(OPEN TO THE PUBLIC)
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Report of the Leader
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To the Cabinet
13th March 2001
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TITLE: Charlestown/Lower Kersal New Deal for Communities Delivery Plan.
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RECOMMENDATIONS
Cabinet are asked to endorse the New Deal for Communities Delivery Plan prior to its submission to Government Office North West on March 16th 2001.
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This report outlines the background to the New Deal for Communities programme in Charlestown/Lower Kersal, progress to date in developing the Delivery Plan, the main elements of the Plan and next steps. The Delivery Plan sets out a comprehensive strategy for improving Charlestown/Lower Kersal, over the next ten years, across the following six themes: building communities, crime and community safety, children and young people, physical environment, health and education, employment and skills. The Plan sets out an overall programme totalling £149.244 million, of which £59.940 million is being sought from the New Deal for Communities initiative.
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BACKGROUND DOCUMENTS
Charlestown/Lower Kersal – A New Deal for Everyone. The Salford New Deal for Communities Delivery Plan 2001 – 2011.
Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions : New Deal for Communities - Developing Delivery Plans (June 2000)
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CONTACT OFFICER
Alison Burnett, Strategy and Resources Section, Chief Executive Directorate.
Tel. 0161 793 3449
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WARDS TO WHICH THE REPORT RELATES
Pendleton and Kersal
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KEY COUNCIL POLICIES
Salford’s Community Strategy
Building Sustainable Communities : Salford’s Regeneration Strategy
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DETAILS
Background
Members will recall that Salford was one of 22 authorities invited to bid under the second round of New Deal for Communities (NDC) in November 1999. The bidding process is split into three phases:
Phase 1 (November 1999 – April 2000): selection of the preferred neighbourhood and the submission of an expression of interest
Phase 2 (June 2000 – March 2001) : the preparation of a Delivery Plan (comprehensive ten year strategy) for the neighbourhood
Phase 3 (May 2001 – March 2011) – delivery of the programme
Charlestown/Lower Kersal was selected as the preferred area for New Deal for Communities by the Salford Partnership. This selection was then subject to scrutiny by the Chairs and Deputies of the Community Committees. Following a successful community launch event held in Charlestown/Lower in March 2000, a Phase 1 bid was submitted to Government and approved in June 2000.
Since that date the preparation of the Delivery Plan for the area has been overseen by the Charlestown/Lower Kersal Interim Steering Group. The Steering Group is chaired by a local resident and comprises of the following: 6 community representatives, 3 City Council, 4 statutory agencies, 2 voluntary sector organisations and 2 local businesses. The Steering Group has been supported by a multi-agency Working Group and six thematic focus groups. There are strong links with the Kersal, Pendleton and Charlestown Community Committee which is being supported and developed as the community forum for the initiative.
Work across all these structures has been supported by the Participatory Appraisal Team (three community animators recruited from the local area to work directly on seeking people’s views), together with secondments from the City Council, the Benefits Agency, the voluntary sector and the Health Action Zone.
Preparing the Delivery Plan
The work in preparing the Delivery Plan has been divided in to three key stages, punctuated by two whole systems events to bring all the information and stakeholders together:
- What are the issues /opportunities in the area?
- What is the overall vision/strategy and programme for the area over the next ten years?
- What are the priorities over the next year/three years?
Community Involvement
The Charlestown/Lower Kersal Partnership recognised early on in the New Deal for Communities work that in order to maximise community involvement in the process, it could not rely solely on traditional ways of engagement, such as meetings. The Partnership therefore decided to use Participatory Appraisal (PA) as a way of involving local people, building on local links with Oxfam. PA is a community research method through which the views of local people can be heard and by which they can be involved in directly planning projects and defining policy. It is an interactive, fun process and accessible to all age groups.
The PA Team have worked with a range of organisations and groups across the NDC area, and have also undertaken ‘dip days’ at places which people pass or visit, for example, at local shops, the housing office and pubs. In November, the PA Team visited all parts of the area using a trailer to display the information collected since July, in order to verify and prioritise local issues and solutions with the community. The team have seen over 2000 people.
Consultancy Work
The information collected through the Participatory Appraisal process has been supplemented by a household survey of the Charlestown/Lower Kersal area, undertaken by Kwest and a baseline study undertaken by DTZ Pieda.
Whole Systems Events
Two key events have taken place during the Phase 2 work. The first whole systems (information sharing) event was held on November 29th 2000 and was designed to bring together all the stakeholders involved in the formal NDC structures to consider the information collected to date.
A second whole systems (community) event, known as “D-Day” was held on 4th February, 2001. The purpose of the event was for local people to give their views on the draft Delivery Plan. The work of each of the focus groups was centred on six activity zones whereby people could “have their say about what has been said so far … and planned so far in the regeneration of Charlestown and Lower Kersal.”
An interactive, informal and fun style was adopted for this event, which was attended by 600 people, including some 200 children and young people. The event was a positive one and there was overall support for the ideas and activities that were being proposed.
The Delivery Plan - Key Elements
The Delivery Plan sets out a comprehensive strategy for the improvement of Charlestown/Lower Kersal over the next ten years. It includes the following elements:
Introduction – overview of the neighbourhood, work undertaken to date in preparing the Delivery Plan and an overall vision forthe area:
“to make Lower Kersal and Charlestown a place where people want to live, by building a community and a future that engages everyone”
The Baseline – a clear picture of existing conditions, problems and opportunities in the area utilising information from the work of the Participatory Appraisal Team, the household survey and the baseline study
The Strategy – clear and tested ideas about how the area can be improved over the next ten years in order to achieve the vision and outcomes set out. The six themes of the Strategy and their respective budgets are:
THEME / NDC FUNDINGBuilding Communities / £8.490 m
Crime and Community Safety / £8.020 m
Children and Young People / £4.820 m
Physical Environment / £26.370 m
Health / £2.720 m
Education, Employment and Skills / £4.520 m
TOTAL (including £5m
Management and administration) / £59.940 m
This is supported by costed projects over the next three years and the first twelve months. The first year of the programme seeks a balance between responding to the community’s immediate priorities for improvement on the ground and and laying the foundations for future work over the life of the programme. The Partnership is seeking £1.286m in this first year.
Delivery – details on how the Partnership will be developed, the composition of the Delivery Team to manage the programme, how community involvement will be maintained and a description of the managements systems to be put in place. In the early stages of the programme, the Interim Steering Group and related operational structures will be retained in order to ensure continuity, with the City Council acting as the accountable body. In the longer term the development of a new partnership organisation, such as a development trust, will be considered. The Delivery Team will initially operate from a two centre base in the area: Pendleton House and Lower Kersal Activities Centre, until a permanent base can be identified.
Forward Strategy – early thinking about what will happen when the programme ends and how the process of regeneration will be maintained.
Next Steps
The Delivery Plan has to be submitted to Government Office North West on March 16th 2001. A decision regarding the bid will be made within 4 to 5 weeks, however if a general election is declared then this may affect the timing of the announcement. The Partnership have taken a realistic and pragmatic approach to costing the strategy for the area (£59.940 million), while realising that Government are unlikely to approve resources of more than £50 to £55 million. Any approval may therefore be subject to further negotiation within the Partnership. In the meantime, work will continue to ensure that the momentum of the last fifteen months is not lost. A number of NDC quick win projects have been approved for immediate implementation and work will commence on putting in place the appropriate staffing structures and management systems for when the approval is given.