A new business-led growth model for inner city regeneration

The business-led growth model for inner city regeneration, developed in the USA by Michael Porter at Harvard, is now being adapted as a pilot for use in St Helens in the United Kingdom. The model is based around growth clusters. The research outcomes will be publicly launched in September 2003 but the process to date will interest civic leaders, regeneration specialists and academics.

City Growth is a cutting edge businessled regeneration approach whose overall aim is to transform thinking, provide inner urban areas with a new vision of economic development, and engage the private sector, to create jobs, income and wealth for inner-city residents. It turns conventional approaches to urban regeneration on their head, by putting the private sector in the driving seat and focusing on creating wealth by maximising the inherent competitive advantages of inner urban areas, rather than concentrating on reducing poverty and chronic disadvantage.
The projects primary objectives are to:,- Forge a strong, private sector driven partnership capable of setting and implementing a radical and comprehensive local enterprise growth agenda,- Create a new vision for the sustainable revitalisation of St. Helens,Establish a framework and critical mass of actionable initiatives that will achieve lasting results and help lever in major further resources,Pinpoint high-potential growth clusters and uncover other local market opportunities ,- Diversify the local economic base to make St. Helens a more competitive, profitable, and attractive location for business and investment,- Increase income, wealth, job opportunities, and quality of life for local residents, ,- Change perceptions and boost the external image of St. Helens and Merseyside,- Add value to existing and future economic development programmes,- Create a transferable best practice model of business-led regeneration that can be applied elsewhere in the NW, across the UK, and exported internationally
Local partners view City Growth as the most significant regeneration initiative ever undertaken in St. Helens in terms of its potential to fundamentally transform the manner in which regeneration is conceived, determined, and delivered in a Borough that is already synonymous with close cross-sector partnership working. This project is thus a unique opportunity to undergo a practical and strategic paradigm shift to overcome once and for all St Helens legacy of post-industrial decline, based on boosting local business, and in the process develop a model of best practice that can be transferred regionally, nationally, and indeed internationally.
Landmark achievements so far include a decision to replace the 2001-2006 Economic Development Plan with the City Growth Strategy to serve as the business plan for the growth of St. Helens plc.,City Growth St Helens consists of a Board of 12 private sector leaders from the borough working with one elected councillor and two council officers. It is chaired by Andrew Smith, Managing Director of the ST Group and is served by David Clark as Project Director.,More information on the pilot programme can be found on the Small Business Service website http://www.sbs.gov.uk/default.php?page=/citygrowth/default.php

Paesi

United Kingdom