Local people are
far more satisfied with where they live following major changes
brought about by a Government regeneration programme to transform
areas of deprivation, according to a new report published today.
The findings show that 74 per cent of residents living in the 39
areas benefiting from the New Deal for Communities programme were
satisfied with their areas following major projects to improve
housing and local environment, up by 13 per cent since 2002.
It also reveals that without the creation of the New Deal for
Communities programme just under 19,800 homes would not have been
built or improved in the period since 2002. More than 95 community
buildings, including medical centres, facilities for young
children and centres for creative businesses, have also been
improved and brought back into use in NDC areas, helping to
improving the local quality of life.
Local Government Minister Rosie Winterton today welcomed the
report while visiting sites in Doncaster that have benefited from
building and improvement works under the NDC programme.
The Minister visited social homes in Hexthorpe being refurbished
by Doncaster NDC and viewed its work to convert a 1913 building at
Church View into workspaces for small new creative businesses such
as artists, web, graphic, and fashion designers. This flag ship
building will also provide social and cultural activities and will
provide a new headquarters for the Doncaster NDC Trust.
Rosie Winterton said:
"The NDC programme shows just what local people can
achieve when given a chance to say what will improve their area,
and drive those improvements through. Today's report
shows how NDCs have improved people's quality of life and
increased local satisfaction through major projects to regenerate
housing and improve the local environment.
"The programme has helped to transform many local
communities tackling problems caused by deprivation, including in
Doncaster, by developing innovative projects such as Church View
to support local businesses, or work to improve or refurbish
housing such as in Hexthorpe."
The New Deal for Communities programme created thirty-nine
partnerships in the most deprived neighbourhoods around the
country. Established in 1999/2000 each community-led partnership
was funded by the Government to tackle multiple deprivation in its
area over a ten-year period.
Notes to Editors
1. The report - Interventions in Housing and the Physical
Environment in deprived neighbourhoods: Evidence from the New Deal
for Communities Programme – is available on the Communities and
Local Government website: www. communities.gov.uk/publications/communities/interventionsinhousing.
2. This is one of seven thematic reports published today. The
other reports are:
• Improving attainment? Interventions in education by the New
Deal for Communities Programme.
• Narrowing the gap? Analysing
the Impact of the New Deal for Communities Programme on
Educational Attainment.
• Health interventions and their
impact in NDC areas.
• Running a Regeneration Programme: the
experiences of resident representatives on the boards of New Deal
for Communities Partnerships.
• What works in
neighbourhood-level regeneration? The views of key stakeholders in
the New Deal for Communities Programme.
• Tenure and change in
deprived areas: evidence from the New Deal for Communities areas.
3. By 2008, 74 per cent of NDC residents were very, or fairly,
satisfied with their area as a place to live, fully 13 percentage
points higher than in 2002. The rate of change was especially
pronounced in those areas where levels of satisfaction had been
low at the beginning of the NDC programme. This change was
significantly greater than in comparator areas (8 percentage points).
Contacts:
Communities and Local Government Press Office
Phone: 0303 44 41137
press.office@communities.gsi.gov.uk