Focus regeneration money on local assets, says study

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.’