Stability, residential satisfaction and the dynamics of change

The New Deal for Communities (NDC) programme is the flagship area-based programme introduced by the Labour Government. Launched in 1999, it involves a ten-year programme of intervention in 39 neighbourhoods across the country, with each NDC partnership receiving about £50m for the duration of the programme. Community involvement and consultation form a central plank of the programme, and a wide range of interventions have been introduced in the domains of crime prevention, health, education, housing and the physical environment, and worklessness. This paper examines the relationship between different types of neighbourhoods selected for the NDC programme and changes in household satisfaction, social capital and residential mobility over a four-year period. The paper compares evidence from NDCs with a sample of other neighbourhoods outside the programme. The results show a closing of the gap between NDCs and comparator areas in terms of residential satisfaction, especially in the most disadvantaged neighbourhoods. There is, however, little change in terms of some measures of social capital. This may be the result of disruptions caused by programmes of major neighbourhood transformation, or because some of the more ‘active’ residents left the NDC areas during the period. The paper suggests the need for caution in interpreting changes in local outcomes during regeneration programmes, without a clear specification of the neighbourhood context and a grasp of the impact of inward and outward mobility on key indicators. Improvements in the physical infrastructure of neighbourhoods can bring important gains in residential satisfaction, but this will not necessarily encourage households to stay put rather than move on elsewhere.