Agenda item

Purpose of Report

1.    To update Executive on the progress of commissioned work delivered by Rose Regeneration, in relation to regeneration and neighbourhood working in Sincil Bank/Park Ward.

2.    To note that the Corporate Management Team had endorsed the Rose Regeneration report (Appendix A), which evaluated the impact of Neighbourhood Working in Sincil Bank.

3.    To propose the next steps that would inform the future direction of Neighbourhood Working, including the key principles for a managed and sustainable withdrawal from Sincil Bank/Park Ward over a 12-month period starting in Summer 2025, and proposals for future workstreams for the team.

4.    To propose accommodation for the Neighbourhood Working Team from Summer 2025 onwards, including contingency plans if Investors in Lincoln’s plans to purchase 22 – 30 Portland Street did not come to fruition and the Council’s lease was terminated.

Decision

1.    That the report produced by Rose Regeneration and attached as ‘Appendix A’ be noted.

2.    That a managed withdrawal from neighbourhood working initiatives in Sincil Bank over a 12-month period, starting in Summer 2025 be approved.

3.    That the managed withdrawal from Sincil Bank be undertaken so it coincided with building neighbourhood working capacity in Ermine be approved.

4.    That, subject to a formal decision being made on the next phase of Neighbourhood Working, the final decision on the Neighbourhood Team’s accommodation be delegated to the Housing Strategy Manager.

5.    That the Neighbourhood Team’s co-ordinated development of an Ermine Partnership Board and delivery of key recommendations as highlighted in the UKSPF-funded Ermine Place Shaping Framework be approved.

6.    That the Neighbourhood Team be fully based at Ermine from 2026 until March 2030, with a review to be commissioned at that time be approved.

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected

To do nothing – this was not a viable option as the current neighbourhood working project at Sincil Bank was coming to an end. Next steps for the team were therefore required, including meeting the team’s accommodation needs.

To enact the other recommendations set out in ‘Appendix A ‘and discussed in the accompanying presentation – this approach was feasible, however for the reasons set out in this report, it was considered that focusing the Neighbourhood Team’s efforts in one part of the city would deliver the greatest outputs and outcomes.

To focus the Neighbourhood Team’s work on a different part of the city – other parts of the city, including Moorland, Glebe, and Birchwood wards, were also significantly impacted by deprivation. The evidence presented in section 4 of the officer’s report (supported by the detailed presentation), which included statistical evidence provided a basis for why Ermine had been proposed and coincided with UKSPF-funded work to develop a place shaping framework that the Neighbourhood team could build upon.

Reasons for Decision

Members received a detailed presentation on the background, proposals, and reasons for the preferred option for the future of neighbourhood management with a managed withdrawal from neighbourhood working initiatives in Sincil Bank over a 12-month period, starting in Summer 2025, to coincide with building neighbourhood working capacity in Ermine from 2026 until March 2030.

In January 2024, the Council commissioned Rose Regeneration to work with partners to:

a)    Measure the impact of the Council’s intervention in Sincil Bank since 2018

b)    Review what measures were needed to ensure the ongoing sustainability of partnership working in the area and recommend an effective exit strategy for the Council.

c)    Identify any lessons learnt that could inform the next phase of neighbourhood working in the city.

The Neighbourhood Team had co-ordinated the delivery of substantial and measurable improvements to the Sincil Bank area since 2018. Rose Regeneration had supported the evaluation of this work, and an updated version of its evaluation report was attached as ‘Appendix A.’ Decisions were now needed to inform the next steps for neighbourhood working in the city, including where the Neighbourhood Team would be based and what the priorities for the team would be.

The evaluation report detailed several key achievements during the Neighbourhood Team’s time working in Sincil Bank. Examples which included:

• For every £1.00 invested in Neighbourhood Working, £3.20 of social value had been generated.
• Neighbourhood Working had a Benefit Cost Ratio (BCR) of £2.48/£1. The Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government appraisal guide (2023) ranked BCR, with anything above £2 as offering ‘high’ value for money.
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Other notable achievements referenced in the evaluation report included:

·       Implementation of a residents’ parking scheme

·       Redevelopment of Hermit Street Garage site to deliver 11 new family homes for social rent

·       Introduction of restrictions on ‘to-let’ boards

·       Implementation of one-way traffic system

·       Green corridor for cyclists and pedestrians

·       Cleaner and safer streets and open spaces, including enhanced CCTV and improvements to public realm

·       Formation of a local community land trust

·       Improved access to services

·       Enhanced community spirit, supported by community events and activities

The preferred option enabled the Neighbourhood Working Team to undertake a managed withdrawal from Sincil Bank and begin working in another area of the city with appropriate support and collaboration with partners.

An opportunity had arisen in Ermine to pilot this proposal, focusing resources on one area of the city and gaining the commitment of key partners at the outset. Open Plan, who co-ordinated the Sincil Bank place shaping framework, was undertaking a similar exercise in Ermine using UKSPF funding. This place shaping framework was nearing completion. A board had been created to oversee this work, of which the Neighbourhood Manager and Housing Strategy Manager were members.

In addition, other funding streams had been secured in Ermine as detailed within the officer’s report.

Ermine was very different to Sincil Bank and presented an opportunity to pilot a different approach to neighbourhood working. The Council was the majority landowner in Ermine and therefore had more influence in the area in terms of land uses, regeneration opportunities and environmental improvements, presenting an opportunity to build on this place shaping exercise and deliver meaningful benefits to a community in one of the city’s deprived areas.

Population data supported the need to focus the next phase of neighbourhood working on Ermine. Current Indices of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) data from 2019 highlighted that parts of Ermine East (OO1D) and all of Ermine West (001A & 001B) fell within the top 10% of deprived areas in the country. These three Lower Super Output Areas (LSOA’s) also featured in the top ten deprived neighbourhoods in the city. IMD data also indicated that deprivation increased in Ermine East (LSOA OO1D) between 2015 and 2019, moving from being the city’s tenth most deprived neighbourhood to the city’s sixth most deprived.

Whilst the primary focus of the Neighbourhood Team would be on Ermine, the team would be able to continue to support initiatives in other neighbourhoods across the city as it had done in recent years with UKSPF-funded projects and community connectors.

Members had carefully considered and debated the proposals placed before them this evening in detail.

The risk associated with the proposed approach was low and was likely to deliver greater benefits to local residents due to existing partnership working in Ermine.