Castleford Regeneration The Big Town Plan: Key Partner Info

Date Published:

01/08/2008

Here's some additional information about the organisations that helped to regenerate an entire town as part of Kevin McCloud And The Big Town Plan.

Channel 4:

The championing of the quality of public space and architecture in our towns and cities is at the heart of Channel 4's public service mission and the Channel has been keen to find an original and inspiring way of covering these important subjects. In partnership with Wakefield Metropolitan District Council and a range of regeneration bodies, Channel 4 identified Castleford as the location of an ambitious project to enable the townspeople to make their town a better place to live. The project aims to deliver a series of improvements in the town which will contribute to the ongoing regeneration of the town by the key partner regeneration agencies. The progress of The Castleford Project is being filmed by production company Talkback UK and will be screened by Channel 4 as a major new series.

City of Wakefield Metropolitan District Council:

Wakefield Council welcomes and supports The Castleford Project and will act as the accountable body for funding, letting contracts and maintenance of completed projects. The Project is closely aligned with the District's Community Strategy and with the Urban Renaissance Programme which are key to regeneration in the Wakefield District as a whole.
Further information: www.wakefield.gov.uk

Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment:

CABE champions the creation of great buildings and public spaces. A non-departmental public body set up by the Government in 1999, through public campaigns and support to professionals, CABE encourages the development of well-designed homes, streets, parks, offices, schools, hospitals and other public buildings. CABE welcomes the opportunity to work with The Castleford Project in bringing a better understanding of what is involved in the regeneration process into people's living rooms. The story is particular to Castleford but the hope is that the lessons will make sense elsewhere and encourage communities to champion the changes they want and deserve on their doorsteps.
Further information: www.cabe.org.uk

English Partnerships:

English Partnerships is the national regeneration agency supporting high quality sustainable growth across the country. It is a key delivery agency for the Urban Renaissance and the Deputy Prime Minister’s Sustainable Communities Plan. Working in close collaboration with public and private sector partners, its core strands of activity focus on:
• Building affordable homes and new communities
• Bringing new life to established communities
• Making best use of the nation’s scare supply of land
• Promoting skills, best practice and sustainability
Major initiatives include the National Coalfields Programme, Urban Regeneration Companies and Millennium Communities.
Further information: www.englishpartnerships.co.uk

Arts Council England:

Arts Council England is the national development agency for the arts, working to get great art to everyone by championing, developing and investing in artistic experiences that enrich people’s lives.

Arts Council England, Yorkshire has been actively involved in the project as a funder and member of the steering group and has, in partnership, delivered several programmes of activity.

We want to ensure that the arts are understood as a mainstream element of regeneration initiatives and that they reflect the cultural aspirations of the communities involved. Further information: www.artscouncil.org.uk/castleford

The Environment Agency:

The Environment Agency is the leading organisation for protecting and improving the environment in England and Wales. They are responsible for making sure that air, land and water are looked after by today's society, so that tomorrow's generations inherit a cleaner, healthier world.
In Castleford:
•They spent £1.5 million in 2000 on reducing the risk of flooding in the town.
•They are funding new angling platforms to provide improved access for anglers. We will also run events to give people the chance to try their hand at fishing.
•They have planted an orchard in the Cutsyke Community Garden and will also be removing harmful plants from along the river.
•They will promote recreation along the River Aire through contributing towards a cycle path.
•They have worked with schools and businesses in the Castleford area to raise awareness of their environment and impact on it.

The European Regional Development Fund:

The European Regional Development Fund has contributed £60,000 towards two of the schemes within the Castleford Project, the Cutsyke Play Forest (£20,000) and The Green, Ferry Fryston (£40,000). Both of these projects have contributed to the development of communities within ex coalfield areas; tackled local environmental problems and addressed local and environmental issues in a sustainable way.

They have also both had very strong community involvement. Groups have worked with designers and the local authority to solve local problems, build capacity for the future and build vibrant communities which participate in local decision making.

Groundwork UK:

Groundwork is a federation of Trusts in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, each working with their partners in poor areas to improve the quality of the local environment, the lives of the local people and the success of local businesses. In 2002 Groundwork supported nearly 5,000 projects across the UK encouraging people of all ages to give more than 340,000 days of their time to improve their neighbourhoods. Groundwork Wakefield is supporting The Castleford Project as part of its ongoing work to help residents get more involved in improving the quality of life in the town.
More information: www.groundwork.org.uk

The Coalfields Regeneration Trust:

The Coalfields Regeneration Trust is an independent charity that aims to achieve social and economic regeneration in Britain’s coalfield communities. The Trust is no stranger to Castleford, having invested in a number of local community projects, including Chrysalis Youth Project, Cutsyke Community Group, Smawthorne Community Project and Castleford Heritage Group. In the past year, in light of the closure of the Prince of Wales colliery, the Trust has stepped up its level of involvement, providing training and new employment opportunities to redundant miners. In the months to come the Coalfields Regeneration Trust will be extending its work, in conjunction with the other partnership agencies, to ensure the momentum in Castleford continues.
More Information: www.coalfields-regen.org.uk

Yorkshire Forward:

Yorkshire Forward is the driving force behind the economic regeneration of the region, delivering a programme of change that will make a positive difference to its people, businesses and environment. Yorkshire Forward’s pioneering Renaissance Towns Programme is empowering communities to create the ideal environments in which to live, work and invest, by giving them the opportunity to work with some of the world’s leading experts to develop new and dynamic long-term visions for their towns. Yorkshire Forward’s investment across the region is maximised by attracting European Regional Development Funding from the Objective One and Two programmes.
Further information: Victoria Wilkinson, Senior Press Officer.

David Barrie

Get the inside track on Kevin McCloud And The Big Town Plan from Project Director David Barrie, who has been involved in all elements of the project from the outset.
Read David Barrie's Castleford Regeneration blog here >>

Community Channel

Alongside the regeneration project was a community media project which helped residents chart the changes taking place in their community. The resulting films - Making it Work, Spray Down Your Way and Cutting it at Cutsyke - are on Community Channel.
Watch the Community Channel videos on Castleford's regeneration here >>

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