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WALSALL TO LEARN FROM GERMANY’S REGENERATION SUCCESS
- 27 November 2006
Specialists driving the renaissance of Walsall are to examine and learn from successful regeneration projects in Germany so they can aid the town’s transformation.
Akshay Parikh of Walsall Regeneration Company (WRC) has organised a three-day fact-finding visit to Dusseldorf and Dortmund, where internationally renowned schemes have brought major social and economic benefits.
The trip will take in Dusseldorf’s Media Harbour, for example, an acclaimed waterfront development; while Dortmund provides an opportunity to see how a former coal and steel city in decline has been turned into a major force in Germany’s new economy.
The visitors will look at how quality schemes have been delivered in public-private sector partnerships and how old quarters have been revived alongside new development. They will also check out successful public realm schemes, such as open space, walkways and street lighting, which have the support of the business community.
Akshay, WRC’s programme director, said: “There are a lot of similarities with the Black Country’s industrial heritage in this part of Germany. We want to learn from the best examples of what these cities have done to restore their fortunes and embrace change and new technologies.
“On our first day we will meet members of Dusseldorf’s Office for Economic Development and see how old and new quarters of the city work in harmony. We are particularly interested in how public realm schemes are managed with the support of the business sector and we plan to see a cross section of central business districts, which is something we believe Walsall can learn from.”
Dortmund has successfully brought back a large area of derelict land into economic use using an urban park model. The city lies in the Ruhr district where industrial parks have been established in former blast furnaces, steel works and power stations. Sites that were once black with coal and debris have been ‘greened up’ by letting nature and careful development transform them and welcoming the public.
Akshay said: “We will be visiting the Emscher Park in the Ruhr Valley to see how an area that was once the heartland of the European steel industry and went into decline has been regenerated while preserving its heritage. It is something that resonates with the Black Country’s experiences.”
He added: “We have already started to deliver major regenerational projects in Walsall but we recognise that the more we learn from best practice and proven business models – whether at home or abroad – the more this can be used to shape a better future for the people of Walsall.”
Also joining the trip to Germany from 30 November to 2 December will be Clive Jessup, managing director of property developers Jessup and architect Steve Faizey of SP Faizey Associates. Clive said: “We are working on a planning application for an exciting development at Walsall Waterfront and we want to make sure we deliver an innovative mixed use scheme of quality. We are very interested in seeing and getting ideas from the cutting edge architecture at Dusseldorf’s Media Harbour.”
Walsall Regeneration Company is working to bring £500 million of investment to the town centre by 2010.
Ends
Caption: Akshay Parikh, programme director of WRC, and Clive Jessup of property developers Jessup, look forward to their fact-finding visit to Germany.
Note to editors:
WRC is private sector led and driven and backed by a powerful partnership comprising Advantage West Midlands, English Partnerships and Walsall Council. It has identified eight major transformational projects, some already well underway, which will regenerate Walsall, creating 5,500 new jobs, more than 1,600 new homes and revitalising 175 acres of land.
For further information please contact
Lorna Bishop or Nigel Pipkin at Seal Communications
on 0121 200 0780 or email lornabishop@sealcommunications.co.uk