Regeneration experts from across Merseyside called on the new government to seize the opportunities for Wirral of low-carbon homes, greener regeneration and the potential of effective partnerships – at a special event here at The Hive Youth Zone.
A panel of experts from the housebuilding, investment, regeneration and shipbuilding sectors came together here for the summer networking breakfast event of our Hive100 network of business supporters.
Together, their collective answer to the question of what makes regeneration successful was around the quality of the partnership involved, from public, private and community sectors.
seed funding for a focal point of “things to do” in the docks. The panel recognised that a blend of office space, houses and things to do is a hallmark of successful regeneration schemes elsewhere in the country, including Salford Quays, Bristol Harbourside, Gatehead and Battersea Power Station
investment in ‘zero-bill’ homes. “When you think that 19% of Birkenhead lives in fuel poverty, bill free homes could put £150 a month back into people’s pockets and back into the economy”
devolution of power to “streamline processes of getting the money out, and to hold local and combined authorities to account to deliver. For overseas businesses coming in, we can control the bricks and mortar, the price points of housing and all that, but businesses want to know where their managers will live, what they will do at night, where the kids will go to school. That’s where you need every sector coming together.”
recognise and support for Wirral to realise the potential for Wirral Waters to be one of the greenest regeneration projects in the UK.
The event came seven years after The Hive opened as a landmark building which was itself part of the regeneration of this part of Birkenhead. Our Hive100 group – a collective of local organisations and businesses which are passionate supporters of our work – has so far contributed well over £330,000 to help young members of the youth zone.
Chair, Chris Shirling-Rooke MBE, said: “Regen is just regen, right? Wrong. It supports jobs, growth; being a Birko boy I’m not going to say we’ve always got it right here, but with a new government, a new direction and the focus on coastal communities, we have a real opportunity.”
The final word was given to our CEO, Jayne Wilson, who reflected on the power of regeneration for young people in an area like Birkenhead:
“Buildings are just the start of regeneration – as we know only too well in this unique building. We’re here for the long term of young people…if we can help a young person get into a job, that is the best thing we can do at The Hive. We’ve heard so much today about partnership and it really is true. It doesn’t take a village to raise a young person – it takes the whole peninsula.”
