8C - Regeneration Strategies
Urban and rural regeneration strategies include retail-led plans, tourism, leisure and sport (London Olympics 2012), public/private rural diversification (Powys Regeneration Partnership).
Regeneration often focuses more on economic sectors based on the existing strengths of an area (such as an attractive physical landscape, good transport, access, history and existing buildings or demand for new services)
Urban Areas
- Retail
- Major shopping malls, e.g. Westfield in Stratford or Meadowhall in Sheffield, which are 'destinations' as much as places to shop.
- Heritage tourism
- Historic sites and attractions such as Hartlepool's Maritime Experience or the Titanic Quarter in Belfast
- Sport and Leisure
- Regeneration linked to major sporting events such as the London 2012 Olympics in Stratford, (200 ha Olympic Park on a former industrial site) or the 2002 Commonwealth Games in East Manchester
- Arts and Culture
- Landmark cultural buildings such as the Baltic art gallery and Sage music venue at Gateshead Quayside, or Mediacity in Salford
Rural Areas
- Media themes
- Tourist trails based on popular TV programmes such as Heartbeat in the North York Moors, or Last of the Summer Wine in Holmfirth, West Yorkshire.
- Outdoor pursuits
- Walking, mountain biking and climbing in Galloway Forest Park in the southern Scotland or Zip World in Blaenau Ffestiniog's old slate quarries in Wales (travelling through caverns, riding a 2,000 m zip line - the longest in Europe)
- Farm diversification
- Many private farms have shifted their focus from food production to camping, organic food, shops and holiday cottages often with the support of public money, e.g. EU grants
- Sustainable rural livelihoods
- Regeneration focused on renewable energy and natural resources, such as Kielder Forest in Northumberland providing people with a new source of income (England's largest hydro-electric plant - 1.5 million trees cut down)