DURING MIPIM, the international property conference last week, Jill Burdett asked Manchester City Council's Chief Executive ten questions supplied by Confidential readers.
Anyone who saw Library Walk after dark as an attractive boulevard is living in a different world than I am.
You can see the mighty response to our call for questions here in the original article.
Below are the answers she received to the questions YOU requested and we selected.
Sir Howard Bernstein at last year's MIPIM
As a Beta level global city does Manchester place enough importance on the maintenance of public realm? And is there an acknowledgement that Piccadilly Gardens has been a failure and needs a complete redesign?
Sir Howard Bernstein (SHB): There is always room for improvement but the budget constraints we currently have make it more difficult. Initiatives like the Clean City Fund with £14 m to spend on projects are trying to redress that.
It is not just the street scene, another important aspect is about creating place and that’s not just the responsibility of the Local Authority. The land owners and the occupiers have obligations for creation and maintenance which is being done successfully at Spinningfields and is something we would like to see replicated in other parts of the city centre as well.
And residents need to take responsibility as well.
Piccadilly Gardens is an undoubted success, look at the levels of use, the footfall. As for the wall, some people like it some people hate it. Personally I like it.
Sir Howard likes the concrete wall in Piccadilly. Most people like it when these trees are hiding it.
What is your opinion on the relative merits of a top-down vs bottom up regeneration strategy and do you believe the city has struck the right balance? Is there any sense of frustration over the sale of the BBC site to the current owner - was there any more the Council could've done to influence the sale?
SHB: Regeneration is a two way process. I think there are a lot of things we have been doing over the last five years that have been creating platforms for growth which are now being taken advantage of by entrepreneurs and developers. We launched the Evergreen Fund four years ago and can now say that it is starting to make a difference.
We heard in MIPIM from Bruce Katz of the Metro Revolution Report that North American cities are now filling the vacuum left by its central Government which has to concentrate on welfare and security. Is that not what we have been trying to do here for the last 20 years?
There is a great sense of frustration over the BBC site from all the team. But at the end of the day, in all these cases, we have to try and work as positively and constructively as possible with whoever owns the site.
What steps is the Council taking to rebalance the demographic of the city centre resident population away from students and younger short term lets to include families and older people?
SHB: Having a population that is mixed - socially, economically and generationally is a challenge which all successful cities have to meet.
One of the key factors is providing the right mix of housing and with the residential market just starting to regenerate the developers have to seize opportunities.
St John’s Quarter (the former Granada site) is one of the most exciting projects that is coming forward, a new place to live and work with a full range of housing. For me it is a great fillip to be working with a developer like Allied London who actually understands that.
The next wave of development must reflect the best principles about quality of place and developers will have to up their game if they want to be successful. They have to embrace the challenge.
St John's Quarter - old warehouse filled with Granada props, soon to provide housing solutions
The Timber Wharf debacle - should we be holding the developers to account? (Read about the problems at Timber Wharf here and here and here.)
SHB: Yes, of course they should be held to account. Ultimately it’s a contract issue. It is a fundamental principle that anyone who buys a property should expect it to meet standards. If it does not then those responsible should be held to account.
HS2 - why should we bother?
SHB: We have to bother. Unless we improve connectivity the link between business and jobs is lost.
HS2 is not just about fast trains between north and south it is about creating more rail capacity as a whole. And we should be looking at accelerating its delivery. There are growing calls for work to begin at each end simultaneously and we hope the David Higgins report will talk about delivering all parts of the network and route sooner rather than later.
We are not looking at this in isolation. We have already started work on the Northern Hub which will increase capacity between Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds particularly for freight traffic.
Bring it on
Fracking – Do you support it?
SHB: We should not, just for ideological reasons, say no to something without making a properly informed decision.
Part of that information process needs to be to explore the contribution it can make to the UK’s long term fuel needs and how it could help people out of fuel poverty.
Can you explain why council tax payers are funding the £3.5 million redevelopment of Library Walk with a complete white elephant that nobody wants and is not needed, yet cutting services to Mental Health, Parks and Leisure etc? Why the insistent refusal to pay any attention to public opinion about Library Walk?
SHB: Anyone who saw Library Walk after dark as an attractive boulevard is living in a different world than I am.
It is not being blocked off. You will still be able to walk through during the day. And if there is demand to walk through beyond those times then we will look at that. The glass link is money well spent and it has to be viewed in the context of the wider St Peter’s Square regeneration which will be a remarkable space.
We listened to the community around swimming pools and libraries but we have to have a factual base for making or changing a decision. The council has responded to some of the parking issues after representations from the public. It is a constant process of balancing and rebalancing.
Library Walk as it was. The Council still isn't listening
Has any analysis been made of the potential impact of selling the Airport and investing the proceeds in one vast transformational capital spending programme compared to what is achieved with a few million in dividends each year?
SHB: Of course analysis has been done and of course it makes more sense to hold onto it as an asset rather than sell any of the MAG portfolio and make a quick hit now.
In fact we need to expand the asset business including dividends and revenues and values.
One of the most brilliantly executed strategies of recent years was the acquisition of Stansted and East Midlands Airports.
Manchester Airport - and its expansion plans. Why sell off the family silver?
What are your plans upon your looming retirement? Would you like to sit in the House of Lords?
SHB: I have not thought about retirement.
What would you say has been the biggest single mistake of your career? If you had your time again, what would you do differently?
SHB: The Transport Innovation Fund (aka The Congestion Charge referendum in 2008). It was not a mistake but it was a low moment about a particular failure.
London Road Fire Station – it’s not personal but it is a regret that we have not been able to deliver this major redevelopment. I am passionate about it because I think it is such a waste. Their argument that there is not a demand for more hotels is ludicrous; we are deluged with hotel operators desperate to find sites in the city. It is still appalling that this site has not been brought forward and wrong that we are still not clear what the structural condition of the building is actually like.
The Supercasino loss – not because I am pro-gambling but because of how it would have generated so much value around the stadium area. There is still a development to bring forward that would underpin the current offer and generate significant investment and jobs.
You have to be resilient.
London Road Fire Station - a regret
What is the objective of going to MIPIM in Cannes? We have the buildings, we have the developments, we have the infrastructure, in fact Manchester does have almost everything. Now it seems we just need some sensible things to fill them with.
SHB: What would it say to the world if we were not here? That Manchester has no ambition? That we are no longer prepared to confront challenges and progress?
This week has not just been about flag waving and self congratulation. It is about self challenge and talking to leaders from other cities who face challenges too. We can learn from each other but one of the virtues of MIPIM is that people look to Manchester for examples of best practice.
We know that given the infrastructure plans we have in place we are going to continue to create jobs and we have to ensure that the people who want those jobs have a place to live. How we respond to the residential challenge, how we accommodate people who want to live and work in Manchester is one of the factors of economic success. Twenty years ago it was how can we arrest decline, now it is how do we cater for people and give them access to amenities. It is a hugely exciting opportunity,
One of the most important aspects of this week has been to introduce the Chinese delegation from the Beijing Construction Engineering Group BCEG with Mr Wang Weibo speaking at a stand event focussing on Airport City and its potential. It was useful to help them understand Manchester and its place at a European and international level. It has been hugely positive.
You can follow Jill Burdett on Twitter @jillburdett.
It's thumbs up to the future
