Neighbourhood Renewal is a new approach to tackling deprivation within our communities in Northern Ireland.  Although efforts have been made in the past, there has never been one Government programme that deals with every aspect of deprivation.

 

Neighbourhood Renewal is about closing the gap between the quality of life for people in the most deprived neighbourhoods and the rest of society.  One seventh of Northern Ireland’s population live in seriously deprived parts of our towns and cities and the symptoms of deprivation are easy to identify and understand. 

 

People who live in deprived area are much more likely to be out of work or, when they do have jobs, they are likely to be poorly paid.  The economic stresses of unemployment and low incomes are closely linked to social problems such as poor health, low levels of educational achievement and high levels of crime.  Economic deprivation also leads to environmental problems, characterised by derelict buildings, undeveloped sites and poor services.  People living in the most deprived areas are more likely to depend on public services than the rest of society. 

 

This Vision Framework and 3 Year Action Plan (available to download at the bottom of this page) has been produced by the Neighbourhood Partnership to focus effort and engage a range of key stakeholders around a set of core themes. Collectively these themes are designed to address the complex of problems.

 

The document provides a Vision for the collaborative development of the Neighbourhood Renewal (NR) area, supported by a three year rolling action plan, and sets out proposed delivery arrangements, programmes and activities against the Department for Social Development’s strategic objectives for Neighbourhood Renewal.