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New Deal for Communities programmes and Neighbourhood Management Pathfinders are preparing to wind down, the NRU is no more than fleeting memory, the National Strategy for Neighbourhood Renewal gathers dust on shelves in many a town hall, the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund has been replaced by Working Neighbourhoods Fund and Neighbourhood Renewal Advisors have turned into Local Improvement Advisors. So just what has happened to Neighbourhood Renewal and do we care anymore about neighbourhood approaches?

Well there’s no doubt that neighbourhoods still matter and neighbourhoods that have problems matter more than most. Although evaluation after evaluation demonstrates that the neighbourhoods that received all this attention have generally improved for the better there remain, especially in London, too many neighbourhoods were poverty and inequality persist, usually side by side, with great wealth and prosperity. Indeed London has become, over the last ten years, the most unequal capital in Europe despite the huge injection of public funds and the remarkable scale of development from Kings Cross to Stratford and from Cricklewood to the South Bank.

London’s growth as a world city, supported by the current and previous Mayor, and enshrined in the London Plan, was meant to result in a greater share of the benefits of growth for the poorer parts of London. It’s true that previously run down ex industrial areas and disused rail lands and canal basins have been transformed with new gleaming structures. It’s also true that these developments have delivered some benefits for local people in the form of social housing and jobs. However there’s still the feeling that this hasn’t been enough and despite  this splurge of growth and redevelopment, and the radical reformation of the social and economic structure of the capital over the past thirty years – the ‘poor are still with us’ and many of the poorer parts of the capital remain ‘too risky’ for mainstream private sector investors and developers.

To make matters worse the world recession and property slump has turned off the private capital. Mr Brown’s fiscal stimulus has delivered some respite, with the HCA racing to the rescue of some key schemes but many have been halted or mothballed. Certainly the public sector is braving itself for some punishing settlements over the next few years as whoever is in government attempts to re-balance the books.  So all-in-all not a very promising outlook especially if you happen to live in one of the many struggling neighbourhoods in inner and outer London. So is there any point in thinking about neighbourhood renewal? And if there is what is there to do?

Here at Renaisi we firmly believe there is. In fact there is now an even greater need to focus on issues at the neighbourhood level whether they be managing the impacts of rapid changes in the demographic composition of neighbourhoods; dealing with the effects of more entrenched worklessness; helping local enterprises survive; or ensuring that where development does occur it does so in a way that is environmentally sustainable and creates and sustains value for the community as well as the developer.

What we’ve learnt is that local problems are best resolved at the local level and by local people. That’s the only way that you get a solution that’s truly sustainable. This doesn’t mean that there aren’t greater social and economic influences at borough and city level that don’t have an impact or need to be properly understood, before deciding what to do at neighbourhood level. Indeed that is the key to developing solutions that are right. That’s why the most successful areas have thought long and hard about their ‘place shaping’ responsibilities and have begun to think for themselves about how they can renew their neighbourhoods without a national blueprint being handed down to them.

They’ve also developed ways of understanding their local economy, how it’s influenced by London’s wider labour, housing and property markets and what interventions they can make to protect and enhance local enterprise and employment. Within this they’ve carefully considered how major physical regeneration schemes can contribute more locally through innovative partnerships and funding mechanisms. They’ve also made the effort to try and understand the impact of social restructuring on local neighbourhoods and maintained efforts to better deliver and manage public services at a neighbourhood level.

The current recession will challenge all of this considerably especially in those areas where physical renewal is heavily dependent on private sector cash. However even in these dark times there are signs of life and a number of opportunities to protect what you’ve got and prepare for the upturn:

Firstly, we should all still care about neighbourhood renewal and redouble our efforts to deliver it in places where it is needed most. The emphasis of the new Comprehensive Area Assessment will be a sharp reminder to many of the need to tackle inequality. However a new narrative is needed and that should be a localist one and that needs local government to end its ‘parent child’ relationship with central government and start to think for itself once more.  The government, and its likely successor, appear to be willing to return increasing amounts of responsibility to local councils (unfortunately not enough real power) and some new tools such as Tax Increment Financing seem about to finally make an appearance. More councils should respond by taking up the challenge and making the best of what is on the table.

Secondly, understanding London’s economy and how local neighbourhoods and town centres relate to its shifting social and economic sands and the opportunities and challenges this brings and having the ability to plan effectively, at the right spatial scale, to maximise and mitigate these has never been more important.

Thirdly, being prepared to use the assets and financial resources available in bold and innovative ways. This includes new approaches to financing neighbourhood regeneration, including transferring assets to the community sector and building mechanisms that capture value for the long term benefit of local people. Many councils are already buying up land, at the bottom of the property value curve, in readiness for the upturn.

Fourthly, the days of large scale public spending are over for some time. Public sector intervention will still be necessary to deliver regeneration and renewal where it’s needed most. However it is likely to be even more targeted, be raised closer to where it’s needed, rather than delivered from on high by the Treasury or CLG, and involve new and (many not so new!) forms of public private partnerships.

Finally, this means councils having the ability to engage meaningfully with the private sector as the people charged with leading the remaking of London’s neighbourhoods. This requires an approach to plan making that not only reflects the needs and aspirations of local communities but is long term, built on a sound understanding of the local economy, provides a framework for the long term private sector investment and community benefit so sorely missing from many schemes. A new breed of person is needed in some of the regeneration and planning departments and council chambers across London, to make this happen as understanding risk and getting the right deal will never be more important.

Old style Neighbourhood Renewal is dead along with a ‘top down’ approach from government. But a new localist agenda and approach to Neighbourhood Renewal is beginning to emerge from the mist, with local government pulling the approach forward, rather than being pushed by Whitehall.  However, that said, the regeneration tool box is likely to remain frustratingly empty until a whole scale review of the structure of public finance, which is unlikely. The endemic political and investor shortermism may also never be overcome. So things do look rather bleak just now and just like the recession it remains unclear as to how things will pan out. However for those who believe in true neighbourhood renewal, and are committed to tacking the problems in our poorest neighbourhoods, now is the time to take action.  We need to be ambitious, grit our teeth and brave the challenges ahead.

For more information on Renaisi and our approach to Neighbourhood Renewal please conact Rob Pearce, Director of Strategy and Communication on r.pearce@renaisi.com