Urban Regeneration Policy Statement

The commitment contained within the Programme for Government and the Joint Declaration of the British and Irish Governments to bringing forward a strategic and integrated approach aimed at regenerating areas of greatest disadvantage, particularly those that have suffered from the worst impact of the Troubles, is much welcomed.

It is now commonly accepted that any approach to urban regeneration needs to recognise that regeneration is not just about physical and economic regeneration but should also be effective in including communities. An integrated approach to the planning and delivery of regeneration is required as deprivation is a multi-faceted problem. The recognition of this in the recently launched Neighbourhood Renewal Strategy is also welcome.

Political parties and the Assembly should:

• Provide a mechanism for achieving this integration at the neighbourhood level.
• Provide and resource a process which links 'bottom up' planning with regional policies.
• Establish cross-cutting targets for neighbourhood renewal and the integration of these targets into the Public Service Agreements of each relevant department.
• Develop integrated stakeholder neighbourhood plans in each of the target areas. These plans should identify actions and the relevant stakeholder (department, agency, group, etc) with lead responsibility for the delivery of each.
• Identify the skills and knowledge required by different sets of players involved in neighbourhood renewal and develop the skills and knowledge of key stakeholders, including the voluntary and community sector.
• Ensure that the Department for Social Development, as the lead department in co-ordinating urban regeneration, takes cognisance of best practice in other countries/areas.
• Secure the long-term commitment across government and the individual departments to the regeneration process.
• Introduce commensurate and proportionate auditing procedures that support innovation.