Published by Blakes for more
than a quarter of a century
than a quarter of a century
Stockton Borough Council
UNDERPINNING SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES THROUGH NEIGHBOURHOOD RENEWAL
John Prescott opens his foreword to sustainable communities by stating that a transformation of our communities and a reversal of decades of neglect and under-investment is taking place. Whilst this may be true in the short term, the reality of achieving real, lasting change is a somewhat more difficult task, especially in our world of targets, tangible outcomes and outputs.
In Stockton we have the added (although not unique) challenge of creating places where people want to live and have pride in living there. To do this it takes more than pleasant, well-maintained green spaces and housing of a decent standard. Whilst the former go some way to addressing the issues, they cannot solve them alone. Our experience shows that even to begin chipping away at years of social issues the public, private and voluntary sectors need to work together to address all of the themes behind deprivation. Each is intrinsically linked; one having an impact on another. We know that housing of a decent standard will help to create better health, that better health will help our young people to achieve, that their achievement will result in greater skills to obtain the jobs and attract the businesses needed to strengthen our local economy.
This is why the work of Stockton's Local Strategic Partnership is so important; through Neighbourhood Renewal it is underpinning the Sustainable Communities agenda, having created an approach of mutually beneficial actions that enable real and local change. We have worked to bring our residents and services together to address issues experienced by the people who live within our communities. Close working has developed mutual understanding and excellent working relationships, enabling our communities to realise that they can both influence and create change. Neighbourhood Renewal has enabled us to tap into the skills and knowledge of our people, utilising their ambitions and aspirations to drive and implement change. It is this change that underpins our sustainable communities.
It is encouraging to see that the sustainability agenda is committed to accessible local public services. However, it is well to remember that this commitment was also made during the post-war boom in social housing; doctors surgeries, leisure facilities and community centres were promised but rapidly disappeared as the economy suffered, and the ideal communities envisaged turned into places with poor reputations where few wanted to live.
In essence, whilst what is set out in the Sustainable Communities agenda should go some way to achieving lasting change, it is part of a broader effort that continues to tackle the myriad issues that result in our communities deteriorating. By a combined approach we can avoid replicating the cycle of short-term benefit and regressing into social exclusion and deprivation. The real test in delivering sustainable communities will be the perception of those that live within them - if our residents respond positively to the question of "what is your community like?" then real change will have occurred.
In Stockton we have the added (although not unique) challenge of creating places where people want to live and have pride in living there. To do this it takes more than pleasant, well-maintained green spaces and housing of a decent standard. Whilst the former go some way to addressing the issues, they cannot solve them alone. Our experience shows that even to begin chipping away at years of social issues the public, private and voluntary sectors need to work together to address all of the themes behind deprivation. Each is intrinsically linked; one having an impact on another. We know that housing of a decent standard will help to create better health, that better health will help our young people to achieve, that their achievement will result in greater skills to obtain the jobs and attract the businesses needed to strengthen our local economy.
This is why the work of Stockton's Local Strategic Partnership is so important; through Neighbourhood Renewal it is underpinning the Sustainable Communities agenda, having created an approach of mutually beneficial actions that enable real and local change. We have worked to bring our residents and services together to address issues experienced by the people who live within our communities. Close working has developed mutual understanding and excellent working relationships, enabling our communities to realise that they can both influence and create change. Neighbourhood Renewal has enabled us to tap into the skills and knowledge of our people, utilising their ambitions and aspirations to drive and implement change. It is this change that underpins our sustainable communities.
It is encouraging to see that the sustainability agenda is committed to accessible local public services. However, it is well to remember that this commitment was also made during the post-war boom in social housing; doctors surgeries, leisure facilities and community centres were promised but rapidly disappeared as the economy suffered, and the ideal communities envisaged turned into places with poor reputations where few wanted to live.
In essence, whilst what is set out in the Sustainable Communities agenda should go some way to achieving lasting change, it is part of a broader effort that continues to tackle the myriad issues that result in our communities deteriorating. By a combined approach we can avoid replicating the cycle of short-term benefit and regressing into social exclusion and deprivation. The real test in delivering sustainable communities will be the perception of those that live within them - if our residents respond positively to the question of "what is your community like?" then real change will have occurred.
Paul Marshall
Neighbourhood Renewal Manager
Stockton Borough Council
Copyright © 2005 Blake.