project. For Escape to Freight Island, U+I, along with entertainment group Broadwick Live and interior designer Phaus, moved quickly to bring the project forward in response to Covid-19. Collaboration is crucial because the skills, resources and expertise needed to make meanwhile uses work never originate from just one source. With Mayfield and Escape to Freight Island, the mix of experienced developers and knowledgeable local authorities gave us the tools to unlock the complex site for development. Bringing on board a seasoned operator as committed to the project as we are gives it the very best chance of success. Unified approach Entertainment destinations are just one form of meanwhile use. The Maria Fidelis school used to straddle the eastern and western flanks of Euston station, and we helped the school to acquire additional land to the east to unify the primary and secondary sites to create a new junior school as work got underway to deliver HS2 at the station. The meanwhile use for the vacant western side of the station is now a workspace, community facility and a construction skills centre funded by HS2. Initiatives like this are what ensures projects tangibly benefit communities even before spades are in the ground. What’s more, it creates a level of optimism among the community that regeneration really will bring better things – the value they will create is clear from the outset, rather than looking like just another construction project. Recovery following the pandemic won’t be easy. But if these projects and their influence on communities and the economy are to be a success, engaging the community in a way beyond consultations will be vital. The government, developers and local authorities must pool their collective knowledge and resources to ensure that regeneration produces the tangible progress that communities crave now.   Peter Hawthorne is chief executive of LCR