Communities and neighbourhoods

Building Safe, Active Communities at a glance

'Building Safe, Active Communities: Strong foundations by local people' is the third report from Baroness Helen Newlove as the Government's Champion for Active Safer Communities. It is a collection of inspiring, yet practical lessons from those who are changing their neighbourhoods for the better, providing good advice, and highlighting some of the barriers that have stifled their growth.

Progress on her three key priorities

tackling problem drinking
a 'hub' for community activists - two clicks to success
getting public servants out into the community.

Baroness Newlove has announced a new £1 million fund to help 10 local communities develop the tools they need to tackle binge and underage drinking, based on models of grass roots projects already delivering for their neighbourhoods. She wants other communities facing similar problems to be able to learn from their examples and is asking local communities to come forward to tell her what they would do with the money.

Progress on the Newlove Neighbourhoods

Community fun day in Oferton, Stockport Baroness Newlove is working closely with 'grassroots activists' in seven neighbourhoods to learn and understand more from their experiences. For this report, Baroness Newlove asked activists from those seven neighbourhoods to report back on the progress they have been making, the successes, the barriers, the support they have received and their plans for the future. The Baroness hopes that the manual will inspire readers to transfer the ideas of one community to their own.

The seven supported neighbourhoods are:

Brier Road Estate, Havering
Offerton, Stockport
Town and Park Wards, Merthyr Tydfil
Cutsyke, Wakefield
Cheriton and Folkestone East, Shepway
Flower Roads Estate, Southampton
The Parish of St Johns-at-Hackney, Hackney

Local people who are the foundations for safe, active communities

Whitefriars Housing Association and Social Landlords Crime and Nuisance Group Coventry In her reports and speeches, Baroness Newlove has challenged agencies, the private sector and the public to think of new ways to tackle old problems, and to work together for a common solution. The report shines a light on some of the excellent work she's witnessed for herself in her time as Government Champion - some of it by grassroots activists and charities, some of it from the business sector, some by statutory agencies. Those people directly involved say in their own words what they have done and what it has meant for them and their communities.

To do a good job, people need the right tools, and information. The Government is playing its part. This report does not attempt an exhaustive list of all that is happening, but there are some things underway that Baroness Newlove believes deserve mention.

People

1,500 trained Community Organisers will be there to enable local people to take action on their own behalf. Find out more at www.cocollaborative.org.uk (external link).

The National Citizen Service is supporting young people to develop the skills and attitudes they need to get more engaged with their communities. Find out more at www.direct.gov.uk/ncs (external link).

Youth United will use the £10 million funding provided by Government to recruit and train up to 2,700 new adult volunteers to run 400 new groups of their member organisations in communities across the country. Find out more at www.youthunited.org.uk (external link).

Community Health Champions are volunteers who use their ability to relate to people, and their own life experience, to transform their health and well-being in their communities. Find out more at www.altogetherbetter.org.uk/community-health-champions (external link).

Power

Opening on community shop on the Briar Road Estate, Havering On 15 November 2012, for the first time ever, the public across England and Wales will elect a Police and Crime Commissioner who will be accountable for how crime is tackled in their police force area. Find out more here: www.homeoffice.gov.uk/police/police-crime-commissioners (external link).

Under the Community Right to Bid, meeting rooms, the last village shop or pub, green spaces and other sites that local people value as important to community life can be nominated to become "assets of community value". Find out more on the website's Localism Act pages.

The Government is introducing a Community Trigger. This will be a new high-level statutory duty on relevant members of a Community Safety Partnership - the police, local authority, health, and registered providers of social housing - to take action to deal with persistent anti-social behaviour suffered by victims or communities. The Government will be announcing detailed plans on this shortly.

Funding

Funding Central is a free website for charities, voluntary organisations and social enterprises. It provides access to thousands of funding and finance opportunities, and to tools and resources set aside to help you get active - or to carry on the good work you have been doing. Find out more at: www.fundingcentral.org.uk (external link).