Formed in September 2003, the Benwell Neighbourhood Management Initiative is a project in Newcastle. Led by Home, the Initiative is driven by just two staff but is a great example of partnership working. The Initiative receives funding from Bridging Newcastle Gateshead, the North East Pathfinder; Newcastle City Council staff run the Community Project office, while Northumbria Police provide a dedicated team of Community Beat Managers and Police Community Support Officers to focus on the issues surrounding crime and community safety. A team of Council-employed Street Wardens, who deal with environmental issues and tackle low-level incidents using a non-confrontational approach, further complements this.
The Initiative was set up to create a sustainable community in Benwell (then identified as one of the top 10% deprived communities in the country) through improving services in the area, improving the physical state of the neighbourhood (including bringing all empty homes back into use), cutting crime and contributing to the improvement of other social and economic disparities that exist. The aim of the Initiative is to increase community confidence and help to build an equal and effective partnership between residents and service providers in the area, through an innovative neighbourhood management approach.
Our community safety work has proved to be so effective that Home received a prestigious Neighbourhood Management Award from the, then, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.
More information can be found on the Benwell Neighbourhood Management Initiative site.