Good Local Economics
The new Midlands Metropolitan Hospital will be embedded within its local economy in a similar way to that of Cadbury’s in Bourneville, offering a test case for the new role of anchor institutions in regeneration.
Before a brick has been laid on the site of the new Midlands Metropolitan Hospital, plans are being drawn up to ensure its broader impact on the local economy.
Community-led housing is a small but important area of activity. Across the country, groups of residents are working hard to address local housing problems collectively. Often the problems being solved are in areas where the challenges are not tempting enough for ‘bigger players’. Groups like Giroscope in Hull take on and renovate empty properties – often in areas of little or no commercial interest – providing training for local people as well as affordable homes. Buckland Newton Community Property Trust (situated in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in West Dorset) saw high house prices threatening the long-term survival of the village community, and built affordable homes for local people, obtaining long-term community assets in the process.
