Print page
English Cities Fund
English Cities Fund (ECf) was initiated and developed by English Partnerships and its two joint venture partners, AMEC and Legal & General, to invest in mixed-use projects in town and city centres and their fringes in assisted areas in England, where local economies fall below the EU average.
An initial £100m has been raised through the investment of £50m in equity from the three partners together with £50m in bank debt, with the objectives of proving to institutional investors that reasonable returns can be secured in regeneration areas by: -
- Undertaking area based regeneration which demonstrates that sustainable regeneration creates significant uplift in values and associated commercial returns.
- Undertaking mixed use projects which have the scale and critical mass to ensure that they achieve and maintain a step change in areas of involvement.
- To embrace that effective and sustainable regeneration changes the nature of places and communities, integrating communities into the regeneration process and that ECf’s activities are aligned with the sustainable communities plan.
- To bring together both public and private sector skills to ensure that the regeneration process in areas of activities is continually embellished and improved.
- Assessing key opportunities against strict quality criteria to ensure the best possible development product with the best possible impact for areas of activity.
Projects
English Cities Fund is currently focusing on the following projects, with a potential development value of over £2 billion:
Liverpool, St Pauls Square
Development is underway for a high specification new addition to the City’s Commercial District. It will be delivered in three phases totalling 34,890 sq m of commercial office development, 50 apartments and associated infrastructure and car parking.
Plymouth, Millbay
The first phase at Millbay is on site providing commercial space and residential space. With additional phases this has the potential to create over 1,100 residential units together with 18,228 sq m of employment space, 18,180 sq m of leisure and retail space, a new 80 bedroom hotel and a new marina.
Wakefield, Westgate
Wakefield, Westgate - Phase 1 is due to commence in autumn 2008, comprising 7,430 sq m of commercial space and 66 residential apartments, along with major infrastructure and public realm provision.
Canning Town, Newham
A scheme to build high quality commercial, new housing in the eastern zone. Phase 1 comprises 13,500 sq m residential and 2,050 sq m retail.
Central Salford
It is proposed to create high quality mixed-use housing and commercial developments along Chaple Street and the river Irwell Quays. Design/viability work continues. The masterplan identified the potential to create circa 36,230 sq m development made up of 18,580 sq m commercial floorspace, 2,600 sq m retail/leisure and other ground floor uses, and 1,650 new homes.
Clayton Brook Manchester
16 acres close to the City of Manchester Stadium and Sports City owned by ECf. Discussions with partners and sensitivity analysis on the design and viability continue.
