3

Executive Summary

Key Strategic Issues for Bordesley Green

Worklessness levels in the Bordesley Green neighbourhood are higher than those citywide; this rate has increased steadily between 2007 and 2009 which indicates that the recession has had a significant impact upon residents in this neighbourhood.

Data suggests that crime levels are better than those citywide in the Bordesley

Green neighbourhood. However a higher proportion of residents perceive that the crime levels have been getting worse compared to those citywide.

There is a growing gap between citywide and neighbourhood performance in LAA

Indicators in respect of Early Foundation Years attainment, 5 or more A* -C at GCSE (including English and Maths) and Narrowing the gap foundation years.

This neighbourhood has a higher proportion of both RSL and council homes which

meet the decent homes standard compared to the city as a whole.

Whilst Local residents in a recent consultation described the positive features of the area including stating that they liked the look of Bordesley Green, people and the neighbourhood are friendly, there was a strong sense of community, good shopping facilities and schools. Respondents to the Annual Opinion survey indicate that satisfaction within the local area is significantly below that citywide.

4

5

Executive Summary........................................................................................................3Neighbourhood Map......................................................................................................6Who Lives Here? ............................................................................................................7Succeed Economically..................................................................................................11Stay Safe in a Clean Green City ....................................................................................16Be Healthy....................................................................................................................21Enjoy A High Quality of Life..........................................................................................22Making a Contribution .................................................................................................25

6

7

Recent population estimates for 2007 show that Bordesley Green neighbourhood has a younger age profile than Birmingham as a whole. 31.8% of people in neighbourhood are 15 or under, compared to 22.1% citywide. In contrast only 11.9% of people in the neighbourhood are over 60 compared with 17.9% of people across Birmingham The ethnic makeup of the population is also decidedly different when compared to the rest of Birmingham, with the largest ethnic group being those who are from the Asian or Asian British community (50.5%). The white community make up only 39% of the population in this area compared to 70.4% citywide.

8

Based on the Birmingham Segmentation file there are 3,862 households in this

neighbourhood area of Birmingham Segment group F accounts for the majority of the households Group F is – Diverse (large) families, but mainly from South Asian origin living in privately

rented inner city terraces. The profile of this group is: o Diverse communities, with many people from minority cultures o Multi-generation families within households and high proportions of young

children, leading to overcrowding o Health issues, including obesity and high infant mortality o Language issues – many older people do not speak English o Low educational attainment – nearly 50% without formal qualifications o Religion is important and there is a sense of community. o Sports and cultural facilities not used greatly; Neighbourhood Offices used to

apply for travel passes o Preferred channels of communications are the Internet; and Community

Association and religion based channels

9

It is possible to ascertain what residents feel are the main issues are in their area by looking at the 2008 Birmingham Opinion Survey. Within the survey, from a specified list of criteria, respondents were asked to choose up to five that they consider to be the most important in making somewhere a good place to live. By far the main issue respondents in Bordesley Green mentioned was - clean streets (68%) Respondents were also asked to choose up to five criteria that they felt need most improving in their area. Again with important quality of life issues, clean streets was the issue that people felt needed most improving. The charts below compare results from how people answered the two quality of life questions, allowing analysis of what people in the neighbourhood consider to be most important in making somewhere a good place to live and are the most in need of improvement in the local area.

10

The figures are divided into four quadrants, the key quadrant being the top right one, which shows those criteria that are rated as being above average importance and above average need for improvement. From the charts it is possible to see that while there is some similarity between the key priorities for Bordesley Green and for the city as a whole, the order of priority for residents is quite different and that green spaces is a key issue for Bordesley Green residents.

Criteria with above average importance and above average need for improvement: The City as whole

Level of crime Clean streets Teenage activities Affordable/Decent Homes Access to Nature

Bordesley Green Clean streets Teenage activities Access to Nature Level of Crime Affordable Decent Homes Care for older people Parks and Open Space

Priorites for Birmingham City

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%

Requires improvement

Imp

ort

ant

Clean Streets

Crime level

Teenage ActivitiesAccess to Nature

Affordable / Decent Homes

Priorites for Bordesley Green Neighbourhood

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%

Requires improvement

Imp

ort

ant

Clean Streets

Crime level

Affordable / Decent Homes

Teenage Activities

Access to Nature

Parks & Open Spaces

Care for Older People

11

The worklessness rate in the Bordesley Green neighbourhood is higher than the citywide level. This rate has increased considerably between 2007 and 2009.

Gaps between the citywide performance and performance in the Bordesley Green neighbourhood have been increasing in respect of Early Foundation Years attainment, 5 or more A* -C at GCSE(including English and Maths) and Narrowing the gap foundation years.

Educational performance in Key Stage 1 and 2 English and Maths are above the citywide average this is also the case for progress between Key stage 3 and Key Stage 4 in this neighbourhood.

The percentage of Incapacity Benefit claimants in this neighbourhood is low compared to other priority neighbourhoods.

Analysis and more sophisticated trajectory projections needed to access how the recession will affect Bordesley Green specifically.

Lack of economic and skills data at an individual neighbourhood level.

12

A key priority for Birmingham in the next few years will be emerging from the recession and improving the worklessness levels across the city. Priority neighbourhoods encompass the highest areas of worklessness in the city. Just over a quarter of working age people in the Bordesley Green neighbourhood are classed as workless. The total claimant rate within this neighbourhood is however amongst the lowest when compared to other priority neighbourhoods. As the chart below indicates there are four priority neighbourhoods with a lower percentage of working age people classed as workless.

May 2009 - Worklessness Rates for Priority Neighbourhoods

36.8% 35.8%35.1% 34.8%34.3%33.6% 33.0%33.0% 32.6% 32.1% 31.7%31.3% 31.3%31.0%30.6% 29.9%29.2% 28.6%27.9%27.5% 27.4%26.6% 26.5%26.4%32.5%0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

PN12 PN6 PN13 PN15 PN22 PN11 PN8 PN24 PN3 PN9 PN7 PN17 PN16 PN14 PN25 PN19 PN2 PN1 PN23 PN4 PN5 PN21 PN18 PN10 PN20

The chart below can be used to track changes in the worklessness rate between 2001 and 2009 in this neighbourhood for comparison with the citywide rate. Worklessness rates between 2001 and 2007 were at a similar level to those citywide, however between 2007 and 2009 this rate has increased considerably which indicates that the recession has had a major impact upon residents within this neighbourhood.

Worklessness Rates 2001-2009

27.5%

21.7%

19.9%20.5%

10%12%14%16%18%20%22%24%26%28%30%

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

PN5 Citywide

High proportions of Incapacity Benefit claimants within a neighbourhood can have serious impacts upon the economic prospects of residents within that area. This neighbourhood has the lowest proportion of workless residents claiming Incapacity Benefit, under a quarter of the residents claim Incapacity Benefit in this neighbourhood. 64.1% of these claimants have been claiming Incapacity Benefit for over 5 years compared to 62.6% citywide.

13

Incapacity Benefit Claimants - May 2009

34.7% 34.6% 34.6% 32.5% 31.9% 31.2% 30.0% 29.7% 29.4% 29.2% 29.1% 28.9% 28.6% 28.5% 27.7% 26.9% 26.1% 25.9% 25.8% 25.5% 25.0% 24.2% 22.5% 22.2% 22.2%0.0%

5.0%

10.0%

15.0%

20.0%

25.0%

30.0%

35.0%

40.0%

PN2 PN6 PN15 PN22 PN14 PN11 PN12 PN23 PN1 PN8 PN4 PN3 PN19 PN25 PN13 PN17 PN7 PN20 PN10 PN24 PN9 PN21 PN18 PN16 PN5

The chart below provides a breakdown of reasons given by residents of this neighbourhood for claiming Incapacity Benefit; these breakdowns can be compared with the overall citywide breakdowns using the table below. As with most priority neighbourhoods the major reason given for claiming Incapacity Benefit within this neighbourhood was mental health issues, however a higher proportion of residents claim this benefit for this reason in Bordesley Green compared to those citywide, over half those claiming this Incapacity Benefit claim for this reason.

PN - Breakdown of reasons given for claiming Incapactity Benefit - May 2009

50.7%

5.4%3.6%

15.0%

4.7%

20.6%

Mental Health Nervous system Circulatory/ Respiratory Muscoskeletal Injury Other

14

Educational attainment can have a direct impact on employment opportunities of individuals within an area, with demands for a skilled workforce creating problems for those with few qualifications. The chart below identifies educational performance against LAA indicators within this neighbourhood. The 2008 LAA indicators results for the Bordesley Green Neighbourhood are higher than the citywide averages in respect of 4 indicators: NI92 (Narrowing the gap between the lowest achieving 20% in the Early Years Foundation Stage), NI93 (Progression by 2 levels in English between Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2), NI94 (Progression by 2 levels in Maths between Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2) and NI98 (Progression by 2 levels in Maths between Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4). For NI93, the result for this neighbourhood is 88%; this is 5% higher than the citywide average. Results for NI92 are 5% higher than the citywide average of 43%, NI94 at 80% are 2% higher than the citywide average and NI98 at 28% is 1% higher than the citywide average. There are also instances where the results for this neighbourhood are well below the city wide averages, NI72 (Narrowing the gap between the lowest achieving 20% in the Early Years Foundation Stage) and NI75 (Achievement of 5 or more A*-C grades at GCSE or equivalent including English and Maths). Results for this neighbourhood for NI72 are 28% and NI75 are 29%, both of these equate to a result 16% lower than the citywide average results.

28% 66% 29% 43% 88% 80% 53% 28%

36%

62%

35%

40%

83%

77%

56%

27%

44%

68%

45%

38%

83%

78%

57%

27%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

NI72 NI73 NI75 NI92 NI93 NI94 NI97 NI98

Result Grp Av City Av

Education LAA Indicators for Bordesley Green for 2008

There is a distinct lack of information regarding overall qualifications and skill levels at neighbourhood level. However using Birmingham’s Annual Opinion Survey it is possible to gain an indication on the overall level of qualification that people hold within each neighbourhood. The most notable contrast between results for this neighbourhood and results within the city are with respondents to the Annual Opinion Survey who stated that they did not have any qualifications. 65.1% of respondents within the Bordesley Green neighbourhood stated they did not have qualifications this is substantially higher (15.7%) than the citywide figure of 49.4%. Attainment of qualifications in general within this neighbourhood are lower that

15

the citywide figures. Only HND attainment is higher when compared to citywide highest qualifications within this neighbourhood.

Highest level of qualification held

0.4%

7.0%

1.3% 0.8%

7.0%

1.2%

5.3%

1.2%

65.1%

4.4%

0.4%2.5%

8.6%

0.8%

49.4%

6.8%

1.7%1.4%

9.6%

0.4%1.3%

1.5%

11.7%

4.5%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

Higher degree

(PhD, Mast ers

degree et c)

Degree

(Bachelors and

equivalent )

ONC/ OND HND HNC A Level AS Level/ Highers GCSE CSE NVQ/ SVQ/ GNVQ Somet hing else Have no

qualif icat ions

Bordes ley Green Ci tywide

Source 2008 Annual Opinion Survey

16

Crime levels appear to be better than those citywide in the Bordesley Green neighbourhood.

However in contrast to the crime levels, a higher proportion of residents in this neighbourhood believe that local crime levels have become worse, when compared to the city.

Residents in this neighbourhood are less positive with regards to their perceptions about the way the police and local council deal with anti-social behaviour and crime than those citywide.

Offender and Victim profiling at a neighbourhood level, and a more detailed analysis around times and locations of crimes would be extremely helpful in producing cross partner crime prevention interventions. The Be Birmingham Performance Team will work with the Safer Birmingham Partnership to address this for future versions. However many of these issues would perhaps be better analysed and addressed through tactical means such as neighbourhood tasking rather than on a strategic basis.

More work needs to be done around the key local drivers of community safety perceptions.

17

Evidence suggests that Birmingham is one of the safest core cities; however its residents appear to be concerned with regards to the levels of crime and anti-social behaviour in their local area. Crime levels can have a major impact upon a resident’s perception of an area they can also impact upon whether businesses want to move to or invest in an area. Priority neighbourhood crime rates have been calculated using a 12 month rolling average rate based on the number of crimes per each 1,000 of the population. Serious violent crime does not appear to be a major issue within the Bordesley Green neighbourhood; this neighbourhood has the second lowest serious violent crime rate of all priority neighbourhoods. Moreover this rate is considerably lower than the overall citywide rate.

Serious Violent Crime 2008/09

14.23

10.99

3.00 2.49 2.49 2.48 2.38 2.25 2.18 1.98 1.96 1.87 1.86 1.77 1.69 1.52 1.44 1.42 1.22 1.22 1.17 1.05 0.940.951.00

0.00

2.00

4.00

6.00

8.00

10.00

12.00

14.00

16.00

PN 2 PN 22 PN 15 PN 25 PN 23 PN 1 PN 11 PN 10 PN 19 PN 14 PN 17 PN 12 PN 20 PN 6 PN 24 PN 3 PN 4 PN 7 PN 8 PN 13 PN 9 PN 18 PN 21 PN 5 PN 16

MSV Citywide

As with serious violent crime, serious acquisitive crime does not appear to be a major problem in this neighbourhood. The rate is considerably lower than that citywide; this is amongst the lowest rates in the priority neighbourhoods.

Serious Acquisitive Crime 2008/09

78.40 66.73 48.85 42.73 38.42 30.88 30.85 30.43 30.38 29.30 28.91 28.81 26.74 26.16 25.50 24.52 23.65 22.44 21.93 21.74 20.56 19.90 19.64 19.01 19.010.00

10.00

20.00

30.00

40.00

50.00

60.00

70.00

80.00

90.00

PN 2 PN 22 PN 15 PN 23 PN 19 PN 11 PN 9 PN 25 PN 16 PN 20 PN 3 PN 17 PN 24 PN 7 PN 8 PN 21 PN 12 PN 13 PN 6 PN 4 PN 1 PN 5 PN 10 PN 18 PN 14

SAC Ci tywide

This neighbourhood also has one of the lowest rates of gun crime across all priority neighbourhoods. The rate is significantly lower than the overall citywide rate.

18

Gun Crime 2008/09

3.31 1.69 1.43 1.30 1.27 1.24 1.21 1.18 1.14 1.11 1.00 0.89 0.83 0.65 0.62 0.58 0.53 0.44 0.43 0.42 0.240.59 0.000.00

0.22

0.00

0.50

1.00

1.50

2.00

2.50

3.00

3.50

PN 23 PN 25 PN 22 PN 10 PN 15 PN 2 PN 20 PN 4 PN 19 PN 11 PN 21 PN 17 PN 14 PN 13 PN 12 PN 1 PN 24 PN 8 PN 9 PN 3 PN 18 PN 5 PN 7 PN 6 PN 16

Gun Crime Citywide

Bordesley Green also has one of the lowest alcohol related harm rates of all the priority neighbourhoods. This rate is considerably lower than the citywide rate.

LI Alcohol Special Interest 2008/09

82.52

59.37

8.52 8.28 7.57 6.91 6.72 5.87 5.03 4.72 4.06 3.97 3.49 3.07 3.07 3.06 2.81 2.68 2.24 1.80 1.68 1.62 1.58 1.03 0.750.00

10.00

20.00

30.00

40.00

50.00

60.00

70.00

80.00

90.00

PN 2 PN 22 PN 23 PN 20 PN 12 PN 13 PN 11 PN 25 PN 10 PN 15 PN 4 PN 6 PN 19 PN 1 PN 9 PN 16 PN 14 PN 7 PN 3 PN 18 PN 8 PN 17 PN 24 PN 5 PN 21

PN Alcohol

Residents of this neighbourhood appear to have less to fear from violent crime as the chart below details the rate of violent crime against a person is the lowest across all priority neighbourhoods. Again this rate is considerably lower than that citywide.

LI Violence against a person 2008/09

131.00 87.51 39.90 39.18 36.40 36.15 35.14 33.18 29.93 29.02 27.85 27.63 27.09 25.93 24.07 23.97 23.86 22.37 20.38 20.09 19.04 18.76 17.07 16.7321.980.00

20.00

40.00

60.00

80.00

100.00

120.00

140.00

PN 2 PN 22 PN 20 PN 23 PN 15 PN 25 PN 11 PN 19 PN 10 PN 13 PN 9 PN 4 PN 6 PN 1 PN 7 PN 14 PN 12 PN 8 PN 17 PN 3 PN 21 PN 24 PN 18 PN 16 PN 5

Violence Citywide

19

Measuring of peoples’ perceptions and feelings of safety regarding crime and disorder are important, especially when it has been shown nationally that there is often disparity between what recorded crimes is telling us and what people feel in terms of safety. Birmingham’s Annual Opinion Survey asks residents their opinions on the level of crime, allows them to identify what are the main problems and also asks questions around how they feel local services are dealing with crime and antisocial behaviour within their area. By looking at these results in each neighbourhood we can identify specific issues that are relevant to local areas. 19.1% of respondents to the Annual Opinion Survey within the Bordesley Green neighbourhood believed that the level of crime over the past 3 years has been getting better; this figure is 6.5% below the citywide average of 25.6%. 33% of respondents believed that the level of crime has become worse; this figure is 15.6% above the citywide average. Respondents who felt that there was no change in the level of crime within this neighbourhood were at 40.7%, this figure is 6.4% below the citywide average

Opinion on changes in crime level over the last 3 years

25.6%

47.1%

17.4%9.8%

19.1%

33.0%

7.3%

40.7%

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%

Better No change Worse Don't know

Citywide Bordesley Green

Information from the Annual Opinion Survey indicates that residents in this neighbourhood have in general a more negative view on crime levels than the rest of the city. Although it is impossible to analyse how respondents to the survey arrived at this conclusion, it does correlate with the crime rate information provided, this details an increase between 2005/06 and 2007/08 in the rate of crime in this neighbourhood. Residents of this neighbourhood do not feel wholly convinced that they are engaged by public bodies when they are addressing ASB and crime issues within the neighbourhood. 40.2% of respondents to the Annual Opinion survey within this neighbourhood agreed that local public services sought their views on Anti Social Behaviour and Crime. This percentage is 1.1%lower than the citywide average (41.3%) for respondents to the Annual Opinion Survey

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% agreeing that local public services seek their views about ASB and Crime in the local area

40.2%41.3%

0.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

50.0%

60.0%

70.0%

80.0%

90.0%

100.0%

PN3

PN2

PN8

PN23

PN10

PN20

PN13

PN25

PN7

PN17

PN4

PN1

PN12

City

wid

e

PN21

PN15

PN5

PN14

PN16

PN22

PN9

PN18

PN6

PN11

PN24

PN19

Source 2008 Annual Opinion Survey

For the Bordesley Green neighbourhood, the table below details issues which were considered to be the top 5 problems within this neighbourhood. The top 5 issues are consistent with issues highlighted by residents of other Priority Neighbourhoods. Although the percentage of respondents who felt that teenagers on the streets was a problem was at 50.2%, the highest within this neighbourhood, the issue of people dealing drugs was at 43.9% representing the most significant difference from the citywide average ( A difference of 15%). AOS Respondents - Top 5 problems in this neighbourhood Problem Bordesley Green Citywide Difference

1 Teenagers hanging around the streets 50.2% 42.2% 8.0%

2 Rubbish and litter lying around 49.4% 43.5% 5.9%

3 Parents not taking responsibility for the behaviour of their children

48.5% 38.4% 10.1%

4 People using or dealing drugs 43.9% 28.9% 15.0%

5 People not treating other people with respect and consideration 40.4% 38.4% 2.0%

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Available date at priority neighbourhood level is difficult to obtain for health indicators. The Be Birmingham Performance Team is working with the Health and Well Being Partnership through the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment process to try and address the issue.

An important role for neighbourhood managers will be to try and gather more

anecdotal evidence and local intelligence once they are in post.

22

Within Bordesley Green a higher proportion of homes meet the decent homes standard compared to citywide.

Resident satisfaction with the local area is significantly lower than overall citywide result.

As a possible consequence of the poor levels of satisfaction, the satisfaction expressed with various local service providers are below the overall citywide totals. The only exceptions being satisfaction expressed with the Fire Service and GP Surgeries.

Local neighbourhood level data on Fuel Poverty. More advanced profiling of perception measures by different demographic, socio-

economic and segmentation groups, would allow more targeted interventions to be enacted with the support of neighbourhood managers.

Key driver and multivariate analysis of at least an overall neighbourhood level to identify causes and reasons for people’s answers.

23

Using data provided by the City Housing Partnership, the chart below illustrates the proportion of council homes and RSL homes which meet the decent homes standard. Birmingham has been working hard over the past few years to ensure that its housing stock is at an acceptable level for all its residents. A slightly higher proportion of both RSL and council homes meet the decent homes standard in the Bordesley Green neighbourhood. There has been a significant increase in the proportion of council homes meeting this standard since 2008. However it is anticipated that any inequality in the decency rates of council properties will be fully addressed within the next two years by the Housing Department’s ongoing programme of updating its stock.

Decent Homes - April 2009

93.8% 90.1%

92.7%

89.1%

73%

78%

83%

88%

93%

98%

RSL 2009 Council 2009

PN5 Citywide

Satisfaction in an area is crucial to ensuring that residents perceive they are living in a desirable place, it helps to ensure that residents want to stay in an area which they perceive to be attractive. It is possible to identify satisfaction levels in a neighbourhood by utilising results of the Annual Opinion Survey, A smaller proportion of residents in this neighbourhood are satisfied with their local area as a place to live compared to the overall citywide figure.

NI5 % Satisfied with local Areas as a Place to Live

76.68%

86.14%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Bordesley Green City Wide

Source 2008 Annual Opinion Survey

Gap 9.5%

24

A contributory factor to overall satisfaction levels in an area is resident’s satisfaction with their local service providers. Again using the Annual Opinion Survey it is possible to assess satisfaction levels for this neighbourhood and compare it with the citywide figures. Satisfaction is below the citywide average for all local services, apart from the West Midlands Fire Service, where satisfaction levels are 5% higher than the citywide average and GP surgeries, where the satisfaction level is 2% higher. Satisfaction with NHS dentists is 12% below the citywide figure of 70%.

Satisfaction with Local Services

67%

77%81%

58%

74%78%

72% 70%

44%51%

45%41%

49%

41%

69%74%72%

79%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

West Midlands

Police

West Midlands

Fires Service

GP Surger ies NHS Hospit als Accident and

Emergency

Depart ment s

NHS Dent ist s Job Cent res Local Aut horit y

schools

Adult educat ion

and t raining

including colleges

and Universit ies

Bordesley Green City Wide

Source 2008 Annual Opinion Survey

25

Local residents in recent consultation described the positive features of the area as follows: residents liked the look of Bordesley Green and said it was looking better, people and the neighbourhood are friendly, a strong sense of community, good shopping facilities and schools.

Residents within the Bordesley Green neighbourhood have a more positive view on community cohesion in comparison to the rest of the city.

Levels of trust for specified people or institution within Bordesley Green are in general higher than citywide levels, the exceptions to this being young people and other people that live in the street.

Within this neighbourhood, residents have an above average belief that they are able to influence decisions.

More advanced profiling of perception measures by different demographic, socio- economic and segmentation groups, would allow more targeted interventions to be

enacted with the support of neighbourhood managers. Key driver and multivariate analysis of at least at an overall neighbourhood level to

identify causes and reasons for people’s answers.

26

Facilities in the neighbourhood include: Saltley Leisure Centre The Ideal Village Park and the Henry Barber Park Cricket bowling lanes Bordesley Green Junior and Infant school and the Alston Primary school Saltley School and Specialist Science College Bordesley Green Women’s Academy, South Birmingham Construction College and City

College are building a new college next to the Construction College. 3 Special Needs Homes/Day centres and 1 Elderly Persons Home/Day Centre There are also a number of GP surgeries. In terms of wider investment in the neighbourhood, there is outline planning consent for a multimillion pound ‘Medipark’ facility adjacent to Heartlands Hospital on this site, incorporating new access and landscaping, and encompassing a range of research and development and clinical trials facilities. The Whitacre Road project is a multi use, multi agency run and funded scheme that aims to deliver a pocket park, youth pod/community facility and Bike/skate Park from a former derelict site. Neighbourhood management have managed and coordinated funding from different sources and brought together different community organisations and agencies to work together to deliver a much needed community facility and park. The former Bordesley Green playing fields, which has remained derelict and unused, is to be brought back into community use, after a local action group scooped a £250,000 award at the WRG Communities Challenge helped by £46,000 from the Neighbourhood Element Innovations Fund. The Neighbourhood Element Innovations Fund will provide the development of a Sports Pavilion/Community resource at the former MEB site (Green Lane playing fields) and fund a development worker. In addition in the neighbourhood, there is: East Birmingham and North Solihull Regeneration Zone. Enterprising Communities Heartlands Hospital Trust is involved in a significant programme of reinvestment into the

existing facility Bordesley Green Local Centre will benefit from regeneration funding made available

under the Local Centres Programme and Streets Ahead on Safety initiative East Birmingham College investment development Saltley clearance areas.

Strengthening Community Cohesion is vital; a key factor in this is ensuring that residents agree that people from different backgrounds get on well together in their local area. Residents who feel engaged in a community are more likely to feel a sense of worth, which can in turn strengthen local democracy and governance. Active involvement by residents

27

within an area can help to develop and share knowledge and skills, producing benefits both at a citywide and local level The Annual Opinion Survey can also be used to gauge how each neighbourhood is doing against Community Cohesion (NI 1) and Community Engagement (NI 4) indicators within the LAA. Within this neighbourhood, it appears that residents have a slightly more positive view on community cohesion than compared to the rest of the city. 80.6% of people within this neighbourhood believe that people from different backgrounds get on well together (NI 1); this is 1.7% higher than the citywide figure. Residents of this neighbourhood also have a positive view of their opportunities to influence decision making. 45.7% of respondents to the 2008 Annual Opinion Survey believe that they can influence decision making, this is 2.5% higher than citywide figure of 43.2%.

Birmingham Opinion Survey Indicative Data for National indicators

80.6% 78.9%

45.7%

43.2%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

NI1 NI4

Bordesley Green City Wide

Source 2008 Annual Opinion Survey

Gap 1.7%

Gap 2.5%

Residents expressing high levels of trust with regards to local people or institutions can provide a further insight into community cohesion. High levels of trust are more indicative of a community that can work together effectively. Using the Annual Opinion Survey to investigate levels of trust can help to identify where clear differences may lie between neighbourhood and citywide levels. Within this neighbourhood levels of trust for specified people/ institutions are in the main higher than the citywide figures. Trust in Doctors was 13% higher than the citywide level and faith leaders in the area achieved a level of trust figure 10% above the citywide level. However the level of trust in young people at 23% (8% below the citywide level) is the most significant in terms of specified people/ institutions who achieved lower levels of trust than the citywide results.

28

Where a respondent trusts specified people or institutions completely/ a lot

72%

53%

84%

23%

60%

53%50%

62%

53%

37%31%

71%

54%

74%

55%

43%49%

58%51%

30%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Next doorneighbour

Other peoplethat live in your

street (notimmediate

neighbours)

Doctor Young peoplein your area

Older people inyour area

Faith leaders inyour area

Your council Local PoliceOff icers

Local ShopKeepers

Your HousingOff icer

Bordesley Green City Wide

Source 2008 Annual Opinion Survey