The Government’s plans for estate regeneration risks a North-South divide that would leave behind deprived communities outside London, warns think tank.
The former prime minister David Cameron announced plans to regenerate ‘sink’ estates to tackle deprivation and build new homes last February. He said £140m would be made available to support the regeneration of 100 estates.
However, a new report from ResPublica - entitled Great Estates: Putting communities at the heart of regeneration - has said more funding should be made available.
The think tank’s researchers calculated improving employment outcomes in just 12 well-known estates could generate Government savings to the tune of at least £140m by 2030.
Great Estates looked at 122 estates and found the Government's approach to regeneration will not help poorer communities where house prices are too low to attract investment, and where building new homes will not overcome the problems of long-term deprivation.
ResPublica recommends the creation of a new Estate Endowment Fund to attract social investment into regeneration. They also argue for higher levels of public funding to regeneration given the savings that would come from improved educational, health and employment outcomes in these communities.
‘What our research has found is that there is a significant North-South divide in what the Government’s current policy on regeneration of estates can deliver. That’s because it is very focused on “bricks and mortar” – using new homes to fund wider regeneration of places,’ said report author Edward Douglas.
‘But in many parts of the country, this model does not work, and what is needed is an approach that directly improves employment, education and health. Without looking again at the way regeneration is funded and delivered, we risk leaving estates across the country – from Walsall to Blackpool, Carlisle to Bradford – further behind.
‘We also found that regeneration can, when communities are put at the heart of the process, deliver real benefits to local places and impact on people’s lives – and can at the same time deliver new homes in places that desperately need them.’
‘The new Government has a great opportunity to look again at this to ensure opportunity and prosperity are spread to all parts of the country,’ he added.
