REVIEW OF ENGLISH PARTNERSHIPS OUTLINES NEW ROLE

REVIEW OF ENGLISH PARTNERSHIPS OUTLINES NEW ROLE The Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott, today concluded the Review of English Partnerships by outlining its new role as a key delivery agency in the government's new 'living communities' agenda to regenerate our towns, cities and rural areas. English Partnerships' new role will centre on: · Ensuring effective co-ordination of plans for key worker and affordable housing by working closely with the Housing Corporation and other key agencies such as Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) · Advising on development of surplus government land and buildings that can help create new communities where they are most needed · Assisting with the assembly of sites for regeneration and sustainable development · Developing and maintaining a national brownfield strategy, which will include best practice guidance on assembly, remediation and development of land and buildings · Operating its innovative programmes - including the National Coalfields Programme, Millennium Communities, Urban Regeneration Companies (URCs), English Cities Fund, National Land Use Database (NLUD), Land Stabilisation Programme, www.englishsites.com and Priority Sites - and developing new ideas for extending good practice · Managing a regime enabling developers to use approved 'gap' funding for the delivery of housing projects that would otherwise be commercially unviable Today's announcement also confirmed an initial list of more than 40 sites (attached) which would be retained for development. Work on the identification of sites for transfer is ongoing. English Partnerships' Chairman, Margaret Ford, endorsed today's announcement as a watershed in the evolution of English Partnerships' remit: "We welcome the clarity brought to our role by the Deputy Prime Minister and are absolutely delighted to have this vital new agenda to take forward. "English Partnerships is on the threshold of a great new future - focused, skilled and with real enthusiasm for creating communities where people really want to live and work. We will make the urban renaissance a reality by working closely with our partners to bring regeneration to areas of greatest need and addressing the demand for affordable housing. 'Living communities' are more than an aspiration - they are a social, economic and environmental imperative. This is our challenge and we are more than ready for the task." For further information please contact: English Partnerships' Press Office Tel: (020) 7881 1647 Fax: (020) 7881 1654 Email: pressoffice@englishpartnerships.co.uk Web: www.englishpartnerships.co.uk Notes to Editors 1. The Review of English Partnerships by its sponsoring department began in October 2001. The first stage findings were reported in March 2002 and today's announcement concludes the second and final stage of the Review. English Partnerships' new remit now focuses on four key areas: Accommodating Housing Growth - Ensuring effective co-ordination of plans for key worker and affordable housing by working closely with the Housing Corporation and other key agencies such as Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) - Managing a 'gap' funding regime for the delivery of housing projects that would otherwise be commercially unviable Re-Use of Brownfield Land for Sustainable Development - Advising on development of surplus government land and buildings to help create new communities where they are most needed - Developing and maintaining a national brownfield strategy, which will include best practice guidance on assembly, remediation and development of land and buildings - Delivering ongoing initiatives such as the National Coalfields Programme, National Land Use Database (NLUD), www.englishsites.com, Land Stabilisation Programme and Priority Sites Managing our Land Portfolio - Managing a portfolio of more than 40 sites, to help deliver sustainable regeneration and new homes - Assisting with the assembly of sites for regeneration and sustainable development Demonstrating and Disseminating Best Practice - Acting as the government's principal advisor on brownfield regeneration, providing intelligence, expertise and funding in remediation and redevelopment - Delivering demonstration projects and models which set new standards for design and sustainability, such as the Millennium Communities Programme and the Urban Regeneration Companies (URCs) - Creating new initiatives to increase the skills, capacity and resources available for sustainable regeneration and high-quality environments 2. Sites retained for development have been identified in the following locations: 3. LOCATION SITE Eastern 1 Basildon Gardiners Lane 2 Basildon Dry Street 3 Basildon Five Links (Phase 2) 4 Harlow Sports Centre 5 Hatfield Town Centre 6 Hemel Hempstead Spencers Park 7 Hemel Hempstead Paradise Fields 8 Hemel Hempstead Breakspear 9 Stevenage Town Centre 10 Stevenage West Stevenage 11 Peterborough Various sites North East 12 Middlesbrough Middlehaven 13 Stockton North Bank 14 Stockton Haverton Hill North West 15 Liverpool Kings Waterfront 16 Liverpool Liverpool Land Development Co. sites 17 Preston Preston East 18 Preston Cuerdon Regional Business Park 19 Runcorn Castlefields 20 Skelmersdale Town Centre 21 Warrington Omega Yorkshire and the Humber 22 Sheffield Various sites in the URC East Midlands 23 Corby Various sites in the URC 24 Northampton SW District Phase 1 25 Northampton SW District Phases 2 and 3 West Midlands 26 Telford Town Centre 27 Telford South Telford (Woodside) 28 Telford Lightmoor 29 Telford East Ketley Millennium Community 30 Telford Lawley South West 31 Weston-super-Mare RAF Locking South East 32 Crawley Expansion sites 33 Crawley Town Centre 34 Milton Keynes Central MK / Campbell Park 35 Milton Keynes Oak Grove Millennium Community 36 Milton Keynes Bletchley / MK Stadium 37 Milton Keynes Broughton Atterbury 38 Milton Keynes East Flank 39 Milton Keynes West Flank 40 Milton Keynes National Bowl / East Ashland London 41 Greenwich Greenwich Peninsula including the Millennium Community Cross-regional 42 Various Key Worker Housing Initiative sites ------------------------------------------------------------ This information was brought to you by Waymaker http://www.waymaker.net The following files are available for download: http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2002/07/24/20020724BIT00530/wkr0001.doc http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2002/07/24/20020724BIT00530/wkr0002.pdf