This one almost slipped through the net.  Last week we were invited over to Kidderminster by Ken Harrison, head of their regen team, to discuss the possibility of doing some RG work with them.  Steph came along too, in her role as our official 'handler' and to represent MADE.  Having enjoyed a free lunch in the town hall and been introduced to Matt Barker (his right hand man), Karen Alexander (arts and play officer) and Amanda Hall (conservation), we rather appropriately went out for a walk.

Kiddie seemed to have three main issues.  The closure of many of the large carpet factories located in the town centre seemed to have allowed for relatively low density retail developments to take their place.  As a result, some of the central areas resembled out of town shopping developments, with lots of ground level car parks and no real sense of place.  The second issue appeared to be the inner ring road, which not only acts as a classic concrete collar around the central area, but has broken many of the most attractive historical roads in two.  Perhaps the most distressing example of this is the separation of the beautiful church from the central area.  Finally, Kiddie seems to be a place with something of an identity crisis, with unenviable listings in two recent publications - Chav Towns and Crap Towns - compounding a general sense of malaise. 

Having said that, Ken highlighted a number of opportunities.  The town has a number of rivers running through it that could be opened up.  It also has a very attractive skyline, with the towers associated with the carpet factories slightly reminiscent of Florence and rolling countryside visible all around. Some of the areas in need of regeneration have quite unique histories, and one of these, known as the Horsefair, may be perfect for a rescue geography follow up project.  Traditionally populated by traveller communities, the area is now characterised by high levels of socio-economic deprivation and the familiar set of problems that generally accompany this. 

Plans for the area are only just being considered, and Ken emphasised the need to get the local community involved and enhance the unique heritage of the area... he put it nicely when he said there was a need to reconnect people with the space.  In terms of developing the RG methodology as an applied planning consultation tool, the Horsefair regen could be ideal.  Ken and his team also seemed very keen to collaborate, which means that we could get unprecedented access to actors at all stages of the planning process.  If RG is going to have an impact upon the development process this kind of upstream access is priceless.

We decided in principle that we would use Kiddie as the focus for our son / daughter of RG research proposal to the ESRC.  By that time it was drinks-o-clock, so we went and enjoyed a few bevvies in Ye Olde Seven Stars.