Residents sceptical about £20m regeneration cash

Debbie Simkiss said investing in youth clubs could make a difference in Blakenall

Residents living in one of the country's most deprived communities say they are sceptical about plans to spend £20m on regeneration.

Blakenall, in Walsall, has been identified as an area to receive funding under the government's Pride in Place initiative, which it said was designed to help forgotten communities.

But there is scepticism about how the money will be spent, with some people suggesting previous regeneration schemes had made little difference.

Walsall Council said it was waiting on guidance, but acknowledged there was a perception that similar schemes in the past had failed to deliver.

Blakenall sits at the wrong end of pretty much every league table going when it comes to the life chances of the people who live there.

Residents are less likely to have good health and education than almost any other part of the country, while life expectancy is seven years shorter than that of nearby but more affluent Aldridge.

Two years ago it gained national attention after being labelled "Britain's roughest estate" by the tabloids, and bus services had to be changed to avoid antisocial behaviour.

A £52m project in 2001 delivered little long-term change, some residents said

On a cold November day, Debbie Simkiss is sitting in a park with her grandchildren when I tell her the government's plans to spend £20m improving the place she's called home for 57 years.

"The last couple of years it's gone down," she said.

"It's a disgrace now. So if you want to waste 20 million on this dump, you carry on."

When I asked her what would be the most important areas that need improvement, she said investment in youth services could make a difference.

"Get them a youth club built up like we used to have when we was kids. But apart from that I wouldn't waste a penny."

Next I met Gazza who had parked up his van to nip into the shop and grab lunch.

He simply didn't believe the money being promised would be spent in Blakenall.

"You're having a laugh aren't you?" he suggested.

After a minute or two persuading him that I was not making a tv prank show he told me the money should be spent in a practical way.

"A road sweeper I think. That'd be good wouldn't it, a road sweeper and a couple of coats of paint here and there."

He suggested sprucing up the area would turn it around and "give people a different feeling when they wake up and go to the shop".

'Bad rap'

Youth worker Liam Edwards was wearing a Love Blakenall hoody when he came over to ask why we were there.

He said the area had had a "bad rap", but was ultimately full of good people who could come together to solve problems.

"I think it should be spent on certain projects," he said.

"Helping the community mainly - there's a few issues in the community which I think with the right money and the right help and the right people could help turn this community around.

"As much as we've had bad stigma, there's good people, good things that happen and they just don't get talked about enough."

Youth worker Liam Edwards said there was a stigma around Blakenall, but ultimately there were good people in the area

In 2001, £52m was awarded to Blakenall along with nearby Bloxwhich and Leamore, under the then Labour government's New Deal Programme.

The most visible legacy of that funding is the £5.5m Blakenall Village Centre, which is now home to the Love Blakenall Community Hub and some NHS services.

New housing was also constructed, alongside work to tackle homelessness, but other support services such as the Blakenall info centre have now closed.

While some people remember short-term improvements, there is a general feeling a chance for long-term change was missed.

Bluntly, life doesn't feel much better here than it did 24 years ago.

And there are fears that a lack of involvement from local people could lead to the same result.

I understand Walsall Council were so surprised the money was awarded, that they initially thought the announcement was a spelling error, with the cash instead destined for nearby Blakenhall in Wolverhampton.

Independent Councillor Pete Smith, who lives in Blakenall said local people deserved change and that they were best placed to decide how any money was spent.

"It does need extra money," he said. "If you look at the health profile of the area, it's much worse than average for the borough and the country.

"If you look at the educational attainment, that's much lower than average for the borough and the country.

"Unemployment is amongst the highest in the borough, youth unemployment in particular.

"All those indicators that I referred to earlier were the same 20-odd years ago, and that [New Deal] money was supposed to make a difference to those indices and figures, and it's made hardly any difference at all."

But where should the new money be spent?

Smith said transport, health, housing and education should be the focus.

Miatta Fahnbulleh said she understood why people in places like Blakenall felt "jaded"

A short drive away is the Ryecroft Community Hub, which is home to several charities, social businesses and other groups which offer support such as help with applying for benefits or reducing energy bills.

Manager Dave Taylor said the area did not need money spent on brick and mortar projects, but rather services and support for residents.

"Too many projects in Walsall have been decided by people who think they know what people need over the years and we've had a lot of money - and it's not always had the most impact that it should have had because people have thought they know what people want," he said.

"People who live in Blakenall know what goes on in Blakenall and they know what people want and they know what's lacking.

"One of the things that we're massive on here is getting people to become more resilient, helping people with budgeting and things like that. But we're only a small organisation - that needs to happen on a larger scale."

Feel 'jaded'

The government is promising that local people will be involved in the decision making.

The Minister for Devolution, Faith and communities Miatta Fahnbulleh MP said: 'I understand why people are jaded, and I have a lot of sympathy for them being jaded."

The government is promising a system of neighbourhood boards in the 75 places receiving funding across the country to decide how the money should be best spent.

"Ultimately, if we get it right, the neighbourhood board is a representation of the community," she said.

"It will have a combination of residents, community leaders, charities, local businesses, making a decision

"That decision has to be rooted and grounded in a wider conversation that's been had with the rest of the community.

"What I want to mitigate against is a board that is speaking to itself that hasn't done that wider community outreach, that wider community engagement."

The process for appointing a neighbourhood board in Blakenall is yet to be finalised and money is unlikely to be spent on the ground until 2027.

The success or failure of Pride in Place will be judged in the decades that follow.

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