The ten year life of the New Deal for Communities Partnerships is drawing to a close and this document looks at how the partnerships are planning for the future. It describes the leaning gained and how far they have progressed in putting the succession strategies into place.

Most NDC areas continue to suffer from multiple deprivation, so that on-going work is needed to ‘narrow the gap’ to sustain resident and community involvement and at the same time be able to respond to new challenges and opportunities in regeneration.

The succession strategies reflect the changes that have taken place in local government since the first NDC partnerships were formed in 2000. There is am emphasis on neighbourhood working involving local communities and involvement of the community and voluntary sector.

Independent community organizations, usually community development trusts, are being set up to carry on aspects of the NDC’s role. These are resident led and have remits to oversee and co-ordinate regeneration in the area, and to hold assets that could generate income for investment locally. Models being developed include limited companies, charities and community interest companies. Community assets such as healthy living centres, leisure centres and children’s centres are also being developed, and they in some cases generate income for investment back into the community.

The third sector also features in the succession strategies as do the set up of social enterprises based on successful projects, either to sell services on a small scale to a range of different commissioners, or on the basis of an expected larger scale commission.

New Deal Succession Strategies is available from DCLG.http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/communities/pdf/1086563.pdf