Building Successful Communities
Strategic aims
The strategic aims were:
- to work collaboratively across government, with the Housing Executive, Housing Associations, and communities to improve housing and infrastructure
- to improve current housing stock, deliver new social and affordable homes and bring empty homes into use
- to target ways to bring physical, economic and social regeneration to each area
- to use housing interventions as the driver to regenerate these areas and start to reverse community decline
Pilot areas
Six pilot areas were selected, five within Belfast and one in Ballymena: Lower Oldpark & Hillview; Lower Falls; Tigers Bay & Mountcollyer; Lower Shankill & Brown Square; Lenadoon & Glencolin and Doury Road (Ballymena).
These areas met the criteria for selection as detailed in the Housing Strategy. All were already designated areas of deprivation and suffered from blight / anti-social behaviour but had potential for recovery supported by housing-led regeneration.
Regeneration forums
Regeneration forums were established in each of the pilot areas to take work forward and develop plans with tailor-made economic, physical and social interventions to meet community needs.
Membership of regeneration forums was assembled from the Housing Executive, community representatives, council officials, housing associations, elected representatives and representatives from education, health and the voluntary and community sectors.
Regeneration managers were recruited for each area to support the work of the forums. The Department played a lead role in supporting the forums to identify the issues in their area and to develop and implement solutions relating to housing, regeneration, infrastructure, and other issues which the forum felt were important.
Post programme review
The Department for Communities has carried out a post programme review to evaluate the Building Successful Communities (BSC) Programme against original plans and objectives, and also included an overview of interventions, including financial, on a pilot area basis.