Outcomes for 'stayers' in urban regeneration areas: the New Deal for Communities Programme in England

The 1998–2011 New Deal for Communities Programme was designed to change 39 deprived English areas, with regard to place- and people-based outcomes. A key mechanism for identifying change was a biennial household survey undertaken in both NDC and comparator areas. Because this survey involved revisiting those interviewed previously, longitudinal panels have been created for those staying within NDC, or comparator, areas. This paper analyses these data to reveal that people living in NDC areas saw little more in the way of positive change than their counterparts living in comparator areas. This finding raises questions about the ability of regeneration schemes to instigate net additional positive change.