English Cities Fund commitment to deliver major benefits across NW
A partnership to deliver regeneration across the North, including key schemes in the North West region, has been reconfirmed.
Housing and regeneration agency Homes England, Legal & General and Muse Developments have pledged their commitment to The English Cities Fund (ECF), for a further 10 years, to December 2036.
This will lead to an additional 6,600 homes to be built and to reinvest its capital into new, long term urban regeneration schemes to support the Levelling Up of towns and cities.
This includes a £2.5bn, 240-acre scheme that ECF has secured at Salford Crescent in partnership with Salford City Council and the University of Salford, which will bring more than 3,000 homes, alongside up to one million sq ft of space to innovate and collaborate, one million sq ft of offices, retail, leisure and a new multi-modal transport hub.
A catalytic infrastructure and public realm project, Salford Rise, which received £13.17m from the first lot of Levelling Up Funding, will deliver a green boulevard in the sky that stretches over Fredrick Road to connect communities across the city to the opportunities the regeneration will create.
Another example is the ‘once in a generation’, borough-wide transformation of St Helens, starting in the town centres of Earlestown and St Helens itself.
ECF has partnered with St Helens Borough Council to bring forward opportunities to sustainably repurpose and regenerate areas across the borough, such as delivering a new market hall, Grade A office space, high quality town centre homes, active transport infrastructure, along with extensive public realm improvements.
This vision was bought one step closer to reality in February 2022, when the council’s cabinet signed off on the Masterplan Development Frameworks, prior to a planning application later this year.
Together, the regeneration of these two key Levelling Up areas will deliver more than 4,000 of the 6,600 new homes.
Housing Minister Stuart Andrew said: “Regenerating urban areas and transforming brownfield sites into thriving communities is integral to levelling up the country.
“Through the English Cities Fund, the public and private sector are working hand in hand to create high quality new homes and jobs in areas that need them most.”
Sir Michael Lyons, chair of ECF, said: “Our towns and cities are the engine rooms of our economy. By bringing together the investment and regeneration skills of Homes England, Legal & General and Muse Developments, we are uniquely equipped to help in reshaping and strengthening local economies.”
Peter Denton, chief executive at Homes England, said: “The English Cities Fund has a track record of successfully taking on challenging schemes that the private sector alone has not been able to deliver. Bringing together the best of the public and private sector, it has set the benchmark for what good regeneration looks like.”
Kate Bowyer, managing director at Muse Developments, said: “Since 2001, ECF has been critical in delivering levelling up projects in towns and cities in need, driving tangible, generational benefits to all areas of a community. ECF is a unique partnership between the public and private sector that consistently delivers. Extending its life highlights our collective commitment to improving homes, lives and communities, through the delivery of inclusive, connected places.”
To date, ECF has started 2,270 homes, 1,801 of which have been completed, with a further 1,800 starts expected by 2026.
It has also delivered more than one million sq ft of commercial, retail and leisure space, and has improved the public spaces and transport links in the regions it has invested in. ECF’s investment has also acted as a catalyst for further investment into these regions, as evidenced by the 18,000 homes that have been, or are in the process of being, built in Salford and the surrounding Manchester regions.
