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News & Updates
Stockbridge Village: A Place To Be Proud Of
Tuesday 21st June 2011
Villages Housing Association and the Safer Knowsley Partnership are delighted to announce that the Stockbridge Village "Safer Communities Initiative" has won 3 awards at the National Housing Federation's North West "What We Are Proud Of" awards - including the overall winner for the North West. The SCI also won the Best Partnership and the Best Impact on Residents awards.
The Safer Communities Initiative (SCI) is aimed at making Stockbridge Village a safer place for residents to live and work. The estate, built in the 1960s, has gained a bad reputation in recent years with gang, gun and drug culture becoming more prevalent. Residents' trust in partners was also at a low point; therefore a partnership of Knowsley Council, Merseyside Police, Villages Housing and others launched the SCI in January 2010.
The partner organisations have worked together to target both the criminal element but also support community engagement and development. This targeted approach has successfully resulted in a number of criminals being convicted. Equally important, community confidence has increased with residents taking a more active role in the delivery of future services and ambitions for the area. In the first 12 months of the initiative, from January 2010 to January 2011, overall crime in the area reduced by 20%.
Vernon Jackson, Chief Executive at Villages Housing, said,
"The Partnership has worked very hard over the last 18 months to combat Anti-Social Behaviour and crime in Stockbridge Village. This award is recognition that the work that has been carried out has really made a massive difference to this estate and to the lives of the good, decent people who live here; the results are amazing. Hopefully people from outside Stockbridge will now start to realise what we have known for a long time; Stockbridge Village has many positive aspects, making it a good area to live and become part of a vibrant and expanding community. Villages and its partners are continually working with residents to improve facilities and services within the village. With Knowsley Council's £25 million regeneration project now well underway, Stockbridge Village has a bright future ahead of it."
Derek Long, National Housing Federation Assistant Director said,
"The 'What We Are Proud Of' awards celebrate outstanding projects run by housing associations across the country. Villages Housing Association with the Safer Communities Initiative is a fantastic winner of the regional award. The project highlights how through working in partnership organisations can help create safer and more confident communities in just a short space of time.
This year's finals showcase that associations in the North West really do have a great deal to be proud of. They are about so much more than bricks and mortar; they are all investing in individuals and communities throughout the region. We are delighted that Villages Housing will be representing North West at the What We Are Proud Of national final."
Inspector Dave Brennan, Merseyside Police Inspector for Stockbridge Village, said,
"The support we have received from residents has been instrumental to the successes we have seen in the area. We've seen some significant reductions in crime and anti-social behaviour in Stockbridge Village during the past 18 months, but we could not have done this without the help of the community and our partners. Feedback from residents indicates that they feel safer than they did 12 months ago, and consequently are much happier in their day-to-day lives."
David Coulson, Executive Director, Directorate of Neighbourhood Services, Knowsley Council added;
"This is an outstanding result for the Safer Knowsley Partnership. Stockbridge Village has gone through significant change over the last 18 months, the success of which is down to the great partnership we have and the relationships we've developed with the community.
The Safer Knowsley Partnership is committed to the community of Stockbridge Village and we will continue to support them as the regeneration continues."
As North West regional winner the project is entered into the national competition. The National winner will be announced at the Federation's Annual Conference in September.
You can now watch the film we created for the Regional Awards whcih showcases the benefits of this project., just type in the password niceday