Spurs - Stadium-led regeneration

Anyone who has worked in the community sector and on regeneration projects will know that every regeneration project has a catalyst. The new Tottenham Hotspur stadium is the catalyst for regeneration in the area.

The regeneration of the area IS stadium led, without the stadium being built there would be no regeneration of the area. The only reason the government are pumping money in is because the stadium is going to be built there. It was and is an ideal opportunity to tap into government resources and Europan resources to regenerate the area.

There has been plenty of opportunity over the years to regenerate the area of nobody has done so. With Tottenham threatened to leave the borough discussions took place to find ways to keep Spurs ay White Hart Lane. Simply helping Spurs would not have been an option with elections on the horizon, but if it were a part of the regeneration of an area then that opens up a world of opportunity. Whole areas can be designated with special status and qualify for government and European money.

The Mayor of London wants Tottenham in Tottenham and he has to agree to offer what help he can without being overly seen to do so, that is achieved by wrapping things within larger deals. It is pretty obvious that Tottenham dropped a legal challenge to the dodgy West Ham Olympic Stadium deal because everything would be done to assist with funding. Unofficial deals happen all the time and assurances given even tough nothing appears on paper. I have no doubt keeping Tottenham in Tottenham will have been discussed and the club knew where it stood.

The London Assembly Stadium-led regeneration Regeneration Committee are conducting an investigation to;


-          Review evidence from past and current stadium-led regeneration schemes to assess the benefits of stadium development programmes to both football clubs and local communities.
The history of stadium-led regeneration schemes is older in the USA and consequently there is a much deeper evidence base of the claimed benefits for such projects.
-          Review the role of the Mayor in stadium regeneration schemes and assess the extent to which his objectives for stadium-led regeneration in the London Plan are being met.

The government and the Mayor of London believe this is a stadium-led regeneration project so clearly it is. On the back of this local community groups need to have vision themselves, as does the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation, as there will be trusts, grants and European funds they can write bids to for the funding of innovative and sustainable projects.

The is going to be a world of opportunity and someone with creativity could provide a valuable service devising projects for groups to apply for funding for.