Council Clean Up?
by Mark Lankshear

Residents have complained bitterly about the state of Burngreave for years, and there have been loud calls for the streets, parks and recreation areas to be cleaned up. Last month the New Deal and the Council announced they were ‘Advancing Together’, launching a package of extra environmental services for the area.

Advancing Together
Under the three year plan, over £2 million of New Deal funding will be given to the council for extra services such as more street cleaning, better lighting, neighbourhood wardens and small grants for homeowners. The council must deliver existing services at current levels with their own funds. They will also pay for the management overheads of the project, and recruit locally for fifteen new jobs (see job ad).

Confused messages
Despite hailing the agreement a ‘real breakthrough’, the New Deal were forced to issue denials when The Star caused confusion, by reporting that the Council was rescuing the New Deal. “This is an example of New Deal helping the Council improve and become more accountable, not the other way round”, said Rose Ardron, Chair of the New Deal Partnership Board, “The corner stone of the agreement is the Council will have to measure and maintain existing services. This will free up the New Deal money for truly additional activities.”

Community briefing
Knowing that the project could be controversial as it may be seen as subsidising statutory services, New Deal called a ‘community briefing’. Partnership board members and staff explained the plans to an invited audience, who wanted to know what would be done to make sure it would create local jobs and restore pride in the area.

Freda Cotterell of BlackCARD felt it was important to raise the standard of services in Burngreave, but hoped that New Deal money could be used to bring long-lasting change. “When the New Deal money has gone the council must maintain the quality of the service, which may mean the Council buying in services perhaps from Burngreave-based organisations, social firms, who will employ Burngreave people. This will lead to more sustainable regeneration of the area.”

Acknowledging the concerns about the Council’s poor record on delivering services, the New Deal team explained the agreement had been approved by the New Deal Community Reps. The Reps made sure the project included regular reports of the Council’s progress to local people through New Deal theme groups. The results will be there for everyone to judge.