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28 Objective 3c: Revitalise areas with deep-seated economic and social challenges and build strong communities Regeneration is defined as: “A set of activities that reverse economic, social and physical decline in areas where market forces will not do this without support”. Evidence suggests that significant progress has been made in regenerating the North West’s towns and cities over the last decade. However, although the North West has become less deprived overall, over the past 20 years some of our poorest areas have actually experienced further relative decline. Of the 39 local authority areas in the North West only 13 have more than 75% of those of working age in employment (the EU target). Six local authorities have employment rates where for every two people of working age in employment one is not – in other words employment less than 66%. The Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) measures deprivation at rural and urban neighbourhood level. IMD data shows that Liverpool is the most deprived local
authority in the country and another 14 North West Local Authorities feature in the worst performing 50 authorities in England (according to rank). The evidence shows that rural areas rank as less disadvantaged than the region’s most deprived urban areas. However, there are clearly problems of rural disadvantage in some areas, not only in terms of access to services but also regards lack of affordable housing and low household incomes. Even in a time of reduced public expenditure, the public sector will remain significant in terms of regeneration. It has a critical role to play not only as a catalyst for action but as a significant employer and through the delivery and procurement of key goods and services. However, the impact of declining public sector finances will require tough choices in co-ordinating and prioritising public investment.
Key issues we must make progress on to achieve this objective. i
Ensure that regeneration investment is: - highly targeted on socio-economic and environmental outcomes via an evidence based approach; - driven at the right spatial level – and as close to communities as is practicable – making the most of opportunities that already exist; - catalytic – not trying to transform everywhere and not a permanent subsidy – but investing where it will have most impact by supporting those communities where the most severe poverty and worklessness persists and where there is opportunity to deliver long-term change; - co-ordinated, with a suite of mutually reinforcing interventions, eg delivering public and private investment, housing, skills, entrepreneurship, health, critical and green infrastructure; and - linked to, and reinforcing wider priorities for example tackling climate change by ensuring regeneration takes place in sustainable locations, improves competitiveness and delivers infrastructure.
A full range of areas for action is set out in the Annex.