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Myles
Mackie
Research & Strategy
Regeneration Services
City Development Directorate
Coventry City Council
February 2003
CONTENTS
Executive
Summary
The
Socio-economic background
Hillfields
and the policy context
The
Management of the URBAN Programme in Hillfields
Strategy
& Planning
URBAN
Action Plan
Project
Management
Measure
One Training and Confidence Building
Measure
Two Infrastructure & Enterprise Development
Measure
Three Community Capacity Building
Evaluation
of the Management of the Programme
Action
planning
Capacity
Building
Role
of the Urban Partnership Group
The
Accountable Body
Match
Funding & additionality
What
worked well
What
could have worked better
Outputs
and Outcomes
Outputs
of Measure One
Outputs
of Measure Two
Outputs
of measure Three
Outcomes
Conclusion
Annex
One - Vision
for Hillfields
Annex
Two Constitution
of the URBAN Partnership
Annex
Three Membership of the UPG
Bibliography
Executive
Summary
Hillfields is an area of 1.12
sq. kms. containing some 6,068 dwellings which are inhabited by
9,140 people. The area was in the mid 1990’s faced high
unemployment and deprivation.
The rate looked and felt run down.
Local people felt forgotten.
The issues of discrimination, high crime rates, derelict
properties etc seemed overwhelming.
Hillfields needed investment and energy.
In 1997, Hillfields won a £2.9m bid for
additional help under the URBAN Communities Initiative of the
European Structural Funds.
This regeneration support was in addition to the £5.5m
Single Regeneration Budget bids under Rounds 1 and 2.
These resources provided Hillfields with the resources to
undertake major projects aimed at strengthening the area.
The URBAN
Programme in Hillfields had a total spend of £5.43 million
which attracted Structural Fund grants of £2,54m.
The Programme had three main aims
1.
Training and Confidence Building composed of 11 projects
with an outturn spend of £1,1814,191 attracting ESF grant
support of £748,244
2.
Infrastructure and Enterprise Development composed of 9
projects with an outturn spend of £1,531, 735 attracting and
ERDF grant of £736,995
3.
Community Capacity Building composed of 14 projects with
an outturn spend of £2,084,128 attracting an ERDF grant of £1,017,171.
Theses three
measures and their 34 projects were integrated into the parallel
Single Regeneration Budget actions.
A Partnership
Group with Coventry City Council acting as the Accountable Body
managed the URBAN Programme in Hillfields.
Government Office for the West Midlands and the central
government provided valuable advice and assistance in ensuring
the success management of the Programme.
The outputs of
he programme show that the aims of the Programme were fully met.
Local people became involved in the Programme
contributing to many areas of project working.
Over 121 people improved their skills, some 200 people
gained work, 2.33 hectares of land were improved, a Community
Centre was built, major safety and anti crime measures were
undertaken which contributed to a substantial fall in
burglaries. A
key aspect of the programme was to build the capacity of the
local community to undertake and manage projects.
This capacity building is has been very successful with
people continuing to be involved now that the URBAN Programme
has ended.
The URBAN Programme aimed to make
Hillfields a stronger and self-sustaining Community.
Hillfields still has many issues to tackle and poverty
remains but unlike the mid 1990’s, there is a sense that
Hillfields has turned a corner.
The area feels and looks better; new private sector
investment has led to new refurbishments and plans.
Whilst more investment is needed, Hillfields ‘is
getting there.’ |
