Evaluation of the Ancoats Urban Village regeneration programme in Manchester

URS’ evaluation explored the impact of the NWDA’s investment and the programme’s progress.

Ancoats is an urban village near the centre of Manchester that was at the heart of the Industrial Revolution. Economic decline left Ancoats with a collection of previously-developed brownfield sites, a mix of Listed buildings of historical importance and derelict and underused buildings not fit for current needs.

Manchester’s recent regeneration largely bypassed Ancoats. The Ancoats Urban Village Company (AUVC) was established to lead the regeneration of Ancoats, attract new investment and coordinate the contribution of other partners, including the Prince’s Foundation, English Partnerships (EP) and Manchester City Council. EP’s role in AUVC was transferred to NWDA in 1999.

URS was contracted to evaluate the £67m regeneration programme of Ancoats Urban Village to ensure that public resources were being used effectively. This involved face-to-face consultation with local businesses, a focus group, consultations with key stakeholders and delivery partners, review of monitoring data collected by NWDA, review of existing literature and review of published government data sources.

This project was conducted in line with the RDA Impact Evaluation Framework and included an assessment of the programme’s progress against outputs and outcomes, an assessment of additionality and value for money.

URS’ work was externally audited on behalf of BERR and cited as an example of good practice in evaluation.