Local Government Policy (Edexcel A Level Geography)

Local Government & Development

• Local governments compete to create attractive business environments, such as science and technology parks, which attract:

  • Domestic investors from within the UK

  • Foreign investors from overseas

  • Highly skilled workers

• The outcome of regeneration projects is determined by how successfully the local government develops plans and attracts investment 

  • A comprehensive economic development plan will need to consider both new housing and infrastructure 

• An attractive business environment can be achieved:

  • In enterprise zone areas

  • Through the development of science parks

Enterprise zones

• There are 48 designated enterprise zones across the UK 

• The local government in each area can decide what incentives they give to businesses in an enterprise zone, such as:

  • Discount on business rates for premises

  • Tax relief

  • More relaxed planning regulations

  • Superfast broadband

  • Government support for start-up costs

Science parks

• Science parks are designated areas created to promote innovation and act as hubs for advances in high technology e.g. pharmaceuticals, cyber-engineering

• They are intended to:

  • Support regeneration in economically depressed regions and cities of the UK by attracting new businesses and start-ups, which promotes economic growth 

  • Encourage the start-up and development of innovation-led, high-growth knowledge-based business

  • Provide an environment where international businesses can develop links with universities and higher education institutes

  • Raise the value of the business located there, as well as the income of people working there

• To encourage investment, science parks are often located in enterprise zones 

• Local governments will manage the infrastructure and provide the original funding for the parks as follows: 

  • A thriving science park requires additional services and amenities to meet the needs of many businesses, employees and students all in one place

  • The economic benefits extend to the local cafes, shops, gyms, childcare settings and accommodation providers, improving employment opportunities in the local area

• There are over 100 science parks in the UK, employing about 75,000 people

• Thames Valley Science Park (established in 2018) in Reading:

  • The University's science park is based next to the M4 for easy access to important cities (e.g. London) and transport links (e.g. Heathrow)

  • It is home to more than 80 companies, ranging from small start-up companies to global research and development organisation

  • The companies represent a wide range of technologies and sectors, from digital media to pioneering medical equipment

  • Large companies, such as Oracle, Huawei and Symantec, have based their UK Headquarters at the science park

  • The science park has recently diversified into film and TV production to attract more domestic and foreign investment

  • The Natural History Museum in London has opened a new facility at the science park to house around 27 million objects; it is the largest collection move since the 1880s

Local Interest Groups & Development

• Local authorities collaborate with different local interest groups in regeneration planning and management, such as:

  • Chambers of Commerce try to persuade local and national governments to invest in infrastructure, education and skills training

  • Local preservation societies aim to ensure that the regeneration and development does not lead to negative local consequences

  • Trade unions work to ensure that employers consider the rights and needs of workers in regeneration plans

• However, there is often conflict between these groups as their attitudes and aims differ 

  • Some groups may wish to preserve places, whilst others seek to change them

London Olympic Games (2012)

• The site of the Olympic Park covers part of  Stratford, Bow, Leyton, and Hackney Wick in East London

• These areas needed urban regeneration as they had:

  • High levels of deprivation and poverty

  • Large amounts of industrial wasteland

  • Higher than average unemployment than the rest of London

• The Olympic Park was mainly built on 560 acres of neglected and unused brownfield land

  • 2.3 million cubic metres of contaminated soil from past industries had to be cleaned

• Investment in the London Olympic Games boosted the UK’s economy by £9.9 billion

• However, the regeneration plan created challenges:

  • Residents of Clay Lane Housing Cooperative protested as their affordable housing was compulsorily purchased and demolished to make way for some of the Park

    • 450 residents were evicted 

    • The ‘East End' community and its culture were lost 

  • Gentrification increased rents in the area, making them unaffordable for the original residents

    • To live in the Olympic area after the Games, people needed to earn between £60,000 - £90,000 per year

    • The average income for local residents was approximately £27,000

  • Many Olympic-related jobs were temporary construction jobs

    • Few went to local people, despite high unemployment rates in the area

Urban & Rural Regeneration Strategies

• Urban and rural regeneration strategies include:

  • Retail-led plans - create business and job opportunities

  • Tourism - brings money into the area and provides a flow of culture and positive media attention

  • Leisure and sport - allows for community integration and social wellbeing 

  • Public/private rural diversification - to allow new or different businesses to flourish in more remote areas and boost income

Retail-led regeneration

• The development of retail centres:

  • Provides a wide variety of jobs to people of different backgrounds and ages

  • Boosts local spending as the centres contain cinemas, gyms, and restaurants, which can be used outside the traditional shopping hours

  • Often built on disused industrial land, e.g. Meadowhall (Sheffield) and the Trafford Centre (Manchester)

• The high street has suffered because of:

  • The increase in retail centres, which are usually located on the outskirts of settlements

  • The rapid growth of internet shopping

• The government has invested £1 billion into a Future High Streets Fund to help regenerate the high street by:

  • Encouraging more click-and-collect locations, pop-up shops, street markets and gyms

  • Funding structural changes to allow more covered markets

  • Reducing business rates and allowing more short-term leases to attract smaller retailers

• Middlesbrough Council has spent £12 million of its Future High Street budget on purchasing the Cleveland Shopping Centre, which is located in the town centre

  • It accounts for 30% of the overall retail space in the town centre

  • The council hope to diversify the floor space to a mix of commercial and leisure use

Tourism-led regeneration

• Many rural and urban areas within the UK encourage tourism, as it can help regeneration through:

  • Individual households offering AirBnB 

  • Custom-built private centres e.g. Center Parcs

  • Entire settlements devoted to tourism e.g. coastal resorts - Blackpool, Bridlington

• The tourist industry is not a reliable way to secure regeneration, as its success can be affected by:

  • Terrorist attacks

  • Pandemics e.g. Covid

  • The weather

• Making use of the cultural heritage of an area can also boost tourism:

  • Music festivals at an international (e.g. Glastonbury) and national scale (Reading and Leeds Festival)

  • Art galleries e.g. the Tate Modern, London

  • Book and film settings e.g. Alnwick Castle (Northumberland) was used as Hogwarts in Harry Potter

Leisure and sport-led regeneration

• Hosting large sporting events can enhance the image of a place and attract tourists to the sporting events e.g World Cups, the Olympic Games

• The media coverage before and during such events helps put the place on an international stage, which can attract more inward investment 

• Investing in new facilities means that local people will benefit from this regeneration after the event, such as new buildings and transport infrastructure

• For example, the London 2012 Olympics brought regeneration (through sport) to areas of East London:

  • The Olympic stadium is now home to West Ham Football Club

  • The aquatics centre is used by the community and schools

  • The Olympic Village has been converted into 2,800 flats

  • The transport infrastructure has improved making commuting into central London easier

  • The Olympic Site was built largely on 560 acres of brownfield land, property that had been neglected, unused, and contaminated

  • Many of the grounds in the Olympic Park have been kept as parkland and are open to the public

Public and private rural diversification

• Over 60% of UK farms have diversified

• Farms may start to produce and sell speciality cheeses, farm unusual animals, or even convert their buildings for other uses (e.g. galleries, farm shops)

• The most common forms of diversification are:

  • Renewable energy (29%)

  • Property letting (15%)

  • Holiday lets (12%)

• Grants are available from Defra’s Rural Development Programme (RDP), as well as from commercial banks and charities

Powys Regeneration Partnership