Regen Connect: joining the dots between local ambition and industry delivery

Urban regeneration is back. After more than a decade of drift, political ambivalence and fragmented funding, the UK appears to be entering a new phase of placemaking ambition. But this moment will only matter if industry and political leaders are equipped to act on it.

That is why this week we are launching Regen Connect, a year‑long editorial campaign focused on regional regeneration issues delivered across Building, Building Design and Housing Today.

At its core, Regen Connect has a simple objective: to help the industry make sense of a rapidly changing regeneration landscape and to explore the needs of local stakeholders and clients, developers and the wider construction supply chain.

Regeneration has always been complex, but never more so than today. Rising costs, stalled viability, weakened delivery capacity and a tangle of policy shifts have left many projects in limbo.

At the same time, as this week’s campaign feature highlights, new funding mechanisms have created unprecedented opportunities. Homes England’s £46bn settlement over the next decade and a renewed focus on regional decision‑making through devolution could accelerate the most significant wave of renewal since the early 2000s.

Understanding how investment flows, how mayors are prioritising growth, and how clients, developers and consultants are engaging with local authorities is now vital

Of course, funding alone will not deliver places. Understanding how investment flows, how mayors are prioritising growth, and how clients, developers and consultants are engaging with local authorities is now vital.

That is why Regen Connect will provide deep, regional intelligence rather than simply outlining a general picture across the country. Over the next 12 months, we will publish:

• Regional deep‑dives that profile local areas – their funding streams, community priorities, key clients and active consultants.
• State of regeneration reports analysing policy shifts and emerging trends.
• Regular “voices of regeneration” interviews with local leaders, major developers, regeneration experts and other practitioners shaping delivery on the ground.
• Project spotlights highlighting successful schemes, lessons learnt and replicable strategies.

This campaign is delivered by the Building the Future Think Tank, our research hub which works with industry to strengthen the case for effective investment in the built environment. Together we will explore how infrastructure, community development and housing delivery intersect to shape the future of the UK’s regions.

Why does this matter? Because regeneration has changed. Today, combined authorities and empowered mayors – not Whitehall – are increasingly driving priorities for brownfield development, infrastructure and new housing.

For the first time in years, a more coherent funding structure is emerging, with Homes England moving towards a unified model through the National Housing Bank and the National Housing Delivery Fund. If this simplifies the bureaucratic maze that has long slowed progress, it could unlock schemes that have been stuck for years.

The challenges are real: viability pressures, a loss of regeneration expertise, low demand in parts of the market, and a construction sector stretched by competing priorities. Regen Connect exists to give our readers the intelligence, analysis and practical examples which can cut through the complexity.

We invite construction professionals, local leaders and industry experts to share insights and challenge assumptions. Regeneration is at a turning point, and this campaign is about making sure that the opportunity is not lost.

Chloë McCulloch is the editor of Building