BCO annual conference: the world in 2020

After a busy week covering spending cuts announcements, it was a bit of a relief to get out of the office today to attend the final day of the British Council of Offices' annual conference in Westminster - particularly because the session I attended this morning focused on the world in 2020, when hopefully the current deficit reduction memories will be a distant memory.

Here's a quick run down of three messages from the session...

1. There will be a recovery, and the pace of it could be surprising, said Bridget Rosewell, chair of Volterra Consulting and chief economic adviser to the Greater London Authority. Citing evidence from previous recessions, Rosewell said: "There is always a recovery. The pace [of the recovery] usually takes people as much by surprise as the pace of the downturn did." Rosewell added that she expected cities to remain key drivers of growth. "We're not going to see a completely different world in 10 years," she concluded.

2. The global economy has reached a tipping point, with China and India becoming more important players, said journalist and economist Hamish McRae. He said that this year China will overtake Japan as the world's second biggest economy, before overtaking the US as the world's largest economy in 2027. This, he said, represented a "huge shift of power". But he added that London could be well placed to benefit as a place to "choreograph the process".

3. London and New York face being overtaken as the world's two largest financial centres by Hong Kong and Singapore according to Sir Howard Davies, director of the London School of Economics. He said that this shift in the balance of the financial centres would reflect new economic realities, with Asian countries such as China and India becoming more powerful. "It's going to happen," he said. "We shouldn't lose a lot of sleep over it."

This afternoon, BCO conference delegates are visiting regeneration projects around London - I'm off to the King's Cross project.

Poll update: 79% of blog readers expect cuts to lead to job losses at their organisation

Our new blog poll on the impact of the Treasury's £6.2 billion of cuts, posted yesterday, has already had 85 responses. We asked blog readers what impact they thought the cuts might have on jobs at their organisation. Early results suggest that many regeneration practitioners are worried about job losses.

Thirty-one per cent of respondents to the poll predicted extensive job losses at their organisation as a result of chancellor George Osborne's cuts package, while 48 per cent said that they expected some job losses. Eight per cent thought that there would be no job losses at their organisation, while 11 per cent said that they didn't know what the outcome of the cuts on staffing would be.

The poll (top right) will remain open until next week. Please vote to let us know your thoughts, or add a comment below.

Picture: Ewan McIntosh, Flickr

Poll: How will cuts affect jobs at your organisation?

So we now know the results of the first round of departmental salami slicing. Yesterday, we reported that housing and regeneration quango the Homes & Communities Agency has put all new programmes on hold and slashed some £50 million from its Kickstart initiative after being told by ministers to cut £230 million from this year's budget.

The Government's new freeze on civil service recruitment will also apply to the HCA.

While some regeneration thinkers have welcomed cuts to certain HCA schemes, which they see as being propped up by Government cash, bodies such as the Home Builders Federation have criticised the cuts - the HBF said Kickstart funding creates "immediate benefits" in terms of local jobs.

In terms of local government spending, chancellor George Osborne has said that £1.165 billion of savings will have to made. And in the Devolution and Localism Bill announced in yesterday's Queen's Speech, legislation was included to scrap regional spatial strategies and abolish planning quango the Infrastructure Planning Commission. Will such measures inevitably lead to job losses?

We want to know what you think. In our new poll, we're asking you how cuts will affect jobs at your organisation. Do you envisage wholesale redundancies? Or will your organisation emerge unscathed? Please vote in the poll at the top of this blog and comment below.

Picture by talkoftomatoes

Queen's Speech: the sector responds

A selection of responses to the Queen's Speech, which we've written about in more detail here and here, as they come in.

CLICK REFRESH TO UPDATE

Tues: David Marlow, managing director, Third Life Economics, on the decision to reverse plans to create unitary councils in Norwich and Exeter: "If the two tier structure makes coherent local authority city leadership problematic, what does the local authority “family” in these sub-regions have to do to ensure future success for these two genuinely vibrant cities, each of huge potential?

"Firstly, they will need to put any lingering acrimony from the local government reorganisation process behind them. Second, they need to work genuinely on a “Greater Norwich” and “Greater Exeter” basis to develop a broadly-based prospectus and delivery plan of how public policy can help shape future success (including globally competitive economic strengths) over the coming difficult public investment period. Thirdly, they need to facilitate buy-in to this process from key national, sub-national public partners, and from private and third sector role players – i.e. something akin to a bespoke Greater Norwich/Greater Exeter approach to Total Place. Fourthly, the County Council will need to prioritise this “successful city” work, sometimes making hard choices about the conflicting demands of other parts of the county. The corollary is the city council acting strategically for the good of their whole functional economic area and the wider sub-region."

Tues: Dermot Finch, Centre for Cities chief executive: "Elected mayors are not mentioned in the outline of the Bill - but that's because they don't require new primary legislation. The Coalition Agreement (page 12) last week said: "We will create directly elected mayors in the 12 largest English cities, subject to confirmatory referendums and full scrutiny by elected councillors." So they will still go ahead with mayoral referendums.

"Additional financial powers are on the cards for cities, once the latest review of local government finance has reported. We've already had the Lyons inquiry, and the fiscal position will constrain the scope for radical financial devolution - so scepticism on this is understandable."

Mon 15:51: New Local Government Network acting director Anna Turley: "Significant questions remain as to whether removing regional spatial strategies and reforming regional development agencies will hamper cross-authority decision making and make decisions on large infrastructure projects more difficult to agree on.

“We do, however, very much welcome the promise of greater financial autonomy for local government and hope that this will lead to councils being able to diversify their income streams and have greater influence over driving their local economies. Coupled with the promised review into local government finance, we hope that the Government’s decentralisation agenda will focus as much on local financial reform as political change.”

14:10: Mark Goodwin, RICS director of external affairs, on the Decentralisation and Localism Bill: RICS is particularly interested in practical ways to encourage local authorities to work together to deliver cross-boundary infrastructure projects, as well as how local people can have a say in new developments in their neighbourhoods - be they new housing or waste and recycling facilities. These two issues require clarification and extensive public and professional consultation to ensure they will not prevent economic and social goals being achieved.

RICS is currently consulting across a number of professions on the impacts of localism on the built environment, as well as on small businesses and rural communities. RICS will use the results of this consultation, as well as its expertise in the practical delivery of policies, to help support a vibrant and sustainable property sector.

On the construction of a high-speed rail line: "Critical to the success of a major infrastructure project like this is a rigorous approach to public sector procurement, project management and construction, as well as a well-designed compulsory purchase and compensation framework.

"The RICS Infrastructure Task Group will be examining all of these issues in more detail during 2010, both to support the work of HM Treasury unit Infrastructure UK in the preparation of its forthcoming National Infrastructure Framework, and to feed into the design of the Exceptional Hardship Scheme by High Speed Two for the Department for Transport."

Increased investment in high-speed broadband: "The provision of broadband for rural areas underpins their existence as sustainable communities. RICS welcomes progress on delivering increasing circuit capacity to remote rural locations. This should include formalised working with Code System Operators to share investment in infrastructure so that pooled demand can create economic justification for fibre provision to remote areas."

14: 07: Imran Hussain, head of policy, rights and advocacy at Child Poverty Action Group: “A new Welfare Reform Bill is a chance to change direction away from the failed top-down sanctions bureaucracy that wastes public money and denies people entitlement to the support they need to get into work. It’s time to scrap the bureaucracy and empower people from the bottom up so they can take control of their lives.

“Tax fairness will only be achieved if every tax change proposed by the Government is put through a rigorous fairness test to assess its impacts on inequality. Any proposal that fails this test must be rethought.”

14:05: Stuart Etherington, Chief Executive of NCVO: Proposals to de-centralise decision making to local authorities and to rebalance the relationship between the citizen and the state are positive. However, to genuinely empower local communities, we need to see a transformation in the relationship between local government and the sector, not just a transfer of powers to local statutory agencies.

Fairness must be at heart of the good society. Plans to learn lessons from the financial crisis are necessary in seeking to re-build the UK’s economy. NCVO has called for universal access to financial services and for a new approach through the promotion of mutual and co-operative financial models.

14:00: John Cridland, CBI Deputy Director-General on planning reform: “Business needs a planning system that is predictable, clear and can deliver decisions in a timely manner. The Government has some innovative ideas to incentivise local authorities to accept development. However, as the UK needs a major renewal of its infrastructure over the next few years, the challenge will be to persuade local communities to accept major developments, such as new power plants and transport links.”

On welfare reform: “We support the idea of creating a single welfare-to-work programme where providers are given the freedom to tailor a package of personalised support to meet a client’s unique needs rather than taking a one-size-fits-all approach.”

On high-speed rail: "It is encouraging to see the new Government planning its development from an early date. However, business will want to understand how high speed rail can be affordable in the current financial climate and be assured that other transport priorities will not be sacrificed as a consequence of its development.”

13:56: Institution of Civil Engineers director general Tom Foulkes: " We will need extensive investment in the UK’s infrastructure in the next decade, estimated to be in the realm of £40-50 billion per annum with a growing proportion needing to come from private investors. At this stage ICE is yet to be convinced that the Government’s Green Bank is ambitious enough to meet the challenge. ICE has long campaigned for a secure funding institution to leverage the private investment needed to meet the goals outlined in the Queen’s speech, notably, a secure, clean energy supply and improved capacity in our transport system. This must be backed up by an efficient planning system that installs confidence in industry by providing a fair and predictable fast-tracked route for key projects.

13.48: Liz Peace, British Property Federation chief executive on housing and localism in the Decentralisation and Localism bill: "Bringing in a democratically accountable system for major infrastructure will be key to delivering large projects and it is absolutely essential that there are clear national guidelines for all areas of planning.

"We also need to be realistic about how much power we can devolve to councils. Many aspects of planning and regeneration are highly complex and will require resources which many councils will struggle with. Many planners are losing their jobs to help keep police and nurses in post, and there is a large amount of concern over how local authorities will be able to manage all these extra responsibilities with less staff."

13.35: Ben Stafford, head of campaigns at Campaign to Protect Rural England: "A new planning system should keep the best of what has gone before, including a plan-led approach, strong protection for Green Belt land and the wider countryside, as well as making better use of previously used 'brownfield' sites. Given the scale of the changes the Government is proposing, there must be a full process of consultation before the new Bill appears this autumn. A draft Bill would give MPs and others the chance to make sure that the final proposals are strong and effective."

The Big Society in action

Nick Hurd's first official visit as minister for civil society saw him travel to Paddington Development Trust (PDT), a social enterprise based on the Church Street estate near Edgware Road in West London. Hurd said he had chosen to visit the trust because it was "the embodiment of the Big Society in action", so I got myself down there and accompanied PDT representatives and Church Street residents as they took him on a tour of the local area and showed him the improvements they had made to the estate. (Read my interview with Hurd here.)

PDT runs four neighbourhood groups that bring together local residents and service providers such as the council and the primary care trust, and work on solutions to local problems. The trust also provides business management support to encourage local people to set up their own enterprises, and runs a youth training centre where young people can learn skills that will enable them to advise the rest of the community on finance, healthcare and employment issues.

The trust is clearly successful in terms of empowering the community: I spoke to a large number of residents - some of whom were involved in the trust's new Community Connectors scheme, which is similar to the network of locally-based community organisers that the coalition government has now confirmed it will set up - and they all waxed lyrical about PDT and how it had brought together residents, improved local facilities and encouraged people to take part in its work. In between trying to "pap" Hurd with my camera phone (which, needless to say, yielded poor results and I was forced to fall back on the professional ones provided by the Cabinet Office - see above), I was heckled by eager residents wanting to be interviewed for the piece I was writing, which I took to be a good thing - they were all very much engaged with the work taking place in their community.

Hurd - who I'm informed is known by some in the sector as "Hurd the Hottie" - was very much the charming statesman throughout the visit, accepting cups of Moroccan mint tea and taking a decent amount of time walking round the estate and talking to anyone who wanted his attention.

Although the Big Society is a cross-departmental policy, Hurd, in his role as minister for civil society, is primarily responsible - with Francis Maude - for setting the agenda and working with ministers in other departments to oversee how the plans are implemented. After his visit, Hurd said: "PDT is a great example of how a social enterprise can make a real difference to a community. As we announced earlier this week we have entered a new era of people power at the centre of the new government, so it's really exciting to see an organisation where this is already happening.

"Our Big Society agenda is all about empowering local people and communities to bring about the changes that they know their community needs. By putting power back in the hands of people we will enable them to come together and work to make things happen."

But in my interview, Hurd stopped short of pledging new funding for organisations that are already doing this sort of work. Steve Wyler, director of umbrella body the Development Trusts Association, was at PDT on Thursday, too, and said that it was all very well giving money and support to new, fledgling community groups, but a shame that there didn't appear to be a little more recognition of the fact that many organisations have been working towards Big Society-type objectives for years.

Perhaps Hurd needs to visit a few more groups like PDT?

High speed ahead?

The chancellor, George Osborne, announced yesterday that the Department for Transport will have to make £683 million of savings in 2010/11.

How does this break down? The DfT says it will reduce the amount of grants it makes to local authorities by £309 million, while Network Rail's spending will be cut by£100 million. The department says it will also make £112 million in savings by freezing recruitment, reducing discretionary spending and re-negotiating major contracts with suppliers. It will also defer £54 million of work on "lower priority schemes". Transport for London isn't spared cuts either. The DfT says transport secretary Philip Hammond "is consulting the Mayor on a proposed £108 million reduction in the Department’s grant to TfL." That will be an interesting conversation.

Should this worry supporters of London's £16 billion east-west Crossrail line and the £30 billion high-speed rail route, which will eventually link London with Birmingham, Manchester, the East Midlands, Sheffield and Leeds and slash journey times? In theory, no. As indicated in the recent Lib-Con coalition pact the new Government has said that it supports these big ticket projects. Importantly, construction is not due to start on the high-speed route until after the completion of Crossrail in 2017. Click on the link above for an animated map by the Campaign to Protect Rural England of the route.

Live blog: Osborne unveils £6 billion of savings

16.45 Also got some info on how the £1.165 billion of local government savings break down. The figures don't seem to add up, but it's all we've got at the moment. The figure, according to DCLG, relates to the amount of funding local government gets from across Whitehall. Here are the savings in local government spending that each department is making:
- £362m from CLG
- £175m from local government
- £311m from Dept for Education
- £309m from Dept for Transport
- £8m from DEFRA

16.40 More detail now on how the DCLG's contribution to the savings breaks down... It says that, of the £740 million it is contributing, £268 million will come from "cutting waste and inefficiency", including £186 million from the RDAs and £82 million from cutting waste and inefficiency in the department and its quangos. A further £150 million will be saved from the Labour government's housing pledge, while £362 million "will be delivered through reducing grants to local government". A further £405 million of savings will be delivered from the DCLG's spending on local government, including £160 million from PFI underspends, £41 million from unallocated funds, £29 million through scrapping quangos (including the Audit Commission) and £175 million by reducing grants to local government.

16.32 New Local Government Network acting director Anna Turley said: "Whilst local government has been anticipating significant spending cuts since 2008, many councils would have expected their 2010/11 grant allocation to remain as they have budgeted rather than significantly amended downwards. The scale of cuts which the sector will have to implement before March next year is a colossal challenge and points towards local government facing a difficult Spending Review later on this year."

16.30 South East Diamonds for Investment and Growth (SEDfIG) chair Andrew Finney said: “We hope that the announced budget cuts to regional development agencies don’t amount to a hammering of the South-East. The Government is quite right to cut the cost of public agencies, but we can’t short change the areas with the most economic potential."

14.39 The £270 million cut to the RDAs' budgets is being shared by four departments: DCLG; Business Innovation and Skills; Defra; and the Department for Energy and Climate Change. £74 million of cuts will be from the business department's contribution.

13.33 Sarah Webb, chief executive of professional body the Chartered Institute of Housing, said: "These are difficult times, and it is clear that funding for housing has come under close scrutiny. Today's announcement suggests a mixed-bag for housing. On the one hand there are cuts from housing pledge initiatives; on the other hand these savings have been re-allocated into new affordable housing." She added: "What isn't fully clear, however, are the nature of cuts to existing initiatives and the impact their withdrawal could have. It also remains to be seen what reductions in funding for local government and devolved authorities could have on their respective housing responsibilities."

13.25 Some comment now on the implications of the spending cuts for regeneration. Tim Johnson, director in development consulting at real estate adviser DTZ, said: "More clarity is needed on what the Government deems to be 'lower value' RDA spend. With public sector budgets so stretched, it will be crucial to use clear tests to demonstrate which regeneration projects are viable and should be prioritised for investment. The focus should now be on regeneration projects where public sector money can help to de-risk and facilitate private sector investment. This would not necessarily take the form of a grant, but could involve public bodies taking an equity stake in a scheme, allowing them to benefit from any future uplift once projects are delivered as well as sharing risks."

13.23 Richard Lambert, CBI director-general, said: “We have been calling for a strong focus on deficit reduction to underpin the UK’s fiscal credibility and position us for a strong private sector led recovery. It is encouraging that the Treasury has managed to find slightly bigger savings than first expected. The measures announced by the Chancellor, including departmental spending cuts and a civil service recruitment freeze, are painful but necessary steps to demonstrate the UK’s seriousness about tackling the deficit. Just as private sector firms had to take strong action to cut costs during the recession, so too must the public sector. We believe there is still considerable scope to make even greater savings by re-engineering public service delivery.”

12.44 Gail Cartmail, Unite assistant general secretary for the public sector, said: "Within a fortnight of coming to office, the coalition government has taken a fundamental economic wrong turn by sucking £6bn out of a still fragile economy. While the cuts, such as reductions in civil servants’ travel, management consultants and quangos, may appear to be peripheral to the central deficit debate, this is the harbinger of some very painful cuts that will be come in the Budget on 22 June and in the comprehensive spending review in the autumn."

12.19 This from Andy Sawford, chief executive of the Local Government Information Unit: "This means that local government will have to contribute 20% of the government's £6.2bn cuts in public spending this year. It leaves local government carrying the can for wasteful spending in Whitehall and footing the bill for political promises on those areas of 'protected' spend. The bright spot is that some ring fencing will be removed to give councils more flexibility at a local level, but to make this much more effective, councils should be given the responsibility to bring together all local public spending using a Total Place model."

11.41 Further details now emerging... RDAs will have to find £270 million in savings in 2010/11, through "ending lower value spending". The Future Jobs Fund has been scrapped. Local government has taken a big hit - it will make a contribution of £1.165 billion towards the overall saving of £6.2 billion.

10.27 £500m of savings reinvested. This includes £170m in social rented housing in 2010/11, leading to 4,000 housing starts. Also includes £150m for apprenticeships and £50m for capital investment in further education facilities.

10.25 RDAs will have to cut back on spending that would have a low economic impact, Laws says. He adds that there will be cutbacks to Train to Gain.

10.24 Government to end Child Trust Fund payments

10.20 Government to remove ring fence from £1.7bn of local authority budgets in 2010/11. Departmental savings outlined by Laws are huge - DCLG £780m; DFT £683m; Business more than £800m.

10.13 £1bn savings on consultancy, £2bn on IT, £700m on recruitment & quangos, £500m from 'low value' programmes. Osborne promises to protect schools spending, Sure Start and 16-19 education spending.

10.08 £500m of the cuts will be "recycled", Osborne says.

09.50 The announcement should be in just 10 minutes. You can also follow our coverage on Twitter - @regenerationUK @regencarpenter @regentownsend @regenhickey

09.17 Former Labour ministers Rosie Winterton and Phil Woolas have warned in an article in yesterday's Observer that the cuts risk deepening England's north-south divide by hitting regions heavily dependent on public sector employment hardest.

09.10 Later this morning, chancellor George Osborne will announce how the new coalition government will make £6 billion of savings in the current financial year. According to media reports over the weekend, regeneration spending could be hit hard, with regional development agencies in particular likely to face cuts. The cuts are likely to be spread across Whitehall departments, but the Times says that the business department will have to find £900 million of savings over the next nine months. We'll be updating this live blog throughout the day, bringing you up to the minute news of where the cuts are going to hit and reaction from the regeneration sector. Send any comments to jamie.carpenter@haymarket.com, or post them below.

Poll result: NDCs 'most effective Labour renewal initiative'

Our latest poll, which asked R&R blog readers to vote for what they considered to be the most effective regeneration initiative of the former Labour government, has just closed. There were 111 votes.

The results... In first place, with 32 per cent of the votes, was the £2 billion New Deal for Communities programme. In second place, with 18 per cent of the votes (or 21 actual votes), was the Housing Market Renewal Pathfinder initiative. In third place, with 20 votes, was the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund.

It's interesting that two programmes that have proved pretty controversial at times - in particular the Housing Market Renewal initiative - have come out on top. We'd like to hear your thoughts on this. What is it about these schemes that has made them effective?

Look out for a new poll at the beginning of next week.

Con-Lib blueprint: the sector responds

Yesterday, regeneration professionals responded to the coalition government's policy programme. Here is a selection of responses:

Richard Summers, senior vice-president of the Royal Town planning Institute (RTPI), warned that it is of crucial importance to avoid a "vacuum" in planning policy, which could come about if the coalition government fails to make early decisions on this. He said: "The new government's plans for the planning system are still unclear despite the programme being published. We want to work with the government to ensure any changes are made only where they are necessary and workable and that suitable transition measures are put in place.

"The RTPI strongly believes there needs to be discussions between local and national government to avoid a strategic planning vacuum at the sub-national level. We are not convinced that incentives for new building will win over the hearts and minds of communities to support development proposals in their local areas."

Andy Sawford, chief executive of the Local Government Information Unit (LGiU), said: "The latest coalition agreement builds on the new government's localist policies, setting out how the Big Society will mean a smaller government. Councils will welcome this where it means more power to make decisions at a local level, such as on housing and planning.

"Other policies such as communities being able to bid to run local public services are exciting but there are big question marks around how they will work in practice. Also, I had hoped that the plans for directly elected mayors would be quietly dropped but it looks like they will go ahead."

Bob Robinson, a partner at regeneration consultancy DPP Shape, said: "On the assumption that we are now faced with a workable Conservative/Lib Dem arrangement, the manifestos of the two parties suggest that we are in for some fairly radical changes – though not all of them well thought out or mutually consistent.

"Certainly both parties are firmly opposed to Labour’s Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC) for dealing with major proposals and the IPC is likely to be a ‘still-born’ idea. However, differences exist on what will replace it. Despite their stated localist approach, the Conservatives favour hybrid parliamentary bills as the means of dealing with major schemes, an approach which still retains a largely central control whereas the Lib Dems simply give a vague commitment to local decision making.

"In reality, given the more pressing national need to balance the books, I would anticipate the focus over the next three years being on selling tax increases and spending cuts as well as changes to the electoral system, rather than on radical reform of the planning system."

David Tyler, chief executive of membership body Community Matters, said: "We are pleased to see that the new Office for Civil Society is making it a priority to ease the bureaucracy around running community groups and making it easier for them and local authorities to deliver services together. The Big Society policies announced earlier this week have the potential transform community life. They also reflect many of the ideas we put forward six months ago in our Vision for Neighbourhoods document, including setting up a network of community organisers and introducing a community 'right-to-buy' scheme."

Chris Webber, an analyst at think tank Centre for Cities, said: "On devolution: sceptics might argue that the plans for greater devolution sound very similar to Labour's rhetoric on devolution, and that freezing council tax rises, giving residents the power to veto them and making it harder to introduce supplementary business rates doesn't sit well with a radical devolution of financial powers.

"On planning, we think that planning reforms need to be complemented by a significant strengthening of local financial incentives to bring forward land for housing and commercial property.

"On jobs, there will be a big focus on tax and regulatory reform as well as on enterprise and the green economy. But, as one of our recent policy notes showed, enterprise policies do not have a clear record of success. While the government does have a role to play in supporting the growth of new industries, it's easy to exaggerate what the scope of this role should be. The new coalition needs to avoid repeating the same mistakes under the brand of green jobs."

Alison Seabrooke, chief executive of the Community Development Foundation, said: "For a sector that has been concerned about public spending cuts, I think this programme of work [the Big Society] offers a set of exciting, achievable goals that should give communities cause to be positive.

"We welcome the focus on decentralisation of power and resources. By getting the structures in place to allow communities to work together and improve their own circumstances, the coalition government is aiming to create a new kind of society - one where the innovation and skills of the community development sector is used to the full - for the benefit of everyone."

Sir Harry Studholme, 'chair of chairs' of England's nine regional development agencies, said: "The Government's agreement says it will "support the creation of local economic partnerships (LEPs) - joint local-authority business bodies - to replace RDAs", and that these "may take the form of existing RDA's in areas where they are popular. We knew change was coming and we look forward to working with government, and with our local authority and business partners, on how these new arrangements will be implemented."

Blog debate: Does regeneration need a new name?

Speaking last night at a post-election summit organised by the British Urban Regeneration Association, Liz Peace, chief executive of the British Property Federation, suggested that the regeneration sector should think about rebranding itself.

She told delegates: "We do need a new approach - actually, I hate to say this, I think we need a new word. I'm not altogether sure that regeneration is a word that is going to mean a huge amount to the people who are now in parliament and people who are now ruling the industry."

She continued: "We need to start rethinking what we actually mean by regeneration, and try to define it differently."

What do you think? Do you agree it's about time that regeneration got itself a new name? If so, what should it be? Let us know your thoughts by adding a comment below.

Video: New Routemaster bus design unveiled

The first images of the capital's new Routemaster bus were unveiled yesterday by London mayor Boris Johnson. Plans to replace the original Routemaster - which was withdrawn from regular service in 2005 by former mayor Ken Livingstone - were a key part of Johnson's 2008 election manifesto. He said that the updated vehicle would give passengers a "greener, light and airy" service.

Here's what critics have so far had to say about the new design...

Jonathan Glancey, the Guardian's architecture correspondent: "Good points? It looks distinctive, boasts three doors and two staircases, and has an internal layout that promises to b easy to use and as comfortable as possible for a rush-hour London bus ... Bad points? A jazzily, and unnecessarily asymmetrical, front, a claustrophobic windowless rear and a jagged run of windows up the stairs that might have been adopted from a Deconstructivist museum designed by Daniel Libeskind."

Andrew Gilligan, the Telegraph's London editor: "This design can, and must, still be changed. Because in its current form, it is simply not worth bothering with ... The new Routemaster design is actually worse than current double-deckers. It has two staircases. Why? Why not go the whole hog as well, and install a lift, and perhaps also a buffet, and a small Tie Rack outlet? It has three doors. Why? Why can’t disabled passengers enter through the front door if the bus is in one-person mode? It is claimed to be 'better-ventilated' than modern sauna buses, but the pictures show no opening windows."

Let us know what you think by commenting below.

Leftfield lessons from the Academy

Events organised by the Academy of Urbanism, the membership organisation for people working to improve urban areas, tend to be a bit more leftfield than the standard affairs run by built environment professional bodies and commercial conference organisers.

Last Thursday's Academy of Urbanism Congress dinner was no exception. The venue was Gorton monastery, a restored Gothic masterpiece in one of the most deprived parts of east Manchester. Guests were transported to and from the city centre in a creaking Routemaster bus, which belongs to consultants Urbed and was driven by Charlie Baker, one of the members of their team. And the after-dinner entertainment was provided by poet Lemn Sissay, several of whose compositions are about his experience of being put into care as an 11-year-old.

Not the usual fare, then. And, as is sometimes the case at the academy's get-togethers, there were moments during the evening when you wondered where it was heading. But somehow the events seem to work. Contributions like Sissay's seem to get the various urban professionals talking. Most of all, however, the academicians (as they call themselves) seem to share a genuine absorption in urban issues. Many of them are senior figures in urban design, planning and architecture, so there is a networking rationale for attending their events. But the academy also has the feeling of an enthusiasts' club - you suspect that many of the members have families who have to put up with them talking about mixed use development and urban permeability at
the weekends.

Anyway, here are five miscellaneous things that I picked up at the dinner:

1) Hopes that the creation of the coalition will give the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats the chance to revisit some of their planning policies. Several guests I spoke to were deeply concerned at the prospects of a third party right of appeal (proposed in both parties' manifestos) and the abolition of the regional planning tier (a Tory proposal). They suggested that the formation of the coalition might provide an opportunity for these ideas to be rethought.

2) Concern that political leaders are ignoring the role that physical regeneration can play in tackling worklessness. The new coalition shares the previous administration's commitment to reducing unemployment. Unfortunately, said guests, it also shares its narrow view of the kind of interventions that can help. Ministers should understand that good planning and architecture are essential to attracting new jobs and retaining existing ones, they said, and that jobseeker support programmes are not enough in themselves to tackle unemployment.

3) Suggestions that hopes that regeneration will be able to piggyback on the Building Schools for the Future programme may be over-optimistic. Commentators have suggested that regeneration professionals could tap into mainstream public spending on issues such as health and education as they seek to find new sources of funding. Indeed, regeneration quango the Homes & Communities Agency is building its Total Capital programme around this idea. But one architect I spoke to said that the idea that contractors would give away "extras" in the current economic climate was far-fetched. BSF contractors that have signed deals are in a strong negotiating position, the source said, so much so that one city only just managed to fend off its contractor's argument that every window in its BSF schools should be the same size.

4) A tip that research businesses are increasingly looking for city centre locations. The stereotypical research or science park built to accommodate university spin-outs or other research firms is on an out-of-town or edge-of-town site. But, according to one consultant I spoke to who specialises in the field, research tenants are increasingly specifying town centre locations. The super-bright young people that these firms employ like the buzz of city centres, he said, and don't want to have to drive to a service station for a coffee or a pizza if they are working late.

5) The Academy of Urbanism's latest guide to promoting a long-term strategic relationship between a city and its university. This pamphlet was launched at the Congress. You can get a copy from the academy's website.

At the dinner, the academy also announced its finalists in its Urbanism Awards, for which Regeneration & Renewal is the media partner, and the identity of its new chairman.

Poll update: NDCs lead most effective Labour renewal initiative poll

We've had a steady response to our poll asking you to vote on what you think has been the most effective regeneration initiative of the former Labour government. So far, the New Deal for Communities programme, with 36 per cent of the votes, is out in the lead, followed by the housing market renewal programme (19 per cent).

There's still time for you to cast your vote - the poll closes in four days. You can also let us know what you think of the early poll results by commenting below.

Poll: What was the most effective Labour renewal initiative?

Gordon Brown has left the building. The New Labour project - which invested heavily in regeneration, and devised a plethora of renewal initiatives - is over.

Earlier this week I spoke to Jackie Sadek, chair of the British Urban Regeneration Association, and Prof. Michael Parkinson, director of the European Institute of Urban Affairs at Liverpool John Moores University, to get their thoughts on Brown (pictured above, photo by Rakka) and Labour's regeneration legacy.

(Listen to the podcast here on the Regeneration & Renewal Audio blog, or here in iTunes.)

The full impact of the last government's regeneration programmes won't be known for years, of course, but we'd like to ask you: what do you think has been the most effective Labour regeneration initiative?

Was it Prescott's Housing Market Renewal pathfinder scheme? New Deal for Communities? Remember the Single Community Programme anyone?

Vote in our poll at the top of this blog, and let us know your thoughts on what you think worked well - or what didn't - by commenting below.

New broom: All change at DCLG

Jamie Carpenter examines what the new ministerial appointments at the DCLG indicate about the department’s future direction

After all the excitement of earlier this week the dust is beginning to settle and many ministers are now in post. New communities secretary Eric Pickles has been joined at the Department for Communities and Local Government by Grant Shapps and Greg Clark, the department has confirmed. Shapps is the new housing minister, while Clark is reported to have taken on a “decentralisation” role. Further ministerial appointments are expected to follow today.

So what do the new appointments indicate about the likely future direction and priorities of the DCLG? Firstly, I’d suggest that the appointments of Pickles and Shapps send out a message that the coalition government intends to deliver on the pledges set out in the Conservative Party’s recent planning green paper (which are close to localism plans outlined in the Lib Dem manifesto). Many of the policies outlined by Pickles when he was shadow communities secretary between 2007 and 2009 – such as abolishing regional spatial strategies - appeared in the planning green paper and the Tory election manifesto. One of Pickles’ first tasks will be to lead a review into local government finance, a measure secured by the Liberal Democrats during the coalition negotiations.

The appointment of Clark as “decentralisation” minister suggests that localism is a policy area that the new coalition government takes very seriously. Clark, who was shadow energy and climate change secretary when the Tories were in opposition, is seen as a rising star in the Conservative Party. Speaking to kentnews.co.uk following his appointment, Clark said: "It’s all encompassing and about the transfer of power from central government to the people. I’m very excited about it.”

Reacting to his appointment as housing minister on his Twitter page, Shapps said: “Having shadowed four housing ministers in a row it's an honour to finally be the minister of state for housing.” He has already been asked by Pickles to “take a fresh look” at existing government schemes to help homeowners struggling to meet their mortgage payments. However, questions have already been raised as to whether housing is as high a priority for the new coalition government as it was for the Labour administration. Former housing minister John Healey attended Cabinet. Shapps is not listed among the ministers in the new Government that attend Cabinet, so it looks unlikely that he will do the same.

Who would be in your fantasy cabinet?

As I write, we are still no clearer on what shape the next government might take. We could see a Lib-Lab coalition, a Lib-Con coalition, or a minority Tory administration. Perhaps this is why Whitehall watchers have been spending some time over the last few days playing "fantasy cabinet" - a game in which they suggest candidates for seats around the cabinet table.

Those responding to a fantasy cabinet survey by the Guardian voted for Vince Cable as chancellor, Nick Clegg as home secretary, the Green Party's Caroline Lucas as climate change secretary and Yvette Cooper as communities secretary.

Meanwhile, a debate is ongoing over at the BBC along the same lines. Interesting suggestions so far include Judge Dredd as justice secretary, John Terry as defence secretary and the Fat Controller from Thomas the Tank Engine as transport secretary. "Bags of experience, well respected and liked. Knows how to run an efficient transportation network," suggests "Trouble_up_North".

#fantasycabinet is also a trending topic on micro-blogging service Twitter. Here, saffywalton suggests Bob the Builder as housing and planning minister, and theneweconomics says there is overwhelming support for Caroline Lucas as PM.

Who would sit in your fantasy cabinet? Let us know by commenting below.

The 'Big Society' backlash: Was it regeneration wot lost it?

Over the weekend there were a number of interesting stories relating to the fallout from last week's general election. According to the reports, the knives are already out for Tory leader David Cameron following his failure to achieve an outright majority. And interestingly, one reason cited again and again as being one of the factors behind the Conservative Party's failure to win a majority, was Cameron's flagship Big Society policy - one of the few regeneration-related big ideas to emerge from the three main parties' manifestos.

According to a report in the Observer, many MPs and candidates are "furious" that they had to sell the Big Society, in which citizens volunteer their free time for community action, on the doorstep. "The message was completely woolly. We had nothing to say," one senior MP told the newspaper. "Instead of this complete crap about Big Society we should have had a series of simple messages."

Meanwhile, a piece in the Times says that the Tory manifesto's theme of the Big Society was intended to project a sense of optimism and bold thinking, which Tory candidates and activists struggled to convey to voters. "It was too opaque a concept to sell on the doorsteps," a figure close to the campaign told the newspaper. "What was worse was that it had not even been tested in focus groups before the manifesto launch."

According to an article in the Sunday Telegraph, as activists complained that the idea was difficult to sell to voters, Bill Knapp, the US political consultant hired to help Cameron, asked Tory head of strategy Steve Hilton what research had been done into what voters thought of the Big Society. "The answer was none," the newspaper reported. "After a hurriedly convened focus group detailed a negative reaction, Mr Hilton stormed out."

So should the backlash against the Big Society be of concern to regeneration professionals should the Tories succeed in forming the next government? The idea has received a mixed response from the regeneration sector - some practitioners, no doubt, would not lose any sleep should the Tories choose to quietly drop the plan. But given the lack of emphasis given to regeneration during the election campaign, it would be a shame if the only main party to set out some sort of regeneration vision in its manifesto was to drop the centrepiece of that plan.

Poll: What form of government is best for regeneration?

No single party was able to secure an outright majority in yesterday's general election, which means that cross-party consensus is likely to be needed to get laws through parliament.

What form such a government takes - a Labour-Lib Dem coalition, a Tory-Lib Dem coalition or a Tory minority government - remains to be seen.

We want to know what type of government you think would be best for the regeneration sector.

Before voting in our poll at the top of this blog, read this guide from our team on the degree of consensus that there is on the three main parties' regeneration plans.

And catch up on all our election coverage at www.regen.net/election2010.

Election 2010: Live reaction

Monday: Andreas Markides, chairman, Colin Buchanan: We are about to enter a period of extreme austerity with large scale cuts in public expenditure. As always it will be capital expenditure and especially transport and housing that will bear the brunt of such cuts. There will almost certainly be no new centrally government funded transport schemes in this Parliament and public sector housing provision will collapse once again.

Those promoting public sector investment projects will need to demonstrate an even stronger economic and social case than ever, as well as being able to put together more innovative funding packages which are less dependent on up front public sector funds.

16.26 Dermot Finch, chief executive, Centre for Cities: As predicted in Centre for Cities’ Urban Vote analysis, Labour retained support in major cities like Liverpool and Manchester – and has also won back Liverpool’s local authority from the Lib Dems. The Conservatives chipped away at their vote in Greater Leeds and Birmingham – with seats turning blue in Dudley South and Wolverhampton South West.

We’d also commented, based on our Ipsos MORI polling, that Labour might hold sway across cities like Hull, Stoke-on-Trent and Barnsley – which had been hit hardest by the recession. That proved to be the case last night.

The Conservatives made more headway in our more buoyant city economies like Brighton, Milton Keynes and Reading (also cities with smaller public sectors) and they also saw some high profile wins like Battersea and Richmond in the Capital.

15.37 Keith Burge, Institute of Economic Development vice chair: It is to be hoped that attention can turn quickly from politics and politicians to policies and people; from doing deals to dealing with the major economic and regeneration challenges the country faces. Naturally, IED members across the public, private and third sectors will have their own party preferences, but will likely hold the common view that there is a need for strong and stable government, providing clear direction and investing in the structures and programmes at national, regional and local levels that will facilitate the realisation of IED's own Manifesto for Growth. Party leaders might not yet have decided with whom they are prepared to work and on what basis, but IED is ready to support whoever might take office, in the pursuit of aims and objectives that enable our members to meet the needs of the communities and organisations they serve.

Listen to Keith Burge discuss the future of regeneration under a new goverment with online editor David Hickey here.

14.53 James Rowlands, RICS Policy Manager: Continuing to fund regeneration projects with reduced public spending will be the first challenge facing ministers of whichever party forms a Government. What public money is available should be used to encourage private investment to boost overall spending. New approaches to funding such as tax increment financing can also help and legislation allowing their easy use should be a priority.

If a new Government chooses to reorganise departments it would be ideal if all property and economic development policy was located in one place. A clear role must be maintained for the Homes & Communities Agency, which has proved its effectiveness in difficult economic circumstances.

14.38: Chris Dun, head of banking & finance, Maclay Murray & Spens LLP: A hung parliament can only lead to uncertainty in relation to the funding of both current and future regeneration projects. However, regeneration has not been at the top of the agenda of any of the political parties and whatever the formation of the government, the squeeze on the public purse will mean that spending on regeneration will inevitably be restricted. This will dictate the need to identify new and innovative means of financing projects.

12:36: Matthew Scott, director of the Community Sector Coalition: CSC welcomes an election outcome that encourages collaborative working. We hope that the new government will improve on the ‘pick and mix’ approach to third sector policy in the manifestos. We recognise there is rhetorical support for grassroots action by local people yet the community sector is not recognised and there are few practical policy commitments.”

We are concerned that politicians have not sufficiently understood the vitally important role that local infrastructure has in encouraging and supporting collaboration and collective action at the grassroots. Without a clear policy for investment in supporting communities and neighbourhood groups, there is a likelihood that local activity will decline.

11.55 Ben Hughes, chief executive, bassac: A hung parliament makes it even harder to speculate on where these cuts will fall and exactly what the impact on communities will be.

Whatever the makeup of the new government, bassac will want to discuss with it innovative ways to fund the work of the community sector through commissioning and social finance initiatives, such as social impact bonds. We will also want to feed in evidence around those communty-led services that we feel are particularly important - and cost effective - in meeting social needs and creating more resilient communities

We want to work with a new government to improve the connection between formal local decision-making and our members. This includes the design of public servcies, decisions on prioritisation of local servces as well as developing innovative communty-based approaches to regenartion and development programmes.

10.26 Anthony Everitt, development manager at consultancy Eye: However the next few days play out we know the regeneration industry will need to change. The days of relying on pump-priming grants driving forward the physical renewal of our urban areas are gone. In order to deliver physical regeneration we are going to need to be much smarter.

There will be a need to finance the upfront costs in innovative ways. This means whichever party is in power tools such as Tax Increment Financing will need exploring.

There will be a need for the public sector to work in partnership with the private sector in new ways.

We will need to develop regeneration programmes with the balance between long term rewards and risks attractive enough to encourage upfront investment from the private sector.

Whilst those in the industry may look at the future with trepidation I believe we will be forced to evolve, become more efficient and truly get to the bottom of how we get the best "bang for our buck" in terms of transforming places. This can’t all be bad.

10.25 Jill Dwyer, Chartered Institute of Housing: There is so much uncertainty around the shape of the next government – so it looks as though we will struggle to say anything useful about the implications for regeneration this morning.

10.19 Former business minister Lord Digby Jones tells BBC that he predicts a period of "pork barrel politics" with small parties making demands. "But there's no pork," he added.

9.55 Toby Blume, Urban Forum director: It's clear that people have been engaged with this campaign and it's good to see an increase in turnout. However despite disaffection with Labour, voters were not clamouring to lend their support for the Tories.

All the main parties offer something to the community sector but all have deep flaws in their understanding of how to support communities and community groups to achieve positive social change. Let's hope the politicians heed the will of the voters and give us the change we crave.

09.48 Neil McInroy, chief executive of the Centre for Local Economic Strategies, says on Twitter: "Regeneration was virtually nowhere in the campaign. It will be absolutely nowhere in any coalition/pact negotiations." He adds: "Democratic renewal should possibly take precedence over place/urban renewal."

8.36 Bernie Morgan, chief executive of the Community Development Finance Association: "During this period of uncertainty in government it is essential that we have stability in our financial services, particularly those delivered to our most disadvantaged communities. The role of community development finance institutions in securing the recovery must not be overlooked by the new coalition government or interim administration, whatever arrangements are made."

8.34 Jackie Sadek, British Urban Regeneration Association chair: “Bura was pretty dispirited during the election, due to the regeneration sector and - far more importantly - the communities we serve, being seemingly airbrushed out of the process. The election result, thus far, is a shambles. And our sense of being overlooked will clearly prevail as we await the result of all the horse-trading. We are appalled that none of the parties acknowledges the huge potential for regeneration to underpin the economic recovery. But we are hell bent on working with whoever manages to form a government, to rebuild our sector, come what may.”

Listen to Bura vice chair Paul Evans discuss the future of regeneration under a new goverment with online editor David Hickey here.

8.25 Chris Brown, chief executive, Igloo Regeneration: What a night. Went to Pressure Drop with Billy Bragg and then the NEF election night event. So great to see the BNP kept out in the Barking parliamentary constituency. The risk now is of the pre-election stimulus unwinding at the same time as the European economy wobbles and the UK public sector contracts and unemployment turns back up and all of a sudden community relationships in our most deprived urban areas collapse.

But I’m an optimist. I’d be happy to see what Billy Bragg calls ‘consensus government’. It seems to have been working in Scotland (and produces less legislation thankfully). And a new way of operating will certainly apply to regeneration. We can forget about our old structures, budgets and programmes.

In physical regeneration it will be innovations like JESSICA, the Scottish National Housing Trust, Tax Increment Finance, Contingent Gap Funding, Pay As You Save environmental retrofit and public sector underwriting that will drive regeneration through private finance in the next few years.

I’d love to be regeneration minister in this time of change though I worry that whoever gets this portfolio will find that it is only a very small part of their responsibilities and as the regeneration community we will need to work hard to refocus our politicians away from the middle England marginals and back to the needs of the much larger number of people struggling in deprived neighbourhoods.

8.17 Welcome to our election reaction blog. We'll be bringing you all the news as it happens as we digest the results from the election, followed by reaction and analysis from the regeneration sector. Get involved by commenting below, or emailing your thoughts to online editor david.hickey@haymarket.com

We will also be posting news stories at regen.net

But first up, shadow communities secretary Julia Goldsworthy (Lib Dem; picture right) - interviewed last week here - has lost her Camborne seat.

Election 2010: How election night will unfold

Staying up to watch the election results tonight? Read on for our hour-by-hour guide to how events might unfold overnight, including details of when the seats of key politicians with regeneration briefs are expected to declare. Our journalists will be tweeting as events unfold - follow them at @RegenCarpenter, @RegenHickey and @RegenTownsend.

22.00 Polls close and a major exit poll jointly commissioned by the BBC, ITV News and Sky News should give an indication of what the night may hold.

23.00 The first constituencies are likely to declare. The first to declare is expected to be Houghton & Sunderland South, where Labour's Bridget Phillipson should take victory in the party's ninth safest seat in England.

00.45 Birmingham Edgbaston is expected to be the first marginal seat to declare. The seat, held by Labour's Gisela Stuart, is number 47 on the Conservatives' target list.

02.00 Regional economic development minister Rosie Winterton's safe Doncaster Central seat is expected to declare at 2am. Following boundary changes, Winterton has a notional majority of more than 10,000.

02.30 A whole host of seats will declare at 2.30am. These are likely to include Meriden, where shadow communities secretary Caroline Spelman has a notional majority of more than 7,000 and Welwyn Hatfield, where shadow housing minister Grant Shapps has a notional majority approaching 6,000. Seats expected to declare at this time also include Wentworth & Dearne, where housing minister John Healey has a huge notional majority of more than 17,000 following boundary changes, and Nottingham East, where New Local Government Network director Chris Leslie is standing for Labour in what has been a safe seat for the party since the early 1990s.

03.00 At 3am, the ultra marginal Croydon Central seat is expected to declare. A project to revamp the headquarters of the council using a pioneering local asset-backed vehicle has been at the centre of a political row during the election campaign. Finchley & Golders Green is also expected to declare at this time, where Tory Mike Freer - architect of the "easyCouncil" - is attempting to snatch the marginal seat from the Labour Party.

03.30 Stoke-on-Trent Central, being contested by historian Tristram Hunt for Labour, is expected to declare at 3.30am. The seat is safe Labour territory, but Hunt, a board member of the New Local Government Network and Centre for Cities, must fend off a challenge from the BNP, which is standing its deputy leader in the constituency.

04.00 Expect another glut of results at 4am. Barking, top of the BNP's target list, is expected to declare at this time, but BNP leader Nick Griffin would need a huge swing to take the seat from Labour's Margaret Hodge. Marginal Hammersmith is also likely to declare at 4am - here Labour's Andy Slaughter faces a challenge from Tory Shaun Bailey. An election leaflet delivered to residents in the constituency by Slaughter's team alleges plans by councillors to redevelop housing estates as luxury homes. But Bailey has accused Slaughter of "lies". Communities secretary John Denham's Southampton Itchen seat is expected to declare at this time (he has a majority of more than 8,000), as is shadow regeneration minister Stewart Jackson's Peterborough seat. Jackson has a notional majority of more than 4,000, but came under fire during the expenses scandal for claiming money for work on his swimming pool.

05.00 At 5am the Lib Dem communities and local government spokeswoman Julia Goldsworthy's Camborne & Redruth seat is expected to declare. The seat is a target for the Tories, but Goldsworthy will be hoping that the Clegg factor helps fend off the challenge.

05.30 At 5.30am the new seat of Brent Central is expected to declare. Sarah Teather, the Lib Dem housing spokeswoman faces a stiff challenge from Labour's Dawn Butler, who has a notional majority of more than 7,000. Also look out for Corby at this time - Conservative target seat number 28. Here, incumbent MP Phil Hope has been talking up the benefits of growth and the Labour government's investment in regeneration.

The regeneration thinkers standing in this week's election

The day of the general election - May 6 - is almost with us. If you are wondering how to liven up what promises to be an exciting night of TV when the results come in on Thursday night, you could keep a look out for the three "regeneration thinkers" listed below.

Chris Leslie, director of the New Local Government Network think-tank, is standing for Labour in the seat of Nottingham East. The seat is currently held by Labour, with a majority of more than 7,000. It is target seat number 241 for the Conservatives. Prior to becoming director of NLGN - a think-tank that backs devolution - Leslie was Labour MP for Shipley between 1997 and 2005. From 2002 to 2003, Leslie was parliamentary under secretary of state at the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, where he was responsible for local government and regions policy.

Mike Freer, Tory leader of the London Borough of Barnet, is seeking to snatch the ultra marginal north London Finchley and Golders Green seat from the Labour Party. The seat has been held by the Labour Party since 1997, but boundary changes mean that it now has a slim notional Tory majority. Freer describes himself as the "architect" of a new Conservative concept on local government - easyCouncil. This "easyJet" version of service delivery is based on the budget airline which charges customers extra for services once considered part of the standard fare.

Historian Dr Tristram Hunt, a lecturer in history at Queen Mary, University of London and a board member of the Centre for Cities think-tank, was controversially selected to fight the Stoke Central seat for Labour last month. The seat, with a Labour majority approaching 10,000, has been safe Labour territory for decades. But the British National Party are standing their deputy leader, Simon Darby, in the constituency. The BNP already has a sizable foothold on the council and chose to launch its manifesto in the city last month. Earlier this year, Hunt wrote a piece in the Financial Times highlighting the plight of Britain's ports.

Do you know of any other regeneration figures standing in this week's general election? Let us know (by commenting below or emailing jamie.carpenter@haymarket.com) and we'll add them to the list.