Lack of social infrastructure damaging for poorer areas

A study finds that England’s poorest neighbourhoods have by far the largest shortages of basic social infrastructure for example parks, playgrounds, pubs, shops and sports facilities.

An audit of public assets in the 10 % worst-off council wards, referred to as ‘left out neighbourhoods’, found that they'd disproportionately fewer public spaces and buildings, and were not even half as prone to have charities and community groups in their local area.

According to the study, completed for the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) on left behind neighbourhoods, eight wards didn't have shops at all in their neighbourhoods or within 1km of the local area, while three had no public parks, gardens or playing fields.

Those communities with the highest need for purchase of local community assets and facilities receive the smallest amount of funding.  Notably, these are locations that have previously been proven to possess worse health, employment and education outcomes than other equally deprived places that have community level social infrastructure – places and spaces for individuals to meet, community activities and connectivity, digital and physical – and also the remainder of England. The researchers say that this highlights the need for focused, targeted investment in the hyper-local level straight into these communities to develop social infrastructure.

Paul Howell, MP for Sedgefield and Conservative co-chair of the APPG, said: “The government has established a number of new funds aimed at levelling as much as support those areas of the country that most need investment, but unfortunately these 225 neighbourhoods are going to miss out once again when they don't receive targeted funds to assist build the abilities and capacity of the people living there to get together and make an application for funding.”