Belief: A Potent Ingredient for Regeneration (And Sport)

Momentum is a powerful force, especially when it comes to professional sports and urban regeneration...

James Brown

Momentum is a powerful force, especially when it comes to professional sports and urban regeneration. When a place gets stuck in a rut, it can be hard to build momentum and positive sentiment. This is where having a clear masterplan, backed up by deliverable interventions becomes important – a good town centre strategy can be the driving force behind action and words, and it can make all the difference.

Take Wrexham City Centre and Football Club, for example. It wasn’t long ago that both were in the doldrums. But both are now in a good moment, both on the field and in the city. The proposed redevelopment for the Kop end of the famous Racecourse Ground is an example of where placemaking, economic development and professional sport meet to create belief and generate positive sentiment. 

The Urbanists prepared the masterplan for the wider stadium area and train station, just before the new high-profile owners came in, and it’s now being taken forward by the council. The masterplan helped establish the need for land assembly, highlighted the amount of space a new 5000-seater stand would require, and established a clear funding case. The masterplan and the new ownership of the Football Club have contributed to a sense of renewed belief and purpose. However, it is ‘localness’ that is both the driving and defining factor. The Disney+ docuseries ‘Welcome to Wrexham’ taps into this sense of place and community extremely well and the masterplan for the stadium and the area around it similarly taps into what makes this place and community distinct. 

The Kop end of the the Racecourse Ground – currently being redeveloped.

So how do places get unstuck and create belief? It’s all about getting stakeholders to ‘invest’ in a place and this means getting developers, investors, local people and visitors to believe that only good things can happen. When the cycle of investment starts, sentiment begins to improve, this can be a potent force for change and needs to be harnessed as part of a masterplan and clear delivery plan.

To do this, it’s vital to have a clear vision of the end goals – what can this place look like? And have absolute clarity about what is going to be delivered to start on that journey – or winning run. These days it is called placemaking. While a masterplan can’t account for Hollywood dollars transforming the landscape of what’s possible, there’s nothing wrong with raising expectations – as long as the majority of them can be delivered.

So, while we can’t promise city status or a Hollywood takeover of your local football club, we can promise a masterplan and interventions that will get a place back onto a winning run. 

Related Post

The Numbers-Density-Quality Conundrum – A Story of Housing Delivery in Bristol

Mike Fox, Director at The Urbanists, considers the role density has to play in delivering the housing Bristol needs. Find out more

The New NPPF – Turkey without the Trimmings

Find out more

Successful Sustainable Drainage Schemes (SuDS)

We’re coming to the conclusion of several months of in-depth research into the details that make a successful Sustainable Drainage scheme Find out more

Our approach: a way of working results in award success

We’ve recently added to our awards tally, with our landscape team being involved in two schemes which won Constructing Excellence Wales awards. Find out more

Perth Development & Design Guide

Find out more

Facilitating Solar Canopy Installations for 3ti

Find out more

Whose Job is it to Drive Change?

Billed as the world’s leading real-estate event, MIPIM brings together tens of thousands of international property professionals in Cannes, in the South of France. Find out more

Jamie Donegan

Promoted to Senior Associate Find out more

Our New Starters

Find out more

Corwen Town Centre Placemaking Plan

Find out more

Our Take on Welsh Governments Town Centres: Position Statement

Find out more

Our Christmas Charity Donations

Find out more

New Director joins The Urbanists

We’re delighted to welcome Mike Fox, an experienced urban planner / urban designer who joins us as a Director. Find out more

Teen Tech – 7th December

Find out more

Affordable Housing – Women In Property Lunch in the City Event

Find out more

Bristol Studio Officially Opens

We’re absolutely thrilled to introduce you to our new Bristol team and our new Bristol studio Find out more

Bristol – One Year On

Find out more

15-minute cities – When urban planning became a conspiracy theory

The world has officially gone mad. Now earnest and thoughtful urbanists are the latest to be drawn into the swivel-eyed focus of the conspiracy theorist. Find out more

Welcome to The Urbanists

Find out more

Planning The ‘Greenest Hospital In Britain’

In Britain, we are living with a disease that is forecast to affect literally half the population over years to come. Find out more

Talking Sustainability with Tokyo

Find out more

SuDS Experience – November

Find out more

New January Promotions

Find out more

The Urbanists Present on the Future of our Town Centres

Find out more

Our Charity Partners 2023/2024

Find out more

MIPIM 2024

Find out more

Employee Ownership

Drives The Preparation of The Next Business Plan Find out more