HL Deb 06 February 1997 vol 577 cc1801-4

5.35 p.m.

Earl Ferrers rose to move, That the draft order laid before the House on 14th January be approved [9th Report from the Joint Committee].

The noble Earl said: My Lords, this is the fourth order of its kind to come before your Lordships. We have previously considered orders relating to the Leeds, Bristol and Central Manchester Development Corporations. This order is required to wind up the Sheffield Development Corporation. It revokes the 1988 order which designated the urban development area and established the development corporation. The order will take effect in two stages. First, it will remove urban development area status on 1st April. Secondly, on 1st July it will revoke that part of the 1988 order which established the development corporation. If this comes about the corporation will cease to exercise its operational functions after 31st March 1997, and it will then have three months in which to prepare its final report and accounts. The corporation will finally be dissolved on 1st July of this year.

The Sheffield Development Corporation was set up in 1988 with a specific mission: to bring economic regeneration to the Lower Don Valley area of Sheffield. Nine years later we seek to wind it up because it has succeeded in what it had to do. I remember visiting Sheffield some 10 years ago. I was appalled by the devastation. Buildings were decrepit, with broken windows and tiles off roofs. Vast areas of land and a great number of industrial buildings were falling into dereliction and decay. There was an air of misery and despair about the place—or so it seemed to me as a visitor.

I revisited the area two weeks ago. It has been totally transformed. There is no other way to describe it. The dereliction has been replaced by new roads, factories and offices. The area is bright and clean and provides an attractive modern business environment. There is an air not just of hope but of optimism and success. The area is once again productive. I find this very encouraging. This is the result of the sheer hard work and inspiration of the Sheffield Development Corporation.

One of the corporation's first tasks was to assemble sites from the fragmented land ownership in the valley in order to prepare them for new development. Major infrastructure improvements were planned and started, land was reclaimed and investors became interested. The result is there for all to see.

The corporation's activities have resulted in the reclamation of nearly 600 acres of land which have been prepared for new uses; the building or improvement of nine miles of roads; the building of over five million square feet of commercial floor space; and the creation of over 18,000 jobs. Existing businesses have been helped to improve their premises and historically interesting buildings have been restored. Environmental projects include a cycle and walkway along the River Don running the length of the valley. Major improvements have been made to the canal to open it up for leisure and tourism. Extensive landscaping has been done. I would never have believed when I visited Sheffield 10 years ago that over 160,000 trees and shrubs would have been planted in and around the lower Don Valley alone by 1997.

One may ask what all of this has cost. The answer is £101 million from central government and £7.5 million from European funding. I think that that is a staggering achievement: £101 million has been spent on that; and when one thinks that £147 million was spent on facilities for the World Student Games, one understands how much has been obtained for that lesser sum. It has also attracted over £680 million private sector investment. In other words, for every £1 of public investment, nearly £7 of private investment has been secured. I consider that this is a great achievement.

That though is not the end of the story. A further 6,000 jobs are expected to be created after the corporation is wound up, as a direct result of what it has done. The valley now has a diverse economy, ranging from food production, through a Rolls-Royce dealership, to the Abbey National share registry office. The corporation has also made sure that Sheffield has its own airport. This will be open later this year. And Sheffield now produces—just think of this!—more steel now than it did at the height of its production during the Second World War.

The corporation has turned its area around. It has worked with the city council to give Sheffield a new image and to make it a place which now attracts both interest and investment. Partnership in the city has strengthened, and that will be vital for the future.

The corporation has a right to be proud of all its achievements. I would like to congratulate Mr. Sykes, the corporation's chairman, and all of the board members, whether they are past ones or present ones. These include my noble friend Lady Park and the late Lord Mulley, whose service to the corporation as deputy chairman has been recognised by the naming of a road in the area "Fred Mulley Road". My congratulations go also to the corporation's enthusiastic and professional team of officers, without whom there would be no story to tell.

The corporation was set up for a limited period of time to do a specific job of work—that of securing self-sustaining regeneration in the lower Don Valley. It has now done that. Its work is complete and it is right for it to be wound up. It must now be for others to learn from its example and to build on its successes. I wish them well in their efforts and I wish the greatest of continued success to the lower Don Valley and to all those who will work there. I commend the order to your Lordships. I beg to move.

Moved, That the draft order laid before the House on 14th January be approved [9th Report from the Joint Committee] —(Earl Ferrers.)

Lord Dubs

My Lords, by any standard, the work of the Sheffield Development Corporation has been a success. Certainly the Members of Parliament for the local constituencies believe so and the Minister has made clear what the successes have been. I should like to raise just one or two issues about what will happen next. Clearly the partnership that has been developed in Sheffield has been most beneficial. Sheffield City Council will, I am sure, wish to continue the benefits of the partnerships that the development corporation started.

I wish to ask the Minister about the development corporation's assets. I understand that not all of them will go to Sheffield City Council. I wonder why not, and where else they will go when the Sheffield Development Corporation is wound up. The other question relates to the airport. A great deal has been said recently about the airport. I wonder who will now be responsible for it. Will it be Sheffield City Council or some other authority?

Clearly when there has been a successful period where the development corporation has achieved the regeneration of an area, everyone will agree that the benefits of that must not be allowed to fall away but should be continued and indeed enhanced. I am sure that Sheffield City Council will want to play its part. I am interested to know whether it will be given responsibility for most of the assets or whether they will be transferred to some other body.

Having said that, I wish all the organisations that have been involved in regenerating the lower Don Valley well, and I hope that area's success will continue well into the future.

Earl Ferrers

My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Lord for his welcome of the order and for what he said about it. Oddly enough, there is little unfinished business overall. The appropriate successors have been found where necessary. The city council and British Waterways are due to oversee the completion of the unfinished grant-aided schemes and development agreements. The Sheffield Development Corporation has provided cash to those bodies to pay for the work which has to be completed after its lifetime.

All the assets will be disposed of. All the development land is sold to owner-occupiers or developers. It is not expected that there will be any residual funds. The Sheffield Development Corporation has spending plans for all the available resources.

We would welcome a new regeneration agency. Having got this great impetus going, it would be excellent if it could be continued. Discussions have been held with Ministers, but essentially it is a matter for the city council and its partners to take forward.

A private developer funded the construction of Sheffield City Airport. There was a total package for Tinsley Park which delivered the airport and 50 acres of business park which was secured by funding from various sources: from the Sheffield Development Corporation, Europe, English Partnerships and the private sector. Discussions are under way with Sheffield City Council for the local authority to become the freeholder of the city airport site. The developer would hold a 999-year lease.

I hope that I have responded to most of the questions put by the noble Lord about this order. I would only reiterate what I said at the beginning, with which I think he agrees. This has been a great success story. Although he would not like to suggest that it is the Government who should take the credit for that, I would merely say that the work that has been done by the Sheffield Development Corporation, its members and staff, is work which the Government by their general policy were able to bring about. I am grateful to the noble Lord for his welcome for the order.

Lord Dubs

My Lords, before the Minister sits down, perhaps I may thank him for having given such a detailed answer to the various points put to him.

On Question, Motion agreed to.