6 December 2004
SPELLAR ANNOUNCES PLAN TO TACKLE DEPRIVATION IN LONDONDERRY
John Spellar, MP, Minister for Social Development, today pledged his Department’s support to people living in some of the most deprived areas of Londonderry.
The Minister was announcing the Department’s Draft Implementation Plan and Equality Impact Assessment for Neighbourhood Renewal in Londonderry. The Minister said:
"I believe that Neighbourhood Renewal will help to transform our most deprived urban areas and provide genuine opportunities for local communities to influence the services being provided in their area."
The Draft Plan includes proposals on how the neighbourhoods will be chosen, how and by whom the Neighbourhood Renewal Strategy will be implemented and what kind of schemes might be supported. An Equality Impact Assessment detailing how Neighbourhood Renewal will affect the Section 75 groups who live within and outside the Neighbourhood Renewal Areas accompanies it.
The Minister said:
"Consultation is a very important part of developing any policy or strategy and the consultation period on these documents extends until 31 January 2005. The plan also explains how we will link the Neighbourhood Renewal approach with our other urban regeneration activities.
"We will build upon the policies that have been effective in the past and ensure that all our urban regeneration policy instruments work in ways that reinforce each other. "
The Minister also announced the extension of the Urban Development Grant, administered by DSD, from the city centre area to arterial routes and Neighbourhood Renewal Areas in Londonderry.
Mr Spellar said: " The Urban Development Grant programme, which has assisted almost 700 projects with funding of £42 million since 1982, has been a critically important instrument in underpinning the rebuilding and renewal of Derry city centre. Historic buildings have been restored while modern city centre residential accommodation and high quality office space have brought employment and new life to the city centre.
"There is, however, a need to develop a broader approach to urban and community renewal with an emphasis on addressing deprivation and decline in disadvantaged urban neighbourhoods. My Department’s North West Development Office is, therefore, extending the existing UDG Boundaries in Londonderry to include Neighbourhood Renewal Areas and arterial routes with effect from December 2004. This will help deliver further social, economic and physical renewal.
"Clearly, economic and social problems are producing difficulties in Derry that feed into the decline of neighbourhoods. There is a need to tackle the problems associated with such urban decline in parallel with the promotion of economic diversification and renewal.
"Research demonstrates that good urban design adds economic, social and environmental value. The extension of existing UDG boundaries is designed to promote job creation, investment and environmental improvement across a greater number of areas. This will benefit more local communities through the provision of facilities and amenities accessible to all, physical renewal and enhanced civic pride."
NOTES TO EDITORS:
- ‘People and Place’, the Strategy for Neighbourhood Renewal, was published by the Department for Social Development in June 2003. It aims to close the gap between the quality of life for those living in deprived neighbourhoods and the quality of life enjoyed by the rest of society.
- A Neighbourhood Renewal for Derry/Londonderry Discussion Paper was issued for consultation in August 2003. A Consultation Report on that exercise was published in September 2004.
- The Draft Implementation Plan and the Equality Impact Assessment can be obtained by contacting the North West Development Office at Orchard House, 40 Foyle Street, Londonderry BT48 6AT (Tel: 028 7131 9900) or from the DSD website at www.dsdni.gov.uk
UDG is a discretionary grant with the objective of promoting job creation, inward investment and environmental improvement through the development of vacant, derelict or underused land or buildings. It is available for a range of development projects that are sited within, or are of direct benefit to, disadvantaged areas.
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