‘Left behind’ neighbourhoods in England are critically lacking in social infrastructure, with a far lower density of community assets than both other similarly deprived areas and the national average.
In terms of community assets, these neighbourhoods are behind in almost every major category – ranging from cultural spaces and sports and leisure facilities, to, crucially, community-owned assets.
This is the first in a new series exploring the key issues facing ‘left behind’ neighbourhoods, providing an accessible overview of the evidence and key recommendations for generating long-term improvements for these areas and their residents.
Key recommendations:
- A long-term, hyper-local, evidence-led strategy that places social infrastructure at the heart of levelling up
- A reinvented funding model that targets investment at ‘left-behind’ neighbourhoods
- New community rights, underpinned by new resources from central government.