Alongside creating new homes, world-class public spaces and community facilities, Meridian Water already has its own brand-new railway station, (formerly Angel Road), unlocking the area for commuters, with better connections south to Stratford and London Liverpool Street, and north to Stansted and Cambridge.

However, while the scheme promises to breathe new life into north London, just like any other project of such scale, the local council and developers want to ensure they structure the development and that its phases capture economic value for the wider community.

Urban planners and finance officials are often interested in value capture mechanisms, for at least three reasons: firstly, because they offer a targeted method to finance infrastructure benefitting specific lands; secondly, because such investments can generate private investment in the area and thirdly, frameworks for land use that foster a positive value for neighbouring areas with lower socio-economic challenges.

The most significant land value increases arise from public policy decisions, in particular the granting of planning permission and the provision of new infrastructure. While there is considerable variation in land value uplifts, dependent upon location and previous land use, landowners currently retain a very large proportion of the increase in land value arising from the granting of planning permission.

History has shown that attempts to capture land value increases have had mixed success. Governments have struggled to strike the right balance between capturing fair values for the community, without undermining incentives for private sector participation in the market. There have also been tensions between central and local government as to how revenues are spent, and the London Borough of Enfield has taken the bold move to borrow funds to own and finance the development of Meridian Water.

As a result of the roundtable, participants agreed that the opportunities at Meridian Water are plentiful but capturing value will be fundamental in retaining momentum over the project’s lifespan which is expected to last for a quarter of a century. To ensure long-term value is created for the development, Enfield has retained a level of flexibility within their plans and are working in close collaboration with the landowners, wider community and developers to support a diverse and sustainable growth for the area.

A wider debate explored the growing priority of Land Value Capture across the UK and the challenges and opportunities different sectors, and professionals are facing to address this complex field. Some of the challenges include:

• Quantity of housing requirement across the UK and implications for quality
• From a developer’s perspective – Section 106 and Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) are non-negotiable and social value is often compromised
• Land value capture focuses mainly on new developments and organisations are looking at new mechanisms to fairly capture value capture from existing landowners and businesses
• Social value is complex to measure and basing this on job creation is insufficient and should factor in the wider community and long-term benefits
• Transparency is an essential part of land value capture and approaches are being considered that share various financial, social and environmental outcomes, but these approaches are not standard
• A holistic approach should also consider the fiscal benefits from infrastructure and development delivery and not just the employment or community outcomes.

To gain a wider view we may need to question the lenses we currently use and consider alternative innovative approaches to creating lasting value. The West Midlands National Park is a new vision that encompasses Birmingham and the Black Country considers the landscape (topography and biodiversity) as the basis for creating long-term value.

Recognising the boom and bust from the past industrial era, including the disconnect created by major infrastructure, the West Midlands National Park (WMNP) approach seeks to use the natural landscape as a framework to improve the areas connectivity and sense of identity. Interestingly the approach is bringing together organisations and parties that traditionally do not interact and is already creating a sense of vision.

Furthermore, the Midlands is re-entering a period of growth, with increasing urbanisation, the development of HS2 and the Commonwealth Games, which all provide an opportunity to adopt a new approach. The opportunity is, therefore, to challenge traditional value models for infrastructure and regeneration which often focus on economic growth and create new connected approaches that stimulate connectivity and unlock areas of deprivation, creating value and far-reaching up-lift for all.

The roundtable concluded there is a growing engagement and interest in land value capture for regeneration and infrastructure but that large challenges remain as the overall opportunity for value creation and investment return can also lead to unintended consequences, as experienced at Ebbsfleet. However, as the awareness and expertise in land value capture improves across all disciplines, we should see innovative models come forward that enable and create wide-spread value for people and places.

Links to information shared at this roundtable can be found below:

Meridian Water – Presentation

Meridian Water

West Midlands National Park

Words by: Billy Moran, Blackstock Consulting