The boosted role of regional development agencies will be a key issue at the Urban Summit next month.
Although deputy Prime Minister John Prescott announced after July's comprehensive spending review that RDAs would help drive forward his affordable housing agenda, there has been little detail on their exact role.

But David Lunts, director of the urban policy unit at the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, said this week that the summit would be an opportunity to focus on "what RDAs need to do differently".

He added that the event would also explore whether RDAs are economic or physical drivers of regeneration.

Lunts said he hopes the summit will lead to a more coherent vision of public sector regeneration in terms of how individual projects and developments impact on each other. The government also needs to be more "joined up" in its cross-departmental work on the issue.

The Urban Summit will take place in Birmingham on 31 October and 1 November.

Source

Housing Today