A new programme of action aimed at reducing vandalism and other forms of criminal damage in 80 local areas in England and Wales was launched by the Home Office.
Criminal damage, including walls daubed with graffiti or smashed-up bus shelters, are symptomatic of anti-social behaviour which is costing the country over £2 billion every year. Many communities have expressed concern over vandalism in recent years, which has encouraged the Home Office to enter into a partnership scheme with other Government Offices and environmental campaigns charity ENCAMS to tackle the issue.
The scheme will see Crime Disorder and Reduction Partnerships (CDRPs) working together to identify the extent and scale of the problem in local areas and draw up comprehensive action plans to tackle them. After three months, the CDRPs and partners will come together to assess whether the crack-down has worked and what more needs to be done.
The launch is the highlight of a one-day conference called "Tackling Vandalism: Why Bother?", featuring speakers from the Home Office, Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council, Leicestershire Constabulary, Birmingham City Council, Avon's Arson Task Force, and the Metropolitan Police.
Alan Woods, Chief Executive of ENCAMS, the charity delivering the programme in partnership with the Home Office, said: "The programme's aim is to get local authorities to find out where criminal damage is being done, who is doing it and why - and then come up with an antidote. Over a quarter of residents now rate vandalism as a big or fairly big concern and while there are no easy answers, we need to make bricks through windows, smashed-up phone boxes, abandoned cars set on fire, and graffiti on park benches a thing of the past."
The future of service delivery to neighbourhoods is at a crucial turning point. Government, councils, and service providers are facing a "make or break" moment, according to a new independent report.
Neighbourhood Management Pathfinders (NMPs), set up by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister in 2001, are designed to give residents a real opportunity to improve local services and make them more responsive to their needs. They test a new approach for neighbourhood renewal.
The report, Neighbourhood Management - At the Turning Point?, states that the 35 pathfinders are a "valuable tool" in regenerating deprived areas and supports the pathfinder neighbourhood management model being rolled-out more widely. But it warns that the approach is in danger of being a missed opportunity unless its value is recognised.
The report found evidence that the first NMPs to be set-up have now deepened their relationships with many service providers. The strongest involvement is with police, local schools, primary care trusts, local authority housing services, and local authority environmental services.
The following improvements in NMP areas are highlighted in the report:
Neighbourhood management adds value by bringing residents and service providers together to improve and join-up local services, by helping to strengthen the local community and voluntary sector, and by providing an environment in which innovation is encouraged.
The report states: "The main benefits so far have been to make the deprived pathfinder neighbourhoods safer and cleaner and help shape services that are better joined up, more accessible, and more responsive to local needs.
"Neighbourhood management has 'struck a chord' with many organisations and people that have come into active contact with it.
"To many practitioners, residents, councillors, and service providers, it has the hallmarks of a more intelligent and sustainable approach to neighbourhood renewal and public service improvement.
"On the basis of the evidence we have gathered and analysed, we suggest that neighbourhood management is indeed a valuable tool that deserves to be developed and adopted more widely."
Examples of NMP successes include:
West Midlands, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Knutton Cross Heath Neighbourhood Management Initiative
The local policing unit in Staffordshire Police increased the local police presence in the area by two officers and two PCSOs - this was partly funded by the NMP and mainstreamed from April 2005. Benefits for the community include increased levels and greater visibility of policing through more foot patrols and more support for victims of crime. Closer links between police and residents mean local priorities are better understood. The level of reported crime in the area fell by 17% between 2001/2 and 2004/5, with particular improvements made on reducing burglary and criminal damage. This has narrowed the gap between crime rates in the NMP area and the rest of the district.
North West, Chester, Blacon Together, Car Clear Plus
The area had a problem with stolen and abandoned cars being dumped and set on fire. The NMP brought agencies together, including the police, fire service, wardens and local housing Trust. The process of removing vehicles was sped up; action was taken to reduce the number of non-roadworthy vehicles; offenders were targeted, and a new hotline number to report incidents was publicised. The number of abandoned cars fell by 37% and there was a 63% reduction in vehicle arson from 2003/4 to 2004/5.
London, Greenwich, Woolwich Common
The Metropolitan Police have co-located a Safer Neighbourhoods team of three police officers and four PCSOs in the NMPs new community shop, where residents can access a number of services and wider information. As a result there is a greater visible police presence in the neighbourhood and police are more accessible to local residents.
London, Camden, Gospel Oak Neighbourhood Management Initiative
The NMP funded the provision of CCTV and a local radio network for local businesses, to help tackle crimes affecting them.
North East, Derwentside, Stanley Green Corridor Neighbourhood Partnership
A number of NMPs have developed services to help tenants and residents in the NMP area. In Stanley Green Corridor, a local handyman service has been expanded. The handyman undertakes repairs for people, many of whom are elderly.
West Midlands, Wyre Forest, Oldington and Foley Park, Kidderminster
Tooth decay and general oral health is poor in the NMP area. The NMP worked with the local Wyre Forest primary care trust to introduce new dentistry services and to make residents aware that these new services were available. The NMP identified volunteers to knock on doors (to get over issues of literacy) and record which residents weren't registered with a dentist. Benefits include an increased take up of dental services in the area, with 753 local residents signed up with the new dental services, representing 15 per cent of the population of the NMP.
South West, Bournemouth, Community Management in Springbourne and Boscombe West
The NMP has supported the piloting of new approaches to help pupils in local schools with complex needs. Nurture Groups have now been set up at all primary schools in the NMP with the aim of helping children aged four to six to develop emotionally, academically, and socially through learning activities in small groups.
East of England, Basildon, Interlock Northlands Park
Following information and lobbying from the NMP, the local street cleansing services have been changed. Since April 2005 there has been a dedicated team of street cleaners and grounds maintenance staff for the area. Streets are cleaned twice a week, litter collected on a regular basis, bushes are cut back when requested, grass is cut regularly, and the team can respond to requests. There is also a new enforcement officer to deal with fly tipping and rubbish dumping. Local surveys have shown a reduction in the proportion of people who said that litter and rubbish in streets is a problem - from 68% to 30% since 2003. Local surveys have also shown a reduction in the proportion of people who think vandalism and graffiti is a problem - down from 76% to 37% - and a reduction in fly tipping.
West Midlands, Oldington and Foley Park, Wyre Forest
The 'Carrot Club' is a regular informal event in the local school's canteen, timed to coincide with parents and carers collecting children from school. The club provides the opportunity for the NMP and other service providers who are active in the area to meet with residents in an informal manner.
North West, New East Blackburn, Blackburn with Darwen
The 'Street Ambassador' programme provides a system to gather the views of local community members even if they do not attend formal NMP events. Any resident can become an ambassador providing that they adhere to a formal code of conduct.
The Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott, announced a further £482 million of investment to regenerate some of England's most run-down estates. The funding into the Housing Market Renewal programme will continue the drive to turn around neighbourhoods that suffer the blight of boarded houses, abandonment, and anti-social behaviour.
Over the last three years, the programme has seen more than 17,000 homes modernised, crime levels reduced, the local environment improved, and the number of abandoned properties in decline. New confidence is returning to pathfinder areas, with average house prices doubled since 2002. However, it is also recognised that challenges still remain to close the gap between these areas and those around them.
The pathfinders are now starting stage two of the programme, to continue the revival of their communities. They will step-up the regeneration of estates and provide an attractive mix of housing - both in terms of type and tenure. The continued emphasis on refurbishing homes will be expanded, with three times more homes being modernised, rather than replaced. In partnership with local authorities and others, the pathfinders are working closely with communities to meet their housing needs and aspirations for the future.
The £482 million is being allocated to six pathfinders in South Yorkshire, Liverpool, North Staffordshire, Newcastle, Oldham/Rochdale, and East Lancashire. The investment will fund plans backed by local communities in these areas. Over the next two years the six pathfinders are expected to refurbish nearly 10,000 homes and replace around 3,000 with new homes (less than 1% of the housing in pathfinder areas is being replaced). The investment will also go into public space improvement schemes and community projects, such as neighbourhood wardens.
Funding for the other three pathfinders in Manchester, Birmingham, and Hull will be announced shortly.
An East London scheme tackling poverty in one of England's most deprived urban communities was given an international profile. The President of Brazil, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, and the Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott shared ideas on regenerating deprived areas during their visit to West Ham and Plaistow New Deal for Communities (NDC) in Newham, East London. The engagement was part of a high profile state visit by the Brazilian President.
The visit focused on two newly built community resource centres - The Hub and Grassroots - where President Lula and the Deputy Prime Minister met local people and watched a short dance performance by children from nearby Eastlea Community Secondary School. The President was also given a West Ham United football shirt with his name on the back - the connection being that Grassroots is built on the original West Ham ground in Memorial Park.
West Ham and Plaistow NDC is part of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's neighbourhood renewal initiatives and is receiving more than £54 million funding over a 10-year period.
The two centres bring together a range of services, including a training cafe with free internet access, a pharmacy, employment advice, children's services, local health facilities, nurseries and a base for local police teams.
Situated in Canning Town, The Hub is the first of three proposed community resource centres built by West Ham and Plaistow NDC, which aim to create landmark buildings that will contribute to the regeneration of the area.
It is owned and run by the NDC and the local community, and includes a cafe with free internet access, a hall available for hire, pharmacy, nursery, community mental health team, jobs and training service, Metropolitan Police Safer Neighbourhood Team, and business start-up units.
The energy efficient building has solar panels and a rainwater harvester that collects rainwater and recycles it throughout the building.
Community facilities at the centre focus on childcare and healthy living. Services include a nursery and crèche, primary healthcare services, community police team office, Early Start Children's Centre, and a community hall for use by local groups. The design includes a planted green roof to minimise the visual impact on the park. There is also a cafe that serves a range of healthy meals at affordable prices for the local community. The Green Sprout Cafe also offers a free training service for local unemployed people who wish to get involved in the catering industry. The NDC operates a Food Access Programme - a highly successful project, which aims to get local people to eat more healthily in an area of food poverty where very little fresh fruit and vegetables are available or accessible. This project is serving as a model for other food access projects across the country.
A North Kensington community celebrated the completion of an £8 million regeneration programme.
The Dalgarno SRB Partnership has proved beneficial to more than 1,500 households and kick-started more than 100 new projects, including community safety, supplementary schooling, parenting skill classes, and a healthy food co-op.
A new day-nursery serves over 50 families, boosting access to childcare in the area by over 20%. Youth crime prevention work, which included a re-cycled fashion show and graffiti removal, led to a 10% reduction in youth crime in the area. Management of the Dalgarno Community Centre and its services will now be handed over to the Dalgarno Neighbourhood Trust (DNT).
The Dalgarno SRB Partnership is made up of residents, Notting Hill Housing Trust and other social landlords, the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea, the local Primary Care Trust, the Police, and other local organisations, working to bring about a better quality of life in the Dalgarno neighbourhood.
The main purpose of Dalgarno SRB has been to maximise opportunities for people living in the Dalgarno neighbourhood.