Urban renaissance – What is the prospect of places in the periphery? Manchester-Liverpool and the spatial in-between

After many years of decline, even some of the most affected cities in old-industrialised regions seem to experience an urban renaissance, characterised not only by large-scale investment in city centres and inner cities, but also expressed in growing population. This is not only true for parts of the Ruhr, but also for core cities in the Northwest of England, an area known for the early industrial revolution and late 20th century decline (Ferrari 2004, Rae 2013). Manchester and Liverpool are key nodes of an urban corridor known as the Mersey Belt (Dembski 2014). Currently, both cities work on the institutionalisation of city-regional structures, establishing two mono-centric regions. Whatever the outcome of this process may be, one interesting question is how the urban revival of these two core cities affects the spaces in-between, meaning the small and medium manufacturing towns in the urban fringe, particularly those located in the middle of the Mersey Belt continuing to show decline. What are possible policy responses of these communities?The paper first explores the patterns and development trajectories over recent decades across the Mersey Belt. This mapping analysis uses key indicators including population/household change, migration, deprivation indicators, house prices, employment statistics and business registration rates. Following this empirical analysis, the second part discusses in more detail the policy responses for smaller towns in the periphery, using the example of St Helens. Is the prospect merely to become a declining place in the periphery of the region? Or is there a potential for a different future. As part of the local development framework, St Helens planners supported by Liverpool planning students have been working on an Area Action Plan for Bold Forest Park, a former coal mining area. Using this example and interviews findings, the paper discusses how these plans contribute to redefining St Helen’s role in the wider region. Finally we discuss the role of small towns in the emerging new forms of regional and sub-regional planning and governance.Dembski, S. (2014) Structure and imagination of changing cities: Manchester, Liverpool and the spatial in-between, Urban Studies.Ferrari, E. & Roberts, J. (2004) Manchester - Regrowth of a Shrinking City/ Liverpool - Changing Urban Form. In: OSWALT, B. P. (ed.) Shrinking Cities: Manchester/Liverpool - Working Papers - Studies Part I. Berlin: Shrinking Cities Project.Rae, A. (2013) English urban policy and the return to the city: A decade of growth, 2001-2011, Cities, 32(0), pp. 94-101.