social enterprise

This article is provided courtesy of the news feed at http://www.newstartmag.co.uk/news

Public agencies may have been spending regeneration money on the wrong things, according to a think tank.

Research by the Chamberlain Forum into regeneration investment in Birmingham shows places that benefitted from modest but well-targeted community initiatives experienced some of the biggest growth in property values over the past ten years.

Balsall Heath and Castle Vale showed the highest rate of growth in property value in inner and outer Birmingham respectively over the past ten years, according to Land Registry data.

But the same data shows that parts of the city like Aston and Kings Norton, which have seen large-scale public investment through the new deal for communities, have not seen such large increases in value.

The report by Birmingham based Chamberlain Forum, which sets out a new approach to neighbourhood regeneration using community assets, finds that some £360m has been added to the value of Balsall Heath over and above what would be expected on the basis of average inner city price increases. The equivalent figure for Castle Vale is about £94m.

It finds that Balsall Health has seen an increase in neighbourhood equity of 262%, with a 124% increase in Castle Vale.

The report, which was commissioned by Advantage West Midlands and Birmingham Council, notes that both areas have been pioneering community‐led neighbourhood management over the past ten years and have leading scores on indices used to assess community strength.

The work of organisations such as Castle Vale Community Housing Association, Balsall Heath Forum and others in renewing their areas was recognised in a Demos report published last month.

Paul Slatter, author of the Chamberlain Forum’s report, told New Start: ‘If we're right, then public agencies may have been spending public regeneration money on the wrong things.’

He added that it might have been more effective for other areas to invest in getting neighbourhood assets working better like community organisers have done in Balsall Heath.

‘That seems to fit with the idea of Big Society and is particularly interesting because there is going to be less public money around in future,’ he added.

‘What Balsall Heath and Castle Vale have done is potentially a new, more self-reliant, way of doing regeneration.’

This article is provided courtesy of the news feed at http://www.newstartmag.co.uk/news

Speaking at Coin Street community centre in London, Ms May said she favoured simpler sanctions, which are easier to obtain and enforce, over powers inherited from Labour such as the antisocial behaviour order (asbo)

Her comments come as Home Office statistics for 2008 showed that asbo breach rates have again increased with more than half breached at least once and 40% breached more than once. The statistics also showed that their use has fallen for the third year running and are now at an all time low.

‘Too often with the old approach, sanctions were not followed through,’ said Ms May. ‘Ineffective orders were issued, then breached. Fines were issued, but not enforced. People got away with it – and the victims knew it.’

Ms May said sanctions like the asbo were complex and bureaucratic and expensive. She added that they often criminalised young people unnecessarily, acting as ‘a conveyor belt to serious crime and prison’.

Ms May said that a centralised approach imposed from Whitehall was not the best way of dealing with a local problem and these sanctions had in fact become part of the problem. She claimed people experiencing antisocial behaviour were becoming more reliant on the government’s help instead of finding solutions themselves.

‘The solution to your community’s problems will not come from officials sitting in the Home Office working on the latest national action plan,’ said Ms May. ‘They will come from the homes of our citizens, from the heads of our police officers, council employees and housing associations, and from the hearts of our social workers’

Joanne Kent-Smith, senior policy and practice officer at the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH), welcomed the review and said the home secretary’s views echoed those of many social landlords.

But she said CIH would 'strongly caution against removing tools which are currently being used to good effect and are protecting communities'.

And she added: ‘The importance of close working relationships between the police, housing providers and other local community agencies should not be underestimated if public confidence and social l responsibility is to be enhanced.

‘Essentially there should be adequate resources in place locally to both support victims and witnesses of antisocial behaviour, and to identify and prioritise those at greatest risk.’

This article is provided courtesy of the news feed at http://www.newstartmag.co.uk/news

A grade II* listed community hall in a former mining town will receive a £2.9m lottery grant to fund its restoration as a heritage centre.

Visitors will be able learn more about the history and people of the Welsh valleys in the restored Newbridge Memorial Hall, which has the largest ballroom in south Wales and an art deco auditorium.

Volunteers whose training was funded through the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) grant will run the centre in Newbridge, Caerphilly.

The project is one of four whose HLF grants were announced this week. Other recipients include a project to restore the Scottish borders home of writer Sir Walter Scott.

The Forum is coordinating the way forward for a number of ideas on commissioning and procurement from its conference at Goole on 16th June. Eleven participants, from all sectors, volunteered to be part of a working group, which had its first meeting in July.

Seventy people from all over Yorkshire and the Humber, and from the private and public sector, as well as voluntary and community organisations, took part in the conference. The atmosphere at the Courtyard in Goole was vibrant and stimulating all day.

keynote speakers The day began with two excellent speakers.

- Ed Mayo (Secretary General, Co-operatives UK) - 'The Campaign For Co-operation' - Professor Andrew Kerslake (Associate Director, the Institute of Public Care - ' "There may be trouble ahead..." Key Issues in Commissioning Adult Social Care' (these presentations are collated in one summary document - see below)

• "Complimentary and interesting presentations"
• "Inspiring, interesting, funny, well done"

workshops (world café) We used, for the first time, a world café approach to workshops. Short presentations were followed by small, constantly changing discussion groups, so each discussion was cross-fertilised by participants form all round the room. Each small group aimed to finish with one key point to take forward (these are all collated in one summary document - see below).

- From national to local (Stephen Oversby, Barnardo's) - Partnership with local authorities (Detty Tyler, East Riding Voluntary Action Services) - Partnership working for health and commissioning: getting more for less (Norma Thompson, NHS Leeds) - Choices and rights (Duncan Edge, Choices and Rights Disability Coalition)

• "This session was a real eye opener"
• "Discussion format very useful - made for focussed and interesting discussion."

performance Performers from Castaway (Goole Accessible Music Theatre) created a magical atmosphere outside in the Courtyard, as people participants had lunch in the sunshine.

• "The reason we are all here."

ideas bank 5 very specific ideas were aired for just 6 minutes each. Participants were then asked to spend their specially minted money - Yorkies - on whichever idea they thought was most effective and feasible:(these are all collated in one summary document - see below)

• Supporting BME organisations to deliver (Muzahid Khan, Yorkshire & the Humber Forum) - 25 Yorkies
• A commissioning and procurement framework (Donald Macintosh, Community Regeneration Partnership) - 36 Yorkies
• Participatory budgeting (Heather Blakey, International Centre for Participation Studies) - 82 Yorkies
• Social impact bonds (Neil Berry, Development Trusts Association) - 136 Yorkies
• Social value clauses in contracts (Tony Bailey and Dean Backhouse, Leeds City Council) - 69 Yorkies

key issues, discussion points and opportunities what did participants think?

90% of participants felt the conference 'completely' or 'partly' met their expectations

• "…informative and thought provoking."
• " More than my expectations."
• "…very interesting and a good learning opportunity"