We are at a crucial moment for England’s ‘left behind’ neighbourhoods, and decisions made in the next few years will define their prospects for decades to come. Decisive action is now urgently needed to save levelling up from the strategic drift which threatens to waste the significant political will generated in recent years to transform the fortunes of these places.
How can we ensure that the communities that have long missed out on their fair share of services and opportunities are no longer ‘left behind’?
This report makes a compelling case for remaking the levelling up agenda to put ‘left behind’ areas front and centre of a new mission of national renewal. Evidence heard over the course of the APPG’s inquiry emphasised that community-led change can transform a neighbourhood’s fortunes.
To be successful and sustainable, levelling up must:
- Be led by local people – the experts best placed to know what needs to be done to improve local outcomes
- Reflect local needs and circumstances – not follow a national template
- Entrust decision-making – including funding – to communities, not Whitehall or the town hall
- Invest long-term in communities – to build capacity, social infrastructure, opportunity
and resilience.