Discuss and interpret the complex interaction between the physical, environmental, cultural, political, social and economic elements of regeneration and urban renewal.

Assessment title : Urban Socio-Economic Re-creation and Design of Islington Mill, the surrounding site and its neighbourhood
Weighting within module
Submission deadline date and time

Assessment task details and instructions

Project Aim

To analyse, discuss and interpret an urban-led regeneration proposal that reflects the needs of the city of Salford, the people that work, live and visit the area, and the communities that are situated nearby.

Project Objectives

The final report will achieve the following objectives:
Describe significant understanding of the history of Salford and the potential of the Islington area
Set out what characteristics of the regeneration of the Islington Mill would add economic, environmental and social value to the city and those who will experience and benefit from the area
Describe the physical and regulatory issues arising in the re-use of an existing historic building.

The Brief:

Background and History of the Site

Islington Mill is a cotton spinning mill built in 1823 by David Bellhouse of Manchester. Its partial collapse in 1824 is one of the well documented structural failures of early fireproof mills. Poor casting of the fireproof was blamed for the collapse. It is a grade 11 Heritage Category Listed Building with List Entry Number: 1386142, Date first listed 04-Nov-1996 as a good example of an early 19th century fireproof mill, which is of additional interest due to the alterations that were made following its collapse. The subsequent development of the site is also a good example of the adaptations and extensions typical of early mills which continued in use as textile-working sites.

In recent times, Salford city council through its 20 years regeneration framework has achieved the following regeneration activities to its credit:

the £550 million Media City UK development at Salford Quays
the start of works to build Port Salford which will potentially create over 1,000 jobs in the first phase with a longer-term target of around 3,100 jobs
the £26 million Salford City Stadium and future associated development
the completion of Greengate Square which is set to be the catalyst for £400 million in private sector investment
new innovative projects like the Soap works and The Landing
the revitalisation of key areas along Chapel Street and the riverside corridors of the Bridgewater Canal and the River Irwell
the £650 million scheme to transform Pendleton is underway. It will see 1,500 new homes built, 1,300 homes modernised and 500 new jobs. None of these developments captures Islington Mill and its enviros.

The Strategic Regeneration Frameworks

In recent time, many strategies have been developed to support the regeneration of cities, towns and countries. Clear examples include Redbridge regeneration strategy 2017-2027, Northwest city centre regeneration, Greengate regeneration strategy, Wirral Strategic Regeneration Framework, Mayfield Regeneration strategy, Portsmouth economic development and regeneration strategy.

The Salford Central Masterplan (https://www.salford.gov.uk/planning-building-and-egeneration/regeneration/projects/salford-central/) is a 20-year regeneration initiative, one of the UK’s largest development projects, ranking 25th in Planning magazine’s 2013 survey of the country’s 100 biggest regeneration projects and the scheme has the capacity to provide positive economic, environmental and social return. All these strategies are geared towards renewing and redeveloping UK towns and cities to meet the changing time and needs of the environment.

Islington Mill and its environment – which has many physical and economic constraints – needs improvement from a regeneration perspective. However, several recent developments, including the likelihood of a new High-Speed Rail (HS2) hub at Piccadilly Station, the potential to regenerate land to the north of the station, and the recent growth in the development of mixed use investments around Chapel Street, with the University of Salford and Deansgate in close proximity (9 minutes’ walk and 5 minutes’ drive), mean that the surrounding environments could be a vital link in the chain of regeneration for Manchester city.

THE ASSIGNMENT

Your Role

You represent a firm of Architectural Technologists and Building Surveyors that is proposing to create an alternative structured plan for the regeneration of Islington Mill and it’s environ. Your proposed client, Salford City Council, wants to commission you as a regeneration expert, to submit a report setting out your own ideas of how the area could be regenerated providing the necessary returns persuasive to generate actions.

REPORT FORMAT

Your report should include the following sections:

Section 1 – Introduction (10%)

Including a discussion of sustainability in terms of heritage lead urban regeneration including the creative re-use of existing buildings, aligning discussion to Islington Mill’s neighbourhood. (ILO 1 & 9)

Section 2 – A description of the district and its surroundings (20%)

This section should include an analysis of the historic built form of the area including the reason for a possible regeneration/renewal effort, supported by maps, demographic and socio- economic data. A map showing the location of where landmarks are encouraged including primary and secondary evidence (graphs and photographs from secondary and different sources for example) should be included. (ILOs 1,2,7, 8 &10)

Section 3 – Policy Review (15%)

This section should include a clear review of the Salford Local Plan “A fairer City” policies that can be applied to the area. Your review should focus more on the current Salford 20 years regeneration framework

(https://www.salford.gov.uk/planning-building-and-regeneration/planning-policies/local-planning-policy/salfords-development-plan/salford-local-plan/publication-local-plan-2020/), and the community engagement/participation process of Urban Regeneration. (ILOs 2, 3, 4, 8 & 11)

Section 4 – Heritage and Regeneration (15%)

The section should include a discussion of the implication of urban regeneration on heritage buildings, aligning your explanation to how feasible you think the regeneration of Islington Mill will be in enhancing the surrounding neighbourhood socially, economically and environmentally. (ILOs 3, 4, 8& 12)

Section 5 – The Proposals (30%)

Provide ideas for a new use and an outline sketch proposal for the conversion of the building together with an analysis of the technical and regulatory issues to be considered in the redevelopment of and remodelling of Islington Mill and its environs for regeneration.

Consider in your analysis issues of planning constraints, listed building constraints, fire regulations and disabled access. (ILOs 4, 5, 10,11 & 12)

In addition, 10% of the mark will be given for clarity of expression and the standard of referencing

You must clearly demonstrate that you have read around the subject. This includes a range of types of information sources including books and journal articles (do not rely solely on web-based material). It is important to include alternative views. A selection of sources have been provided at the end of this document.

You may find the following books helpful:

Cottrell, S. (2008) The Study Skills Handbook (Third Edition), Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Neville, C. (2007) The Complete Guide to Referencing and Avoiding Plagiarism, Maidenhead: Open University Press/ McGraw Hill Education

Cochrane, A. (2007) Understanding urban policy: a critical approach, Oxford: Blackwell
Imrie, R. and Raco, M. (2003) Urban renaissance? New Labour, community and urban policy Bristol: The Policy Press

Brooker, Graeme., and Stone, Sally, Rereading: Interior Architecture and the Design Principles of Remodelling Existing Buildings. London: RIBA, 2004. Print
Digimap: Environment. Web.
Digimap: Historic. Web.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

OBLIGATION TO KEEP COPIES OF ALL WORK

Students MUST keep a spare copy of all work which they hand in as well as the receipt which is issued to them at the time of submission.

PROVISIONAL NATURE OF MARKS & GRADES

All marks and grades issued to students are provisional until ratified by examination boards.

III. ELECTRONIC SUBMISSIONS

If the submission document file up-loaded to Blackboard is corrupt and cannot be viewed – This is classed as a NON-submission. It is the responsibility of the student to ensure their submission material can be opened by others.

To ensure your submission can be opened please follow this simple step:

Go back to the submission area and the blue button that was labelled Submit will now be a button labelled View – select this button and what you see upon doing so will be the file/format that your Lecturer can see. If you can open and view the document, then so can the lecturer.

Assessed intended learning outcomes

On successful completion of this assessment, you will be able to:
Knowledge and Understanding

1. Explain, compare and contrast the historical and contemporary approaches to regeneration.

2.Discuss and interpret the complex interaction between the physical, environmental, cultural, political, social and economic elements of regeneration and urban renewal.

3. Analyse and interpret the methods used by community, corporate, governmental, and other agencies influencing urban development and community actions.

4. Critically interpret the barriers to regeneration including economic under performance, social exclusion, and physical and virtual separation from wider society.
Practical, Professional or Subject Specific Skills

5. Make written presentations which are ethical, coherent, cogent and logically structured to an appropriate standard

6. Demonstrate an integrated approach and learning policy needed for urban regeneration through the application of experiential learning and the exploration of lessons learned from practitioners

7. Synthesise and analyse data and information.

8. Students will be able to use subject related knowledge for different professional task
Transferable Skills and other Attributes

9. Develop skills for critical thinking to abstract, analyse and make critical judgement

10. Develop problem solving skills to solve problems in an efficient and effective manner.

11. Improve communication and collaboration skills for a multidisciplinary work environment.

12.Manage own learning and gain skills for independent learning in sustainability context.
Module Aims

To provide students with knowledge of the urban regeneration process

To provide students with knowledge, skills and a holistic vision towards urban regeneration to enable them to understand and participate in sustainable regeneration initiatives.

To examine a wide range of issues from physical, economic, social and environmental dimensions that are correlated to each other, through which a strong emphasis will be given on integrated regeneration strategies for better implementation of community-based regeneration for long term sustainability.

To explain the holistic nature of problems and successful long-term solutions to urban regeneration projects

To identify and integrate issues related to the physical, economic, social and environmental aspects of successful long-term sustainable project solutions

To enable students to recognise and apply their discipline related skills and knowledge in the context of complex urban regeneration projects.

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