Mainstream approaches to local economic regeneration have not always proved successful, but Preston City Council has developed an alternative approach over the last 10 years with encouraging results. Based on a community wealth building strategy, Preston has, for example, added millions to its local economy, taken back more services under council control, refurbished key local facilities, promoted co-ops and taken steps to enhance local public service provision.
Recently, Wakefield Council has developed the idea of an economic wellbeing strategy which, the authors argue, could also benefit from a community wealth building strategy. A conference has been organised in Wakefield later this month to explore these questions.
Faced with the failure of private investment to revive their retail sector and local area, Preston City Council embarked on a community wealth building strategy in 2013 as an alternative approach. That strategy, known as ‘the Preston Model’, has delivered real improvements to the city.
The Preston Model
The aim was to ‘democratise’ the economy by retaining more wealth in the area by using a variety of local suppliers, thus ensuring greater economic, social and environmental justice for local people and workers, as well as regenerating the city centre via a public ownership model.
Along with partners in other public sector bodies or ‘anchor institutions’, more goods and services have been procured locally with ‘tens of millions’ being added to the local economy.
Preston has also ‘insourced’ or taken services back into council control, which is more likely to ensure greater accountability to local people via the elected council, value for money and better terms and conditions for workers.
Preston has encouraged the development of worker ownership via co-operatives with a total of eight now registered, including a trade union run education co-op and a worker-run retrofit co-op.
The model promotes the real living wage and council procurement contracts with social value, such as low carbon outcomes from suppliers or better employment prospects for those from areas of social disadvantage.
Public ownership regeneration
Preston’s commitment to public ownership regeneration, involving local construction firms, has also proved effective in the refurbishing of the city’s market, bus station and museum/art gallery.
With investment from the council’s pension fund, a £45mn cinema and leisure complex is being built which will be owned and run by the council, with income from it ploughed back into council services.
Future plans include a regional mutual bank, more affordable homes, including council houses, community energy efficiency, more green spaces and sports facilities while further tackling poverty and discrimination.
The results have been very encouraging. For example, Preston was judged the most improved urban area in 2018, and in 2021 it was the highest performing city in the North West.
Community wealth building beyond Preston
Other councils, such as Newham and Salford, have adopted community wealth building, while the devolved administrations in Scotland and Wales have also shown interest in these ideas.
Community wealth building, then, has considerable potential to bring improvements to local areas, especially at a time of financial restraint, growing unmet need and the climate emergency.
Wakefield’s economic wellbeing strategy and community wealth building
Following public consultation, Wakefield Council developed the idea of an economic wellbeing strategy, which is committed to good jobs and skills, to preserving green spaces, improving infrastructure and encouraging organisations to come together to benefit local communities.
Community wealth building ideas could fit very well with Wakefield’s economic wellbeing strategy, so a number of organisations, have planned a free, all-day conference at Wakefield Town Hall on 16 September to consider the merits of community wealth building.
The keynote speaker will be Matthew Brown, of Democracy Collaborative also Leader of Preston City Council; councillors and speakers from community organisations will also address the conference.
