When a town centre is struggling, the conversation often starts with what is missing: investment, new development, better public realm, more footfall.
But what if we started somewhere else?
In her latest article on the IntoPlaces website, Sonia Cubrilo, MA FIPM, Director of IntoPlaces and Partner at The High Street Consultancy, asks whether we are sometimes too quick to look for new solutions when some of the most valuable assets are already in the town.
Genuine stake
What are these assets? Well, it’s the people who know the place. Businesses that have stayed the course. Property owners, community organisations, health and education providers, volunteers, and others who have a genuine stake in what happens next.
Drawing on the experiences of working in Altrincham, Liscard and Stretford, Sonia explores what can happen when these people and organisations are brought together around a shared sense of purpose.
The article also challenges some familiar assumptions about regeneration – that affluent communities are easier to transform; that deprived communities lack the capacity to get involved; and that success can be properly captured through investment figures, property values and development alone.
Approach
Perhaps regeneration is not only about what we build.
Perhaps it is also about the relationships, confidence and local capacity we unlock along the way.
The people who can help transform a town centre may already be there. They may simply never have been asked.
Read Sonia’s full article to explore why that question could change the way we approach town centre regeneration.
