New Horizons a Community-Led Action Plan for South East Northumberland: Regeneration by the People, for the People New Horizons Action Plan
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New Horizons A Community-led Action Plan for South East Northumberland: regeneration by the people, for the people New Horizons Action Plan CONTENTS Contents' I.! Background to the New Horizons Action Plan ............................................................. 1! II.! Needs and Opportunities in South East Northumberland ......................................... 2! A.! Evidence of need: Socio-economic profile ............................................................. 3! B.! Opportunities: the voluntary and community sector .............................................. 5! III.! Policy Context ................................................................................................................. 6! A.! Northumberland Economic Strategy ........................................................................ 6! B.! Sustainable Community Strategy ............................................................................. 7! C.! Planning Policy: Northumberland Core Strategy ................................................... 7! D.! Anti Poverty policies ................................................................................................... 8! E.! Tourism Policy ............................................................................................................. 9! F.! Culture, sport and the Arts ......................................................................................... 9! G.! Health and Well Being Policies ................................................................................ 9! IV.! Local Context ................................................................................................................ 10! A.! Ashington ................................................................................................................... 10! B.! Blyth ............................................................................................................................ 11! C.! Cramlington ............................................................................................................... 12! D.! Smaller places: .......................................................................................................... 12! V.! Key Themes and Priorities .......................................................................................... 15! A.! Routes to Work .......................................................................................................... 15! B.! Creating Sustainable Community Assets ............................................................. 17! C.! Strengthening Retail Vitality .................................................................................... 18! D.! Growing Tourism and Culture ................................................................................. 19! E.! Health and well being ............................................................................................... 20! VI.! Priority Actions for the Voluntary and Community Sector ..................................... 21! VII.! Management and Delivery ........................................................................................ 33! I. Background to the New Horizons Action Plan In 2014, Northumberland County Council commissioned a Community-Led Local Development Strategy in the 20% most deprived wards in Northumberland. This was in anticipation of the possibility of a ‘Community-led Local Development’ (CLLD) element of funding within the European Union Structural and Investment Fund Programme for the North East Local Enterprise Partnership area, which includes all of Northumberland. Wansbeck Council for Voluntary Service (CVS) were ‘The training has selected to lead the preparation of this Strategy, in reinforced my opinion consultation with local people, voluntary organisations and and idea that you businesses. Wansbeck CVS partnered with North East have to go to grass Social Enterprise Partnership (NESEP) and Your Back Yard roots level to find out CIC, a local Community Interest Company, to carry out the what people want.’ work of consultation and preparation of the Strategy. During the course of the preparation work, the context has developed in such a way that the focus of the work has moved away from solely meeting the requirements of the CLLD model, to a wider approach to supporting and encouraging the voluntary and community sector to play a strong role in the regeneration of South East Northumberland. This Action Plan describes the need and opportunities for regeneration in South East Northumberland, the priorities for action identified through consultation, and a series of projects that have been identified to address these priorities. It is not an overall plan to address every aspect of life in South East Northumberland; instead, it focuses primarily on deliverable actions that could realistically be delivered by the voluntary sector in the area to seize some opportunities and address some of the area’s needs. 1 II. Needs and Opportunities in South East Northumberland South East Northumberland (SEN) comprises the area covered by the former Wansbeck and Blyth Valley districts (see Map 1 below). It is home to 164,129 people1 (the total population of Northumberland is 315,8002). The settlement pattern comprises three major towns and several smaller villages. The main towns are: • Cramlington (population c.40,000), on the edge of Tyneside which was classed as a ‘new town’ when development started in the 1960’s and has grown steadily since. • Blyth (population c.35,000), which developed around the Port of Blyth and has seen some of its major industries decline in recent decades but also some superb regeneration along the beach and quayside, and features part of the National Renewable Energy Centre. • Ashington (population c.27,000), a major former coal mining community, which has attracted several major new employers to replace the former mining industry, but has recently been impacted again by the closure of the nearby Alcan plant. Map 1: South East Northumberland area The smaller settlements include: • Bedlington (population c.15,300) a former mining village, with strong heritage features • Newbiggin-by-the-Sea (population 7,000), a former fishing village and tourism resort on Newbiggin bay. • Seaton Valley (several villages totalling a population of c.15,000) which is lies between Cramlington and the coast. 1 Source: Parliamentary Constituency Population Estimates (experimental), Mid-2012 (link) 2 Mid-Year Population estimate 2013 2 A. Evidence of need: Socio-economic profile SEN is the most densely populated part of the county, with the highest concentration of economic activity, but also the greatest levels of poverty, unemployment and deprivation. According to the Indices of Deprivation, while the County is ranked 144th out of 326 Local Authorities, where 1 is the most deprived, so is in the middle of the range, many wards in SEN rank in the top 20% most deprived (see maps 2-4 below). Index of Multiple Deprivation 20103 Map 2: Ashington and Newbiggin Map 3: Bedlington, Blyth, Stakeford and Cambois 3 Source: Open Data Communities’ Deprivation Mapper (link) 3 Map 3: Cramlington and Seaton Valley Table 1 below compares key labour market indicators for the two parliamentary constituency areas covering SEN. Table 1: Labour Market Indicators4 Employment rate Unemployment Economic Claimant Jobs Density 16 – 64 (%) (%) Inactivity (%) Count (%) 16-64 (ratio) 73.1 7.9 20.5 3.9 0.55 Blyth Valley 72.7 4.5 23.8 4.6 0.59 Wansbeck 68.1 8.8 25.2 4.0 0.67 North East 72.1 6.5 22.8 2.8 0.78 UK Gross weekly pay in 2014 was £450 in Wansbeck Constituency, and £461 in Blyth Valley, compared to £477 for the North East, and £521 for Great Britain5. Figure 1 below shows the highest qualification achieved for residents of South East Northumberland compared to the North East and to England & Wales. 4 Regional Labour Market: LI02 - Local Indicators for Parliamentary Constituencies, March 2015 (link) 5 Source: NOMIS 4 Figure 1: Highest qualification achieved6 ‘As a young person, I greatly appreciate being invited as I often feel my views 40%! aren’t heard.’ 35%! 30%! 25%! 20%! South!East! 15%! Northumberland! 10%! North!East! 5%! 0%! England!&!Wales! Life expectancy at birth is 78.7 for males and 82.2 for females, compared to 79.4 and 83.12 respectively. Of those people in work, 77% travel to work by car (compared to 59% for England & Wales), 9% use public transport (E&W = 16%), 11% on foot/bicycle (E&W = 13%). Other indicators7 include: • Local child poverty measure of 17.8% • 26.7% of households are fuel poor • 6.7% of 16 to 18 year olds are NEET • The under 18 conception rate is 33.8 per 1,000 females aged 15-17 • The ‘Low birth weight’ rate is 6.5% • Breastfeeding prevalence rate at 6-8 weeks is 34.8% • Obesity prevalence of 10% in Reception year and 18.6% in Year 6 • There are 32.3 notifiable offences recorded by police per 1,000 head of population B. Opportunities: the voluntary and community sector Despite these challenges, South East Northumberland benefits from a diverse, robust and determined voluntary and community sector that can support and deliver real improvements to the area. While many voluntary and community organisations in the area, as in all parts of the UK, are facing financial pressures, they remain a 6 Sources: Northumberland Knowledge 2011 Census Fact Sheet South East (Area Committee), and NOMIS 7 Source: TO ADD 5 source of energy and innovation, and a way to connect and engage directly with local people. Particular