executive summary firs and bromford.pdf · 8 based on the birmingham segmentation file there are...

28

Upload: others

Post on 24-Sep-2020

1 views

Category:

Documents


0 download

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: Executive Summary Firs and Bromford.pdf · 8 Based on the Birmingham Segmentation file there are 2,806 households in this neighbourhood area of Birmingham Segment group I (30.6%)
Page 2: Executive Summary Firs and Bromford.pdf · 8 Based on the Birmingham Segmentation file there are 2,806 households in this neighbourhood area of Birmingham Segment group I (30.6%)
Page 3: Executive Summary Firs and Bromford.pdf · 8 Based on the Birmingham Segmentation file there are 2,806 households in this neighbourhood area of Birmingham Segment group I (30.6%)

3

Executive Summary Key Strategic Issues for Firs and Bromford Worklessness remains a distinct challenge for this neighbourhood, Firs and Bromford has

one of the highest worklessness rates of all twenty five priority neighbourhoods. Anecdotally, residents relate to ‘the Bromford’ as being a ‘sink’ estate. In general a lot

of the problems experienced by residents are as a result of the poor urban design of the estate with effectively only 2 service roads that lead into the estate.

Violent crime appears to be an issue in this neighbourhood; both the crime rates of

serious violent crime and violence against a person are higher than the overall citywide crime rates. In contrast however this neighbourhood has seen no incidents of gun crime between 2008/09.

Anecdotally, the tower blocks within this area are largely seen by local residents as a

magnet for drug dealing, prostitution and general criminal activity. Local people believe that ‘challenging families’ and people experiencing mental health issues are placed in the tower blocks.

A significantly lower proportion of residents are satisfied with their local area as a place

to live. Neighbourhood infrastructure is limited within the neighbourhood, with the third sector

especially under represented. However there is a well-established community association and there are a number of other small groups in the area. Perceptions of community cohesion seem only slightly below that of the city; however a smaller proportion of residents compared to citywide feel that they can influence decision making.

Page 4: Executive Summary Firs and Bromford.pdf · 8 Based on the Birmingham Segmentation file there are 2,806 households in this neighbourhood area of Birmingham Segment group I (30.6%)

4

Page 5: Executive Summary Firs and Bromford.pdf · 8 Based on the Birmingham Segmentation file there are 2,806 households in this neighbourhood area of Birmingham Segment group I (30.6%)

5

Executive Summary........................................................................................................3Neighbourhood Map......................................................................................................6Who Lives Here? ............................................................................................................7Succeed Economically..................................................................................................11Stay Safe in a Clean Green City ....................................................................................16Be Healthy....................................................................................................................21Enjoy A High Quality of Life..........................................................................................22Making a Contribution .................................................................................................25

Page 6: Executive Summary Firs and Bromford.pdf · 8 Based on the Birmingham Segmentation file there are 2,806 households in this neighbourhood area of Birmingham Segment group I (30.6%)

6

Neighbourhood Map

Page 7: Executive Summary Firs and Bromford.pdf · 8 Based on the Birmingham Segmentation file there are 2,806 households in this neighbourhood area of Birmingham Segment group I (30.6%)

7

Recent population estimates for 2007 show that Firs and Bromford neighbourhood has a similar age profile as Birmingham as a whole. 24.8% of people in neighbourhood are 15 or under, compared to 22.1% citywide. 18.1% of people in the neighbourhood are over 60 compared with 17.9% of people across Birmingham Firs and Bromford is a predominately white area, with the white community accounting for 86.8% of the population

Firs and Bromford Birmingham

Page 8: Executive Summary Firs and Bromford.pdf · 8 Based on the Birmingham Segmentation file there are 2,806 households in this neighbourhood area of Birmingham Segment group I (30.6%)

8

Based on the Birmingham Segmentation file there are 2,806 households in this

neighbourhood area of Birmingham Segment group I (30.6%) accounts for the highest proportion of the households,

followed by groups H (24.4%) and J (23.1%) Group I is – Low income (largely white) families living in estate based outer suburban

social housing Group H is - Diverse (younger) population with uncertain employment living in (estate-

based) social housing Group J - Mostly white families living in homes bought from social landlords

Page 9: Executive Summary Firs and Bromford.pdf · 8 Based on the Birmingham Segmentation file there are 2,806 households in this neighbourhood area of Birmingham Segment group I (30.6%)

9

It is possible to ascertain what residents feel are the main issues in their area by looking at the 2008 Birmingham Opinion Survey. Within the survey, from a specified list of criteria, respondents were asked to choose up to five that they consider to be the most important in making somewhere a good place to live. By far the main issue respondents in Firs and Bromford mentioned was – crime levels (62%), followed by clean streets (59%) Respondents were also asked to choose up to five criteria that they felt need most improving in their area. As important quality of life issues, clean streets and levels of crime were the issues that people felt needed most improving. The charts below compare results from how people answered the two quality of life questions, allowing analysis of what people in the neighbourhood consider to be most important in making somewhere a good place to live and are the most in need of improvement in the local area.

Page 10: Executive Summary Firs and Bromford.pdf · 8 Based on the Birmingham Segmentation file there are 2,806 households in this neighbourhood area of Birmingham Segment group I (30.6%)

10

The figures are divided into four quadrants, the key quadrant being the top right one, which shows those criteria that are rated as being above average importance and above average need for improvement. From the charts it is possible to see that while there is some similarity between the key priorities for Firs and Bromford and the rest of the city.

Criteria with above average importance and above average need for improvement: The City as whole

Clean streets Level of crime Teenage activities Affordable/Decent Homes Access to Nature

Firs and Bromford Clean streets Level of crime Teenage activities

Priorites for Birmingham City

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%

Requires improvement

Imp

ort

ant

Clean Streets

Crime level

Teenage ActivitiesAccess to Nature

Affordable / Decent Homes

Priorites for Firs and Bromford Neighbourhood

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%

Requires improvement

Imp

ort

ant Clean Streets

Crime level

Affordable / Decent Homes

Teenage Activities

Road and Pavement Repairs

Page 11: Executive Summary Firs and Bromford.pdf · 8 Based on the Birmingham Segmentation file there are 2,806 households in this neighbourhood area of Birmingham Segment group I (30.6%)

11

Firs and Bromford has one of the highest proportions of workless residents across all the

priority neighbourhoods. A high proportion of residents who are classed as workless are claiming Incapacity

Benefit. Education performance is generally lower than the city, with GCSE results significantly

lower than that of the city. Overall it appears a much higher proportion of people in this neighbourhood hold no

formal qualifications, and of those that do hold qualifications, a significant proportion go on to study past GCSE level.

Analysis and more sophisticated trajectory projections needed to assess how the

recession will affect Firs and Bromford specifically Lack of economic and skills data at individual neighbourhood level

Page 12: Executive Summary Firs and Bromford.pdf · 8 Based on the Birmingham Segmentation file there are 2,806 households in this neighbourhood area of Birmingham Segment group I (30.6%)

12

A key priority for Birmingham in the next few years will be emerging from the recession and improving the worklessness levels across the city. Priority neighbourhoods encompass the highest areas of worklessness within Birmingham. Worklessness is a key challenge for residents within the Firs and Bromford neighbourhood, over one third of working aged population are classed as workless. This is considerably higher than the overall citywide rate of 19.9% and is one of the highest proportions of all the priority neighbourhoods.

May 2009 - Worklessness Rates for Priority Neighbourhoods

36.8% 35.8%35.1% 34.8%34.3% 33.6%33.0% 33.0%32.6% 32.1%31.7% 31.3%31.3% 31.0%30.6%29.9% 29.2%28.6% 27.9%27.5% 27.4%26.6% 26.5%26.4%32.5%0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

PN12 PN6 PN13 PN15 PN22 PN11 PN8 PN24 PN3 PN9 PN7 PN17 PN16 PN14 PN25 PN19 PN2 PN1 PN23 PN4 PN5 PN21 PN18 PN10 PN20

The chart below can be used to track changes in the worklessness rate between 2001 and 2009 within this neighbourhood for comparison with the citywide rate over the same period. Worklessness levels have been reducing between 2001 and 2007 in this neighbourhood; however since 2007 there has been a significant increase in the worklessness rate for the Firs and Bromford neighbourhood. This data therefore suggests that the recession has had a considerable impact upon residents within this neighbourhood.

Worklessness Rates 2001-2009

34.0% 35.8%

20.5% 19.9%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

PN6 Citywide

Page 13: Executive Summary Firs and Bromford.pdf · 8 Based on the Birmingham Segmentation file there are 2,806 households in this neighbourhood area of Birmingham Segment group I (30.6%)

13

High proportions of Incapacity Benefit claimants within a neighbourhood can have serious impacts upon the economic prospects of residents within that area. Firs and Bromford has a high proportion of its workless population claiming Incapacity Benefit. 65.3% of these residents have been claiming this benefit for over five years; this is again one of the highest proportions across the priority neighbourhoods.

Incapacity Benefit Claimants - May 2009

34.7% 34.6% 34.6% 32.5% 31.9% 31.2% 30.0% 29.7% 29.4% 29.2% 29.1% 28.9% 28.6% 28.5% 27.7% 26.9% 26.1% 25.9% 25.8% 25.5% 25.0% 24.2% 22.5% 22.2% 22.2%0.0%

5.0%

10.0%

15.0%

20.0%

25.0%

30.0%

35.0%

40.0%

PN2 PN6 PN15 PN22 PN14 PN11 PN12 PN23 PN1 PN8 PN4 PN3 PN19 PN25 PN13 PN17 PN7 PN20 PN10 PN24 PN9 PN21 PN18 PN16 PN5

The chart below provides a breakdown of reasons given by residents of this neighbourhood for claiming Incapacity Benefit; these breakdowns can be compared with the overall citywide breakdowns using the table below. As with most priority neighbourhoods the major reason given for claiming Incapacity Benefit within this neighbourhood was mental health issues, however a higher proportion of residents claim this benefit for this reason in Firs and Bromford than citywide.

PN - Breakdown of reasons given for claiming Incapactity Benefit - May 2009

47.9%

5.1%9.2%

16.3%

6.1%

15.3%

Mental Health Nervous system Circulatory/ Respiratory Muscoskeletal Injury Other

Page 14: Executive Summary Firs and Bromford.pdf · 8 Based on the Birmingham Segmentation file there are 2,806 households in this neighbourhood area of Birmingham Segment group I (30.6%)

14

Educational attainment can have a direct impact on employment opportunities of individuals within an area, with demands for a skilled workforce creating problems for those with few qualifications. The chart below identifies educational performance against LAA indicators within this neighbourhood. Results for 2008 against the LAA education Indicators in the Firs and Bromford neighbourhood are with the exception of NI93 (Progression in English between Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2) lower than the citywide averages. In particular there are significant differences with results for NI92 (Narrowing the gap between the lowest achieving 20% in the Early Years Foundation Stage) and NI75 (Achievement of 5 or more A*-C grades at GCSE or equivalent including English and Maths). With regards to NI92 the result for this neighbourhood is 17% below the citywide average. Results for NI75 are 12% below the citywide figures.

41% 67% 33% 21% 86% 72% 48% 26%

36%

62%

35%

40%

83%

77%

56%

27%

44%

68%

45%

38%

83%

78%

57%

27%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

NI72 NI73 NI75 NI92 NI93 NI94 NI97 NI98

Result Grp Av City Av

Education LAA Indicators for Firs and Bromford for 2008

There is a distinct lack of information overall qualification and skill level data at the neighbourhood level. However using the Birmingham’s Annual Opinion Survey it is possible to gain an indication on the overall level of qualification that people hold within each neighbourhood. Within this neighbourhood, 58.4% of respondents to the survey stated that they had no qualifications; this is 9% higher than the citywide figure. Other significant differences within this ward lie with A levels and Higher Degrees. 0.5% of respondents within this ward stated that a higher degree was the highest level of qualification they held; this is 4% lower than citywide figures. Similarly with A levels, 3.6% respondents within this neighbourhood stated that these were the highest level qualification they held, this is 5% below the citywide figure. Respondent who stated that NVQ/SNVQ and

Page 15: Executive Summary Firs and Bromford.pdf · 8 Based on the Birmingham Segmentation file there are 2,806 households in this neighbourhood area of Birmingham Segment group I (30.6%)

15

GNVQ’s were the highest level qualification they attained were at 8.4%, this is 1.6% greater when compared with citywide figures.

Highest level of qualification held

0.5%

6.7%

0.4% 0.0%

9.7%

1.6%

8.4%

1.1%

58.4%

3.6%0.4% 0.4%

8.6%

0.8%

49.4%

6.8%

1.7%1.4%

9.6%

0.4%1.3%

1.5%

11.7%

4.5%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

Higher degree

(PhD, Mast ers

degree et c)

Degree

(Bachelors and

equivalent )

ONC/ OND HND HNC A Level AS Level/ Highers GCSE CSE NVQ/ SVQ/ GNVQ Somet hing else Have no

qualif icat ions

Fi rs and Bromford Ci tywide

Source 2008 Annual Opinion Survey

Page 16: Executive Summary Firs and Bromford.pdf · 8 Based on the Birmingham Segmentation file there are 2,806 households in this neighbourhood area of Birmingham Segment group I (30.6%)

16

Violent crime appears to be the biggest challenge in terms of crime rates within

this neighbourhood. A high proportion of people in this neighbourhood have a negative perception on

how crime levels have changed over the past few years. In addition to this a lower than average proportion of people feel local service providers

seek their views on Community Safety and ASB issues. Significant amount of residents highlight ASB issues that involve younger people.

Offender and Victim profiling at a neighbourhood level, and more detailed analysis

around times and locations of crimes would be extremely helpful in producing cross partner crime prevention interventions. The Be Birmingham performance team will work with Safer Birmingham Partnership to address this for future versions. However many of these issues would perhaps be better analysed and addressed through tactical means such as neighbourhood tasking rather than on strategic basis.

More work needs to be done around the key local drivers of community safety perceptions

Page 17: Executive Summary Firs and Bromford.pdf · 8 Based on the Birmingham Segmentation file there are 2,806 households in this neighbourhood area of Birmingham Segment group I (30.6%)

17

Evidence suggests that Birmingham is one of the safest core cities; however its residents appear to be concerned with regards to the levels of crime and anti-social behaviour in their local area. Crime levels can have a major impact upon a resident’s perception of an area they can also impact upon whether businesses want to move to or invest in an area. Within Firs and Bromford, The tower blocks are largely seen by local residents as a magnet for drug dealing, prostitution and general criminal activity. Local people believe that ‘challenging families’ and people experiencing mental health issues are placed in the tower blocks. Priority neighbourhood crime rates have been calculated using a 12 month rolling average rate based on the number of crimes per each 1,000 of the population. Violent crime appears to be the main challenge for this neighbourhood; the serious violent crime rate is higher than that of Birmingham as a whole. Whilst this rate is higher that that citywide, it is not amongst the highest rates of the priority neighbourhoods.

Serious Violent Crime 2008/09

14.23

10.99

3.00 2.49 2.49 2.48 2.38 2.25 2.18 1.98 1.96 1.87 1.86 1.77 1.69 1.52 1.44 1.42 1.22 1.22 1.17 1.05 0.940.951.00

0.00

2.00

4.00

6.00

8.00

10.00

12.00

14.00

16.00

PN 2 PN 22 PN 15 PN 25 PN 23 PN 1 PN 11 PN 10 PN 19 PN 14 PN 17 PN 12 PN 20 PN 6 PN 24 PN 3 PN 4 PN 7 PN 8 PN 13 PN 9 PN 18 PN 21 PN 5 PN 16

MSV Citywide

Serious acquisitive crime appears not to be a significant problem within this area, the rate of this crime is lower than that citywide; furthermore this rate is amongst the lowest across all priority neighbourhoods.

Serious Acquisitive Crime 2008/09

78.40 66.73 48.85 42.73 38.42 30.88 30.85 30.43 30.38 29.30 28.91 28.81 26.74 26.16 25.50 24.52 23.65 22.44 21.93 21.74 20.56 19.90 19.64 19.01 19.010.00

10.00

20.00

30.00

40.00

50.00

60.00

70.00

80.00

90.00

PN 2 PN 22 PN 15 PN 23 PN 19 PN 11 PN 9 PN 25 PN 16 PN 20 PN 3 PN 17 PN 24 PN 7 PN 8 PN 21 PN 12 PN 13 PN 6 PN 4 PN 1 PN 5 PN 10 PN 18 PN 14

SAC Ci tywide

Page 18: Executive Summary Firs and Bromford.pdf · 8 Based on the Birmingham Segmentation file there are 2,806 households in this neighbourhood area of Birmingham Segment group I (30.6%)

18

Firs and Bromford alongside (Richmond and Bierton Road) has the lowest gun crime rate across all priority neighbourhoods. The gun crime rates for the Firs and Bromford 0.00, which is considerably lower than that citywide.

Gun Crime 2008/09

3.31 1.69 1.43 1.30 1.27 1.24 1.21 1.18 1.14 1.11 1.00 0.89 0.83 0.65 0.62 0.58 0.53 0.44 0.43 0.42 0.240.59 0.000.00

0.22

0.00

0.50

1.00

1.50

2.00

2.50

3.00

3.50

PN 23 PN 25 PN 22 PN 10 PN 15 PN 2 PN 20 PN 4 PN 19 PN 11 PN 21 PN 17 PN 14 PN 13 PN 12 PN 1 PN 24 PN 8 PN 9 PN 3 PN 18 PN 5 PN 7 PN 6 PN 16

Gun Crime Citywide

As previously stated this neighbourhood appears to be most affected by violent crime, the chart below details the rate of violent crimes against a person across the priority neighbourhoods. The crime rate for Firs and Bromford is higher than that citywide. However as with serious violent crime this rate is not amongst the highest rates of the priority neighbourhood programme.

LI Violence against a person 2008/09

131.00 87.51 39.90 39.18 36.40 36.15 35.14 33.18 29.93 29.02 27.85 27.63 27.09 25.93 24.07 23.97 23.86 22.37 20.38 20.09 19.04 18.76 17.07 16.7321.980.00

20.00

40.00

60.00

80.00

100.00

120.00

140.00

PN 2 PN 22 PN 20 PN 23 PN 15 PN 25 PN 11 PN 19 PN 10 PN 13 PN 9 PN 4 PN 6 PN 1 PN 7 PN 14 PN 12 PN 8 PN 17 PN 3 PN 21 PN 24 PN 18 PN 16 PN 5

Violence Citywide

Whilst the rate of alcohol related crime is lower than that citywide within the Firs and Bromford neighbourhood, it is not amongst the lowest rates of the priority neighbourhoods.

LI Alcohol Special Interest 2008/09

82.52

59.37

8.52 8.28 7.57 6.91 6.72 5.87 5.03 4.72 4.06 3.97 3.49 3.07 3.07 3.06 2.81 2.68 2.24 1.80 1.68 1.62 1.58 1.03 0.750.00

10.00

20.00

30.00

40.00

50.00

60.00

70.00

80.00

90.00

PN 2 PN 22 PN 23 PN 20 PN 12 PN 13 PN 11 PN 25 PN 10 PN 15 PN 4 PN 6 PN 19 PN 1 PN 9 PN 16 PN 14 PN 7 PN 3 PN 18 PN 8 PN 17 PN 24 PN 5 PN 21

PN Alcohol

Page 19: Executive Summary Firs and Bromford.pdf · 8 Based on the Birmingham Segmentation file there are 2,806 households in this neighbourhood area of Birmingham Segment group I (30.6%)

19

Measuring peoples’ perceptions and feelings of safety regarding crime and disorder is important, especially when it has been shown nationally that there is often disparity between what recorded crime is telling us and what people feel in terms of safety. Birmingham’s Annual Opinion Survey asks residents their opinions on the level of crime, allows them to identify what are the main problems, and also asks questions around how they feel local services are dealing with crime and antisocial behaviour within their area. By looking at these results in each neighbourhood we can identify specific issues that are relevant to local areas. Generally it seems that people in Fire and Bromford have a slightly more pessimistic view on crime levels than the rest of the city. Within this neighbourhood 26.2% of respondents believed that the crime level has got better over the last 3 years, this is 0.6% higher than the citywide average. 37% of respondents felt that there had been no change in the level of crime; this figure is 10.1 % lower than the citywide average. Respondents who felt that the crime level was worse are at 26.1%, this is 8.7% higher than the citywide level.

Opinion on changes in crime level over the last 3 years

25.6%

47.1%

17.4%9.8%

26.2% 26.1%

10.6%

37.0%

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%

Better No change Worse Don't know

Citywide Firs and Bromford

While the residents in Firs and Bromford seem to have a slightly more negative view on the level of crime when compared to the rest of the city, it can not be analysed how people arrive at this judgement, and what crimes people particularly think of when registering changing perceptions crime levels. It may be that reducing certain crimes would have a more beneficial effect on perceptions than others, and more multi variant and key driver analysis at a local level between crime rates and perception data might help answer some of these questions. A key priority for residents is whether public bodies are addressing their ASB and crime concerns, and in particular whether they are engaging residents in this process. 33.5% of respondents to the Annual Opinion Survey within this neighbourhood agreed that local public services sought their opinions about Anti Social Behaviour and Crime. This figure is

Page 20: Executive Summary Firs and Bromford.pdf · 8 Based on the Birmingham Segmentation file there are 2,806 households in this neighbourhood area of Birmingham Segment group I (30.6%)

20

7.8% below the citywide average figure of 41.3% and the fourth lowest percentage when compared to the other Priority Neighbourhoods.

% agreeing that local public services seek their views about ASB and Crime in the local area

33.5%

41.3%

0.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

50.0%

60.0%

70.0%

80.0%

90.0%

100.0%

PN3

PN2

PN8

PN23

PN10

PN20

PN13

PN25

PN7

PN17

PN4

PN1

PN12

City

wid

e

PN21

PN15

PN5

PN14

PN16

PN22

PN9

PN18

PN6

PN11

PN24

PN19

Source 2008 Annual Opinion Survey

The table below highlights the top 5 issues considered to be problems within the Firs and Bromford neighbourhood, these issues were also commonplace in the top 5 for other Priority Neighbourhoods. At 64.7% the issue of teenagers on the streets was the foremost problem within this neighbourhood and represented a 22.5% difference from the citywide average figure. However the largest difference between the figure for this neighbourhood and the citywide figure is with vandalism/graffiti and other deliberate damage With 58.5% of respondents advising that this was an problem, it ranks in third of all issues within this neighbourhood and the neighbourhood figure is 24.6% higher than the citywide average. AOS Respondents - Top 5 problems in this neighbourhood

Problem Firs and

Bromford Citywide Difference

1 Teenagers hanging around the

streets 64.7% 42.2% 22.5%

2 Rubbish and litter lying around 60.3% 43.5% 16.8%

3 Vandalism, graffiti and other

deliberate damage to property or vehicles

58.5% 33.9% 24.6%

4 Parents not taking responsibility

for the behaviour of their children 55.3% 38.4% 16.9%

5 People not treating other people with respect and consideration

50.8% 31.5% 19.3%

Page 21: Executive Summary Firs and Bromford.pdf · 8 Based on the Birmingham Segmentation file there are 2,806 households in this neighbourhood area of Birmingham Segment group I (30.6%)

21

Available data at priority neighbourhood level is difficult to obtain for health indicators.

The Be Birmingham performance team is working with the Health and Well being Partnership through the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment process to try and address this issue.

An important role for neighbourhood managers will be to try and gather more anecdotal evidence and local intelligence once they are in post.

Page 22: Executive Summary Firs and Bromford.pdf · 8 Based on the Birmingham Segmentation file there are 2,806 households in this neighbourhood area of Birmingham Segment group I (30.6%)

22

Residents appear to be much less satisfied with their local areas compared to those of

the city as a whole. The area still has a large percentage of council owned properties which do not meet the

decent homes standard. A higher proportion of RSL properties meet the decent homes standard in this

neighbourhood compared to the city as a whole.

Local neighbourhood level data on Fuel Poverty. More advanced profiling of perception measures by different demographic, socio-

economic and segmentation groups, would allow more targeted interventions to be enacted with the support of neighbourhood managers.

Key driver and multivariate analysis of at least at an overall neighbourhood level to identify causes and reasons for people’s answers.

Page 23: Executive Summary Firs and Bromford.pdf · 8 Based on the Birmingham Segmentation file there are 2,806 households in this neighbourhood area of Birmingham Segment group I (30.6%)

23

Using data provided by the City Housing Partnership, the chart below illustrates the proportion of council homes and RSL homes which meet the decent homes standard. Birmingham has been working hard over the past few years to ensure that its housing stock is at an acceptable level for all its residents. A higher proportion of RSL properties in this neighbourhood meet the decent homes standard than the overall citywide proportion. In fact this is one of the highest proportions across all priority neighbourhoods. However a significant proportion of the council homes do not meet the decent homes standard. The proportion of council homes which meet the decent homes standard is the lowest proportion across all priority neighbourhoods, indicating that this is a major concern within this neighbourhood. However it is anticipated that any inequality in the decency rates of council properties will be fully addressed within the next two years by the Housing Department’s ongoing programme of updating its stock.

Decent Homes - April 2009

98.2% 74.6%

92.7%

89.1%

73%

78%

83%

88%

93%

98%

RSL 2009 Council 2009

PN6 Citywide

Satisfaction in an area is crucial to ensuring that residents perceive they are living in a desirable place, it helps to ensure that residents want to stay in an area which they perceive to be attractive. It is possible to identify satisfaction levels in a neighbourhood by utilising results of the Annual Opinion Survey. It appears that residents within Firs and Bromford are less satisfied with their local area than other areas of the city. Results show that 75.11% of respondents were satisfied with the Firs and Bromford neighbourhood as a place to live as opposed to 86.14% of respondents citywide. Anecdotally, residents relate to ‘the Bromford’ as being a ‘sink’ estate. In general a lot of the problems experienced by residents are as a result of the poor urban design of the estate with effectively only 2 service roads that lead into the estate

Page 24: Executive Summary Firs and Bromford.pdf · 8 Based on the Birmingham Segmentation file there are 2,806 households in this neighbourhood area of Birmingham Segment group I (30.6%)

24

NI 5 % Satisfied with Local Area as a place to Live

86.14%

75.11%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Firs and Bromford City Wide

Source 2008 Annual Opinion Survey

Gap 11.03%

A contributory factor to overall satisfaction levels in an area is resident’s satisfaction with their local service providers. Again using the Annual Opinion Survey it is possible to assess satisfaction levels for this neighbourhood and compare these with the citywide figures. Within this neighbourhood the levels of satisfaction expressed for in local services is above that citywide, the only exception to this is with adult education and training where the satisfaction level of this neighbourhood is 8% below the citywide figure. West Midlands Fire Service achieved a satisfaction level of 85%; this is 12% above the citywide satisfaction figure.

Satis faction with Local Services

75%

85% 87% 87%81% 79%

54% 52%

37%

45%51%

44%

70%72%78%79%

72%74%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

West Midlands

Police

West Midlands

Fires Service

GP Surgeries NHS Hospit als Accident and

Emergency

Depart ment s

NHS Dent ist s Job Cent res Local Aut hor it y

schools

Adult educat ion

and t raining

including colleges

and Universit ies

Firs and Bromford City Wide

Source 2008 Annual Opinion Survey

Page 25: Executive Summary Firs and Bromford.pdf · 8 Based on the Birmingham Segmentation file there are 2,806 households in this neighbourhood area of Birmingham Segment group I (30.6%)

25

Neighbourhood infrastructure is limited within Firs and Bromford, with the third sector

especially under represented. However there is a well-established community association and there are a number of other small groups in the area.

Perceptions of community cohesion seem only slightly below that of the city, however a fewer people feel they can influence decision making compared to those citywide.

More advanced profiling of perception measures by different demographic, socio-

economic and segmentation groups, would allow more targeted interventions to be enacted with the support of neighbourhood managers

Key driver and multivariate analysis of at least at an overall neighbourhood level to identify causes and reasons for people’s answers

Page 26: Executive Summary Firs and Bromford.pdf · 8 Based on the Birmingham Segmentation file there are 2,806 households in this neighbourhood area of Birmingham Segment group I (30.6%)

26

Firs and Bromford Community Association covers the whole neighbourhood and was established in 1975. It manages the sports and community centre as well as general; issues within the community. It is open to all residents on the estate. The following cover smaller neighbourhoods within the wider neighbourhood:

Bromford Pensioners Group Bromford Bridge Church St Wilfred’s Catholic Church Ambridge House Residents group Bromford Youth Group

There is a lack of Community & Voluntary organisation presence and involvement on the estate. Current stakeholders on the estate comprise of:

Age Concern Worth Unlimited

Strengthening Community Cohesion is vital; a key factor in this is ensuring that residents agree that people from different backgrounds get on well together in their local area. Residents who feel engaged in a community are more likely to feel a sense of worth, which can in turn strengthen local democracy and governance. Active involvement by residents within an area can help to develop and share knowledge and skills, producing benefits both at a citywide and local level The Annual Opinion survey can also be used to gauge how each neighbourhood is performing against Community Cohesion (NI 1) and Community Engagement (NI 4) indicators within the LAA. 76.8% of respondents to the Annual Opinion Survey believe that people from different backgrounds get on well together (NI 1); this is 2.1% below the citywide figure. 34.2% of respondents within this neighbourhood believed that they could influence decision making (NI 4), this is 9% below the citywide total.

Page 27: Executive Summary Firs and Bromford.pdf · 8 Based on the Birmingham Segmentation file there are 2,806 households in this neighbourhood area of Birmingham Segment group I (30.6%)

27

Birmingham Opinion Survey Indicative Data for National indicators

76.8%

34.2%

78.9%

43.2%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

NI1 NI4

Firs and Bromford City Wide

Source 2008 Annual Opinion Survey

Gap 2.1%

Gap 9%

Residents expressing high levels of trust with regards to local people or institutions can provide a further insight into community cohesion. High levels of trust are more indicative of a community that can work together effectively. Using the Annual Opinion Survey to investigate levels of trust can help to identify where clear differences may lie between neighbourhood and citywide levels. Levels of trust in people and certain institutions within this neighbourhood are below the citywide levels. Trust in next door neighbours (14% lower than citywide figure of 74%), other people in your street (19% less than the citywide level of 54%) and young people in your area (16% less than the citywide figure of 31%) are all well below citywide figures. However trust in doctors, the council and faith leaders are all higher than the citywide figure of 71%.

Where a respondent trust specified people or institutions completely/ a lot

60%

35%

84%

15%

59%

49%55%

59%

48%

21%

74%

54%

31%

55%

30%

49%43%

71%

58%

51%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Next doorneighbour

Other peoplethat live in your

street (notimmediate

neighbours)

Doctor Young peoplein your area

Older peoplein your area

Faith leaders inyour area

Your council Local PoliceOff icers

Local ShopKeepers

Your HousingOff icer

Firs and Bromford City Wide

Source 2008 Annual Opinion Survey

Page 28: Executive Summary Firs and Bromford.pdf · 8 Based on the Birmingham Segmentation file there are 2,806 households in this neighbourhood area of Birmingham Segment group I (30.6%)

28