Ipswich Urban Regeneration
An Introduction to your GCSE urban fieldwork
Aim
Investigating the impact of the regeneration in Ipswich
Keep scrolling to find out more about Ipswich and your fieldwork investigation. Fill in your worksheet as you go.
Location
Ipswich is located towards the east coast of East Anglia in eastern England. It is the county town of Suffolk.
Ipswich...
- is on the River Orwell, 12km upstream from the coastal estuary
- is fairly well connected via major routes- the A12 and A14, but no motorways- and the rail network
- has a population of about 136,000
Explore the map and see what else you can find out about Ipswich
What are the benefits of Ipswich's location?
What are disadvantages of Ipswich's location?
History
Explore the map to discover the history of Ipswich. Fill in your worksheet as you go. You can zoom in and out on the map to better see the context of the location markers.
Map Tour
Zoom into the map and scroll between the points.
There has been a port at Ipswich since the early Middle Ages, the 7th century, and it has long been a very important site for trade in England and wider Europe. Excavations have found evidence of trade with areas that are modern-day Scandinavia and Germany, such as the coin above.
Site and situation
Ipswich grew as a port as it is well connected to the North Sea, and therefore many trade routes, via the River Orwell. Exports included wool (wool processing is pictured above from the 1700s), leather and pottery. Ipswich was important enough to have a mint but it was at risk of attack from the Danes. Imports to Ipswich centred around the milling industry.
Boom time
Ipswich's dock was well established and thriving by the 1840s, its most prosperous time. Trade was still based mainly around agricultural products or produce e.g. fertiliser, grain and machinery, but finer items were also exported around the country, such as printed goods and cloth. Coal was imported. Ship building was very important in the town. National trade was more common than international trade by this time though.
Industries of the docks
This is a maltings, the malt (from barley) is processed to use in beer production (and Malteasers!). Felaw Street Maltings is pictured.
Industries of the docks
This is the Burton's factory. It was a company manufacturing baked goods, like biscuits.
Decline of the docks
While international trade had already declined, the docks were still in use into the 1980s. Large loads of goods came into the port and had to be unloaded and driven out of the town on lorries. The congestion this created was severe. It brought in lots of money but containerisation and globalisation of trade meant ships were becoming much bigger. Larger ports on the coast, like Felixstowe, were more attractive to shipping companies.
The Orwell Bridge
The ships unloading at Felixstowe still had to pass through Ipswich. To reduce congestion and improve journey times, the Orwell Bridge was built in 1982. This certainly helped the traffic problem but meant that large ships could no longer access Ipswich docks at all- they didn't fit underneath! This very quickly prevented further trade at Ipswich dock and it went into decline as the original economic function could no longer continue. The traditional trading products were also less in demand or could be sourced from overseas more cheaply.
Derelict waterfront
As factories and the docks fell into disuse, the area went into decline. Jobs were lost, there was less investment in the area and so the port experienced a spiral of decline. Derelict factories can be seen above. The only boats using the docks by this time are a few small leisure boats.
The Burton's factory
Compare this to the image above in the story- the factory is now derelict and it is only now (2020) being re-purposed and re-built. An uncared for area is likely to experience increases in crime and the social, economic and environmental characteristics of the docks were poor before any regeneration efforts.
Ipswich Issues
Use the maps to help you understand the issues faced in Ipswich and why the town has received investment for regeneration. You can click on the red and green markers for more information.
As you scroll through the maps below fill in your worksheet to show why Ipswich waterfront would benefit from regeneration.
Pay particular attention to the waterfront area. That's the area inside the green dashed line on this map.
Living Environment
This map show the Living Environment Category of the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD). Decile 1, at the bottom, is the worst 10% of places in England and decile 10, at the top, is the best 10% of places in England. Click on the legend icon to see this in full.
This category includes factors such as the number of homes in poor condition and the amount of air pollution.
How well does the waterfront area score?
How could regeneration improve this?
Employment Deprivation
This map shows the employment deprivation category of the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD). Decile 1, at the bottom, is the worst 10% of places in England and decile 10, at the top, is the best 10% of places in England.
Employment deprivation "measures the proportion of the working-age population in an area involuntarily excluded from the labour market. This includes people who would like to work but are unable to do so due to unemployment, sickness or disability, or caring responsibilities."
How does Ipswich score on this factor?
How might regeneration help improve this score?
Education
This map shows the education deprivation category of the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD). Decile 1, at the bottom, is the worst 10% of places in England and decile 10, at the top, is the best 10% of places in England.
How does the Ipswich area score?
How might regeneration improve this?
There are many other factors incorporated in the Index of Multiple Deprivation. If you would like to explore factors such as health and income deprivation, you can go to the IMD website
Regeneration Schemes
Explore the map to see how money has been invested in Ipswich since the start of the regeneration process in 1999. Do note, regeneration projects are still happening today as an ongoing process.
Ipswich regeneration projects
One of the first elements of regeneration was the Felaw Street Maltings. You can see an image of this in use as a maltings above. This is a flagship project, so called as it showcases the social, economic and environmental possibilities of the regeneration scheme. It has maintained the character of the old docks by keeping the original building features. It has supported the area socially and economically by providing local jobs (it is an office space).
Salthouse Harbour Hotel and warehouses
These old warehouses have been redeveloped as flats and a smart hotel. What benefits might this regeneration have brought?
Bars and restaurants
Isaacs is a bar, cafe and restaruant now but began life as a merchant's house and stores, where they would have conducted their trade.
Suffolk University
In 2008 the Suffolk University buildings were finished. This established the county's first university and is in the place of some old mills. As you can see, the building in this case is completely new and of modern design.
The regeneration process
We have seen a variety of projects here that are part of the regeneration. Land ownership and therefore the regeneration projects are fragmented in this area- lots of different people or businesses own the sections of land. This can make it difficult to make the projects work together. The aims of the regeneration were to reconnect the derelict waterfront to the town centre space but preserve the conservation status of some of the old dock buildings. It is a site of significant heritage interest.
Aims of the regeneration policy
At the same time as preserving the Conservation Area status, other aims were to make the area more sustainable in terms of access (e.g. to pedestrians), maximise facilities for the community (e.g. education and retail), improve the space environmentally and create more, affordable residential areas.
Based on the examples you have seen, and any further research you may have done, do you think the regeneration has managed to meet its aims?
Your Investigation
Investigating the impact of a regeneration project in Ipswich
We will share the investigation aim for your exam board with you when you arrive
Hypothesis
A hypothesis is like a prediction of what you think you will find in your investigation. You then collect data to test it and see if you can support a geographical idea.
We will make a hypothesis about the impact of regeneration on Ipswich when you are at the field centre.
To prepare for this make 3 predictions on what you think the impact of regeneration on Ipswich waterfront will be. You might want to think about visitors to the waterfront, the buildings in the town, the services or shops, the environment, and people's thoughts of the site.
Sampling
In any investigation we need an unbiased method to enable us decide where to collect data. There are three commonly used strategies on this image.
We need a strategy that will allow us to see all of Ipswich waterfront. We also want to be able to see the difference between different areas e.g the main regenerated area to the north of the dock and the east and west sides where less has been done.
Which sampling strategy do you think will be best for us to use at Ipswich waterfront?
There is more than one correct answer- if you can justify your choice, it could be a good one to use! Have a go...
Next Steps
Before we go to Ipswich think about the following questions. Note down any ideas you have on your worksheet
- What data could be collected to investigate regeneration in Ipswich?
- What hazards might there be collecting data in a town. How we will we work safely?
Your are now ready for your fieldwork. You will need the pre-course worksheet on your trip. Don’t forget to bring this and your curiosity along with you!
