2 Enhancing community engagement
and support
8. There are over one million residents living
in pathfinder areas. Once completed, pathfinder projects should
benefit residents by improving the condition and value of homes,
and by making neighbourhoods more attractive places to live. Where
major intervention and demolition of occupied properties is proposed,
however, there is a high risk of imposing negative impacts and
community stress.[16]
9. Pathfinder plans based primarily on analyses
of housing markets and demographic, social and economic developments
could undervalue the strength of existing communities and restrict
the scope for residents to influence neighbourhood plans.[17]
Residents do not sit on pathfinder Boards and so are less involved
at a strategic level.
10. Pathfinders have developed community engagement
strategies and established a variety of mechanisms for resident
participation and community consultation. They aim to engage with
residents, regardless of whether they support or challenge plans.[18]
The way the programme is conducted is crucial in maintaining community
trust and support for the plans. Existing guidance is not specific,
for example, on deciding whether the community supports demolition.
The National Audit Office has identified some key principles of
successful community engagement (Figure 2).[19]
11. In many neighbourhoods pathfinders aim to
rebalance the mix of tenure, attract higher-income groups and
develop more sustainable communities. The needs of those who wish
to remain should not, however, be overlooked by this approach.
The average gap between the amount of compensation existing homeowners
receive for their home when subject to a Compulsory Purchase Order
and the cost of buying a suitable alterative is £35,000.
The Department had no data on the numbers of residents displaced
from areas because their homes were demolished who were subsequently
re-housed in the newly built or newly refurbished homes. The Department
recognised that affordability is a growing problem for those wishing
to live in pathfinder areas, particularly as lenders tighten credit
requirements for potential customers.[20]
Pathfinders have found it difficult to raise additional funding
for assistance packages from private sector financial institutions.[21]
Figure 2: Key principles that should underlie engagement with communities in Housing Market Renewal neighbourhoods
| The pathfinder and its partners should:
1. Ensure proposals and plans for intervention are based on detailed independent assessments of:
- the structural condition and heritage value of the housing targeted for demolition;
- the residents' own assessment of the problems that face them; and
- the 'vibrancy' of the community, for example, by a systematic measurement of its social capital.
2. Ensure the community fully understands what the proposals are and why they have been drawn up, by ensuring that:
- independent reports are open and available for examination by the community for some weeks before formal consultation begins;
- a residents' representative group is established for the targeted demolition zone, with a committee comprising representatives from each street in the zone, with a clear remit to enable a change in proposals if necessary;
- all minutes, reports and surveys during the consultation process should be made available in easily accessible formats: for example, on a newly established website, in an office on site, or by post;
- public meetings are run by an external facilitator, with sessions held covering the same agenda at different times for maximum accessibility—for example, during the day, in the evening and at weekends;
- there is active and visible presence of neighbourhood officers from the pathfinder and its partners; and
- clear feedback channels, with response from the pathfinder and its partner to all feedback is established.
3. Gauge community support at all stages as plans develop or change. In particular:
- surveys should be undertaken of residents in demolition zones and should be carried out by independent consultants;
- survey questions should be:
open—using terms that are clear (avoiding euphemisms such as 'redevelopment' when what is meant is demolition); and
specific—explaining what is being referred to, for example when asking about 'the proposals'.
|
Source: C&AG's Report, Figure 2
16 Qq 13, 27-28, 72-77; C&AG's Report, para 4.1;
Figure 18 Back
17
Q5; C&AG's Report, para 4.2 Back
18
Q 93 ; C&AG's Report, para 4.7 Back
19
Q 79; C&AG's Report, para 8, 4.1, 4.5 Back
20
Qq 7, 45 Back
21
Qq 6-7, 45, 62, 84-85; C&AG's Report, paras 4.9, 4.10 Back
|
