ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at the distinct approaches to urban regeneration undertaken by Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative governments which reigned from 1979 to 1990. These were characterised by an ‘entrepreneurial’ ethos consisting of neo-liberal philosophies of public-private partnerships, privatisation, deregulation, liberalisation and centralisation. The chapter will outline the philosophies of the ‘New Right’, which underscored approaches to urban regeneration, and move on to evaluate key policies espousing these values. Examples from across the UK will be illustrated including arguably the most famous piece of urban regeneration in Europe, London’s Docklands, which epitomised 1980s-style entrepreneurial regeneration.
