The crucial role of land assembly in urban regeneration

The regeneration of urban areas: Viewpoint by Jessica Graham

In order to maintain and further develop this landscape, we must face headfirst the challenges of how we work, how we shop, how we travel, how we go about our daily lives – both now and in the future. Fundamental shifts are happening in our city areas, and new approaches to how they are used and co-ordinated are both needed and desired.

There is increasing aspiration and need to provide a mix of leisure, residential and commercial workspace alongside traditional shopping areas, to attract a wider range of people and to create more sustainable communities which promote social wellbeing and provide an urban centre which is functional and economically stable. 

Our focus should be on creating environments which have the interests of the whole community at their heart. To achieve this, we need effective partnerships between the public and private sectors, with strong leadership from local authorities and stakeholders who understand that delivering urban planning for the greater good has a firm place in today’s investment market. 

To this end, Legal & General recently hosted its inaugural Future Cities Commission in Leeds, pledging to invest significant levels of capital into UK cities, in partnership with the public sector and local communities. They point to schemes in Cardiff, Leeds, Bracknell, Newcastle and Salford as examples of their investment creating new centres and jobs. Well-located property assets, in proximity to transport hubs, are being seen once more as attractive propositions for urban development. 

Local authorities often hold the key to unlocking sites, and Homes England is helping to bring forward new sites by funding stalled projects. Carter Jonas is advising Homes England and Havant Borough Council on the viability of their town centre regeneration process, including land assembly strategy and compensation estimates. Homes England will be providing £3.4million of funding to deliver new housing developments alongside the recently developed Havant Plaza site, which includes public sector facilities, leisure and commercial office space, and homes for key workers.

We have also seen some momentum in repurposing underperforming shopping centres to provide quality housing in centrally located areas from other stakeholders. Strawberry Star Homes acquired a 4.5-acre former shopping centre site in Harlow from Tristan Capital Partners & Addington Capital earlier this year, with consent for 447 residential units, 3,700 sq m of retail space, car parking and private amenity areas. Strawberry Star see this move as a next step to realising its vision of delivering homes at achievable prices.

These renewal projects are very exciting projects to be a part of, and I see our role in the Carter Jonas land assembly team as being vital to facilitating them. Generally, such schemes span existing land ownership boundaries, and one of the first steps in making them happen is to acquire the property interests from the various owners. 

Assembling land does not necessarily mean the use of compulsory purchase powers but, in line with Government guidance, compulsory purchase empowered bodies are increasingly willing, where necessary, to use their powers to facilitate regeneration schemes where there is a case in the public interest.

We’ve found that, when negotiating with landowners, the fact we’re working on behalf of such bodies can be used to help us reach a deal without having to resort to compulsory purchase.

Jessica Graham is a land assembly expert at Carter Jonas.

About the Carter Jonas land assembly team

From appropriating land to dealing with rights and covenants, to using compulsory purchase powers to complete a comprehensive development site, we provide clear and accessible advice born of practical experience and backed with market leading expertise. 

Working closely with our town planning, development consultancy, valuation and infrastructure teams, our land assembly experts are able to advise from an early stage on building a robust case for compulsory purchase as a back stop to negotiations, providing budget estimates of compensation liability, negotiating immediate or deferred acquisitions, and advising throughout the process of gaining and using powers.

Find out more at carterjonas.co.uk/land-assembly.

Carter Jonas experts advised Hammerson, Standard Life and the London Borough of Barnet on the promotion of CPO powers to enable the first phase of major regeneration projects covering 150 hectares between Brent Cross Shopping Centre and Cricklewood Station in North London. 

The project will lead to the delivery of 7,500 new homes, 110,000 sq m of retail, 396,000 sq m of office space, and 80,000 sq m of hotel and leisure space.

Our advice covered acquisition strategies, phasing of the CPO, estimates on likely compensation, and negotiations to acquire the required property interests in advance of the CPO.

The scheme involves the acquisition of wide ranging land interests including shopping centre tenants, residential owner occupiers and investors, light industrial and commercial property.

Paul Astbury, Head of Regeneration at Carter Jonas, also represented the Council at a Public Inquiry to successfully justify the use of powers for this major scheme.