‘Large freeholders stand to gain from funding street improvements’

North Street as it was

North Street as it was

North Street after the RBS-funded improvements

North Street after the RBS-funded improvements

Councils seeking to improve town centres may be able to persuade owners of large properties that they have a vested interest in funding infrastructure projects, says Oliver Davey, traffic engineer at Urban Movement.

A pedestrian-friendly town centre could well boost the value of a freeholder’s assets, according to Davey. “Local authorities should build relationships with big property owners in town centres where they are considering street improvements,” he said. “The property owner might not be in the town or city or even in the country, but they are worth contacting. They may well have an interest in working with you as they stand to gain massively from improving the urban realm.”

Urban Movement has recently worked with the bank RBS on a project on North Street, Brighton, which had become a busy, polluted corridor for buses and taxis. RBS owned Hannington Block, made up of retail units and offices. “North Street was a place that people passed through to go somewhere else,” said Davey at last week’s Intelligent City Mobility organised by Landor LINKS. 

RBS saw the commercial potential in improving the street and so contacted Brighton & Hove City Council, which put them in touch with Urban Movement.  

“They came to us with a blank piece of paper and asked how the street could be made better,” said Davey. This led to the installation of wider pavements, along with seating, bus shelters, bike stands and the planting of trees. Bus stops were re-located so they were no longer opposite each other to stop a build-up of buses at the eastern end of the road. 

RBS covered the full cost of the improvements including consultation and implementation, which came to £750,000. The bank went on to sell the block for £56.5m. It estimated that the street improvements had increased the value of the property by between £3.75m and £5.25m. 

“North Street used to be somewhere that no one wanted to stop. That has changed now,” said Davey. “There are streets that are just a public realm agreement away from being put right. And it need not be a huge investment.”

He says that the North Street project created a more attractive space for pedestrians and enabled the council to generate good publicity without incurring any costs. As for RBS, not only did it make a big return on its asset but the project also demonstrated how it was willing to invest in the urban realm, said Davey.

www.urbanmovement.co.uk