Momentum was commissioned by Cross River Partnership (CRP), on behalf of Transport for London (TfL) and the Central London Sub-Regional Transport Partnership (CLSTRP), to undertake a research study on funding public realm schemes that meet the Healthy Streets criteria.
For this project, Momentum partnered up with Volterra, a socio-economic consultancy who specialise in assessing the economic and social impact of development and regeneration projects. This allowed us to provide a holistic review of existing public realm schemes.
The key objective of the project was to produce a guidance document for local authorities – setting out developer and other private sector motivations for funding public realm interventions. This document will be used by officers to attract funding from private sector organisations, as well as to understand what types of schemes developers are interested in when it comes to the public space that surrounds their developments.
To achieve this, Momentum facilitated an interactive round table discussion with a group of developers and landowners, which allowed for us to directly engage with key developer organisations. An insight into their decision-making approach when it comes to funding public realm interventions was valuable in informing the findings of the report and was greatly appreciated by the client and the CLSTRP partners.
Another key component of the report was a set of case studies, which were developed by Volterra, to showcase a range of public realm schemes with private sector contributions. A collaborative approach was taken as the case studies were selected through close discussion with CRP and CLSTRP, which ensured that the report responded to what the local authorities are interested in and their challenges.
The project allowed the client to publish a piece of work which addresses the challenge faced by both local authorities and developers in enhancing the quality of public spaces around the city. Momentum provided a set of recommendations to overcome these challenges and the report seeks to bridge the gap between the public and private sector by identifying what further mechanisms and studies are necessary to strengthen these relationships.
