The UK’s towns and cities are bursting at the seams. Indeed, more than a million people in rented homes are suffering overcrowding as city centres continue to swell in size. So naturally, the question of exactly where these people – especially families – will live, learn and grow is high on the agenda for councils across the nation.
Urban regeneration has always been a key element in ‘levelling-up’ the economy and easing over-crowding, but now it has been cemented as a priority following the Covid-19 pandemic. The government is urgently seeking drivers of recovery, and major construction and infrastructure projects, both those in-progress and further down the line, have a significant role to play.
Even before coronavirus, homes, jobs and leisure facilities were fast becoming the focus of all new regeneration schemes which transform underused, highly valued land in town and city centres. Now, they’re essential.
One such scheme is the £100m housing-led regeneration of Castleward, an inner-city region of Derby. Castleward will soon welcome 1,000 new homes as Derby City Council works towards achieving its City Centre Masterplan 2030, with 4,000 jobs due to be created over the coming ten years.
However, the addition of this many homes and people comes with myriad issues, with a key one being how to cater for the children of families new to the area.
Naturally, those commissioning and designing schools tend to favour larger, open spaces with plenty of room – characteristics that come with suburban land. But given their distance from the city centre and the growing demand for inward-looking developments, this is a luxury that many modern town planners can seldom afford.