Chapter 1 - Appraising the options
Ben Derbyshire, HTA
There is seldom one simple and obvious strategy towards the successful regeneration of a particular housing estate. To try to shortcut the proper examination of issues and options is to invite opposition, delay and potential failure. By contrast, setting out a series of alternative options and appraising these in an open, transparent fashion builds confidence in decision making and dispels myths. This process must recognise the legitimate interests of different stakeholder groups, as diverse as existing residents and prospective investors, with differing priorities and preferences.
This diversity of interests can and must be addressed if resistance from stakeholders is to be avoided. The gains from regeneration can be considerable, but the costs and risks should be aired too. Thus the ‘prospectus for investment’ should be clearly established for all groups - whether it’s investment of time, hope and collaborative effort from residents, or of money from funders.
To read the full Chapter please download the report.
This diversity of interests can and must be addressed if resistance from stakeholders is to be avoided. The gains from regeneration can be considerable, but the costs and risks should be aired too. Thus the ‘prospectus for investment’ should be clearly established for all groups - whether it’s investment of time, hope and collaborative effort from residents, or of money from funders.
To read the full Chapter please download the report.
The range and nature of options
The options offered for consideration should be distinct and dissimilar. Clear differences helps to flush out preferences. In the early stages the temptation to compromise the distinctive differences between options should be avoided, as this blurs the decision-making process. Options should test and compare the acceptability of distinct strategies for achieving prioritised outcomes: for example, redevelopment versus refurbishment, or various scenarios for the introduction of homes for private sale to increase the yield of subsidised housing. Appraisal tools There are many different appraisal tools and programmes, and we do not propose to go into the mechanics of options appraisal in detail here. It’s not just about money, and not everything can be assessed in financial and empirical terms. The options appraisal process should treat aspects that are un-measurable as ranked priorities and these should be given adequate status. If stakeholders care greatly about aesthetic considerations or the loss of familiar streetscapes or views, then these matters should be treated with appropriate weight. Make sure that non-financial and non-quantifiable costs and benefits are appropriately considered as well as empirical measures. The residents of Cathall Road, in Leytonstone for example, were insistent on the benefits of streets and terraced housing, and, based on their experience of living in mid-rise balcony access flats and high-rise apartments with lift access, were adamant that only a street-based scheme of not more than three storeys in height would meet with their approval. As architects we have been involved in many different methodologies over the years, generally structured and undertaken by specialist members of the team. The Estates Action process dating from the 1980s was as thorough-going as any, and since then BREEAM Communities, LEED for Neighbourhood, and SNAP (Sustainable Neighbourhood Action Plan) have been developed in order to capture aspects of sustainability in a holistic fashion. Each of these attempts to combine financial appraisal with assessment of less tangible and measurable environmental, social or economic impacts. Different sets of criteria will matter more to different stakeholders - each group must be satisfied that its priorities are receiving proper consideration. An option that succeeds for a wide range of interests is clearly a desirable outcome, and so it is important to establish well-organised interest groups - typically building owners, residents (of different tenures), neighbouring communities, investors, the local authority - and engage them in identifying what their priorities are at the outset. The options appraisal process will determine the rank order of importance of the various appraisal criteria. Therefore, it helps to accentuate the most important criterion for each distinct group to achieve as an outcome of the regeneration process. This helps immensely in getting across a convincing message when communicating the outcome. Options appraisal as part of structured consultation Regeneration of post-war estates is typically initiated by the primary landlord - a local authority or housing association (following stock-transfer) - and sometimes in response to grass roots pressure from existing residents. In the very early stages it is legitimate for the landlord to carry out confidential feasibility studies to establish whether there is a realistic and viable prospect for some kind of regeneration. There are good reasons why a responsible landlord may wish to examine the viability in principle of a regeneration programme before going public (although freedom-of-information legislation will limit the scope for confidential studies). The prospect of upheaval can create considerable anxiety for households, and the stress is heightened in proportion to the degree of uncertainty at the early stages. At the other extreme, prolonged exposure to uncertainty generates consultation fatigue and results in poor levels of engagement. It is therefore unwise to begin consultation with affected groups over proposals that might prove unviable. So establishing the in-principle viability of a possible range of realistic options creates a useful starting point from which a suitably empowered resident community can engage. Thereafter, the options appraisal process should be carried out openly and in parallel with a structured engagement strategy of the kind described in Chapter 2. Consultation should be honest, comprehensive, representative, open, recorded and communicated widely at each stage. A robust process will withstand future challenge and effectively counter misinformation. To take one example, the funding of regeneration principally through cross-subsidy from homes for sale has become increasingly controversial and contentious: it can lead to the doubling or trebling of the number of homes in a given area, and still struggle to deliver the type or amount of affordable housing to satisfy the existing community. The trade-off between increased density and the provision of more subsidised homes can be thoroughly aired by comparing the implications on neighbourhood character and scale in a range of options. Doing nothing is an option Sometimes, doing nothing is either not an option for structural, safety or maintenance reasons, or the accumulating revenue costs threaten the sustainability of the estate and demand action. At Cathall Road and the Packington Estate in Islington, for example, the prefabricated structures could not be economically repaired. However, it is perfectly reasonable for stakeholders to demand to know the justification for intervention - and sometimes doing nothing may be a legitimate option. So the costs of doing nothing should be spelled out, and not just in financial terms - often there will be environmental or physical deterioration implications that should be made clear. The costs and benefits of doing nothing also serve as a useful baseline comparator. There are examples of regeneration having been brought about, or at least assisted, by enabling short-term use of non-residential space such as studio and workshop space, or by encouraging urban pioneers or homesteaders to establish new communities - these can create value by transforming once unpopular neighbourhoods or estates into desirable places to be. Other well-meaning temporary uses have tended to add more cost than benefit - for example, converting vacant garages. Analysis of the alternatives should be realistic and rigorous, but minimal intervention and meanwhile uses are options that should be evaluated - the benefits can be unexpected. A transparent process It is possible, in our experience, for a single multi-disciplinary team to gain the trust and willing co-operation of all the stakeholder groups in regeneration. It need not be the case that the process is turned into a battleground of adversarial behaviour among professionals representing different interests. Professionals with an appropriately ethical stance can fairly represent the interests of all affected stakeholder groups. However, sometimes it is necessary or helpful for residents’ groups to have their own ‘residents’ friend’ to help to validate or challenge the contribution of the professional team. The options appraisal process can defuse confrontational behaviour by openly acknowledging negative aspects of regeneration. For this to work appropriately there must be a commitment to record and rank all of these downsides and to seek the affirmation of stakeholders that they have all been accorded appropriate weight. Transparent discussion and debate of the pros and cons serves as an antidote to the influence of unrepresentative voices. The rolling programme of redevelopment at Waltham Forest HAT was a major undertaking, involving extensive enabling works even before the phased decanting, demolition and rebuilding began. However, residents were fully aware of the temporary disruption, so much so that they marched on the Marsham Street Department of the Environment headquarters to insist on inclusion in the Housing Action Trust programme. It is healthy for the options appraisal process to be carried out in the full glare of stakeholder scrutiny, and there is a clear connection therefore between the techniques of option appraisal and the engagement process described in the next chapter. Therefore the algorithms used for calculating and ranking costs and benefits should not be over elaborate - but neither should they patronise by being oversimplified to the point of omission. Ballots and referenda Ballots were a legal requirement brought in with stock transfer legislation affecting programmes such as the Estate Renewal Challenge Fund - an initiative under the Blair government. In many subsequent regeneration projects the ballot has been dropped from the process or been circumnavigated, although some local authorities such as Westminster City Council favour ballots for all major regeneration initiatives. Meanwhile, relatively recent aspects of planning policy, such as Neighbourhood Planning, now involve referenda. In principle, we endorse the use of ballots as an effective way of crystallising support for regeneration proposals, and we discuss effective preparation in the next chapter. |
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