The foundation of our thoughts
When we set off on our journey, we had some ideas on how we might go about delivering this project. We made these statements because our proposals were pretty bold and we didn’t think that people would take us seriously. We don’t have to justify that now – as we’re delivering, but here were some of the words that show the early foundation of our thoughts and they’re still relevant and still in operation.
“Profit is not a four letter word.
Urban Splash has to take a risk and make a profit.
English Partnerships has to facilitate the re-use of brownfield sites.
Manchester City Council has to look after its citizens.
We’ve never shied away from the fact that the driving forces behind change in New Islington are the desire to make money and the need to bring about social change.
But Millennium Communities are all about making sure that the money that’s made is shared with the partners and harnessed to make things better – better for the city, better for the existing residents.
Manchester City Council and English Partnerships have played a key role in this. The return to all partners will come about at the back end of the process and not at the front. This is a key distinction and we aim to show that the returns will be greater as a result. Whilst Urban Splash are the lead developer, they won’t be the only developer involved in the delivery of the project. Urban Splash and their partners will be seeking like-minded developers to deliver the project.”
In order to facilitate the delivery of the design and sustainability agenda land won’t simply be sold to the highest bidder when we seek to involve other development partners. ‘Best Value’ will take into account the quality of third party developer proposals and their ability to contribute positively to the delivery of the overall vision for the area.
The difference with this is that the key stakeholders will share in the proceeds at the end of development projects rather than taking the land value out at the start – getting (we believe) a slice of the value added by this initiative without compromising innovation in form and quality (which is what normally happens when developers pay too much for sites).
And it is a risky business, which is why Urban Splash are in the driving seat, so to speak. But Urban Splash have a track record for taking risks and delivering major regeneration projects. It’s about balancing the pursuit of profit with a social, moral and ethical agenda.
