Starting to bloom

In many of England’s most deprived neighbourhoods a slow but steady change is taking place. The govern-ment’s commitment to improve these places has been translated into solid achievements.

That work has been characterised by new partnerships, new ideas and some impressive innovations. Since becoming director of the Neighbourhood Renewal Unit a year ago, I have visited schemes and met local leaders across the country.

One hears talk in some quarters of apathy among communities. That is not my experience. I see frustration, even anger, at the scale of the problems and the pace of reform.

I hear enthusiastic voices, brimming with a desire to change things for the better. I meet people who for the first time are taking part in finding solutions, after years of being ignored. I do not see apathy; I see enthusiasm, energy and the unleashing of potential.

January 2002 marks the first anniversary of the government’s New Commitment to Neighbourhood Renewal, the action plan for the national strategy to ensure that within 20 years no-one is seriously disadvantaged by where they live.

The national strategy, launched by the prime minister and several cabinet ministers at the Ocean Estate in east London, is different from previous government schemes in several ways.

First, it is realistic about the size and nature of the problem. Despite low unemployment and rising national prosperity, the national minimum wage, working families’ tax credit, and improvements in schools, there are many neighbourhoods that have been by-passed by economic growth.

Local unemployment remains high. Crime is a constant fear. Public services are failing in some neighbourhoods. The local environment is degraded. Racial divides create tension and can spill into violence and disorder. Some places are stigmatised, so that businesses move out or will not invest locally. Having the wrong postcode can be detrimental for insurance, or being selected for job interviews. Identifying and under-standing these problems is the first step.

Secondly, the national strategy recognises that the problems are multi-faceted and inter-linked. Social exclusion is not confined to the inner cities, or council estates, or areas where the traditional industrial base has declined.

Deprived neighbourhoods can include those at the heart of cities, or on the periphery, or in towns and villages, in rural or coastal areas. They might have high levels of private housing or owner-occupation. They might even be in areas of rising local prosperity.

It is no longer good enough to simply identity ‘poverty’ as the issue. Today we talk of ‘social exclusion’ because we understand that a range of factors can blight lives. It might be poor bus services, failing schools, a lack of local shopping and leisure facilities, fear of vandalism and street crime, exclusion from the benefits of information technology, and a breakdown in community cohesion, ambition and morale.

This means solutions must be joined up across different areas of public action – education, health, crime prevention, housing, transport – and include private, public and voluntary sectors in partnership. When I meet housing professionals, tenants’ representatives and community leaders, I come across committed people determined to improve the homes people live in.

But we know that decent affordable homes are only the start. A thriving neighbourhood needs jobs, schools, transport, pubs, shops, and other amenities, in addition to community cohesion and shared aspirations.

Thirdly, the national strategy is different because it recognises that solutions take time. To be serious, we must work to a 10-20 year timescale. Problems will not go away with quick fixes, publicity stunts, and injections of funding that dry up after a few years.

We need to build sustainable communities, which balance different types of housing and households, which generate and attract local jobs and opportunities, and which can renew civic pride and ambition. The national strategy contains a number of specific commitments, many of which have been met.

The Neighbourhood Renewal Unit was created in April last year, and I became its first director. Our job is to work across government to ensure that all areas of activity are geared towards promoting renewal. Senior civil servants and politicians have now started to work together in new ways.

The unit works to ‘bend’ mainstream resources and spending into deprived neighbourhoods. For example, as extra resources flow into schools and hospitals, the transport system, and other public services, we must ensure that deprived neighbourhoods are not left out.

If a new health centre is being built, it must serve socially excluded communities. If a new bus service is planned, the route should run through areas most reliant on public transport.

Each government department has ‘floor targets’ – minimum standards of service for people in deprived neighbourhoods. The unit works to see that the targets are being properly addressed.

It oversees its own programmes too – the difficulties as well as the successes. The New Deal for Communities brings people together to find local solutions and allocate new resources in line with community aspirations.

I am always impressed by the enthusiasm of the NDC board members and volunteers. In many areas new jobs have been created, crime has been tackled and new facilities for young people, pensioners and black and minority ethnic communities have been established.

Sometimes solutions are simple, such as gates at the end of alleyways to prevent muggers hiding in the shadows, or blocks that prevent joy riders from driving on to children’s play areas.

In some areas, local people are elected onto NDC boards with higher election turnouts than for the council elections.

Local Strategic Partnerships are up and running, bringing together different strands of the community to work in partnership with business, local authorities and other key players.

Statistics show that neighbourhood wardens and street wardens have made a big difference to the quality of life – helping the police tackle crime, helping local councils to solve problems such as vandalism quickly, helping those at risk, and reassuring local communities. Neighbourhood management schemes are being piloted to involve local people in the major decisions.

We have just launched Business Brokers, a scheme to encourage greater private sector involvement in deprived neighbourhoods. A new Community Forum has been established, involving some of the local community activists and social entrepreneurs who know best what works.

The forum will keep central government on its toes. New money is available through Community Chests and the Community Empowerment Fund for local groups and volunteers. It might be something as simple as paying for training or hiring a venue for an event.

I know that the many people involved in housing are playing a part in neighbourhood renewal. I look to places like Salford, where a tenants’ association took over the running of a run-down estate and transformed the local green space into vegetable plots, picnic areas and gardens.

I look to Middlesbrough, where the healthy homes project offers advice on reducing air pollution, dust mites and other pollutants in the home to help prevent asthma and lung disease.

I look to Broadwater Farm, in Haringey, north London, where super-caretakers have helped improve the estate by cleaning communal areas, reporting damage, graffiti and abandoned cars, and helped reduce residents’ complaints to around one per month.

The experience of this first year has shown us that improving deprived areas is not easy.

But looking around some of the areas where action is being taken, early signs of recovery can be seen. I am confident that together we can create genuine and lasting change in these neighbourhoods.