Left-behind Neighbourhoods

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Left-behind Neighbourhoods

The Local Trust commissioned Oxford Consultants for Social Inclusion (OCSI) to develop new data analysis (summary report) to explore the difference that social infrastructure makes to outcomes in deprived communities.

Their experience of the Big Local programme indicated that social infrastructure – defined as  places and spaces to meet, connectivity (physical and digital) and community engagement – is a key determinant in the prospects of areas.

The research identified 225 ‘left behind’ neighbourhoods across England, which can be accessed in the links below. These are predominantly in post-industrial and coastal areas in the North and the Midlands. Their residents have markedly worse socio-economic outcomes than the residents of other equally deprived areas. This suggests the value and importance of social infrastructure. Residents in areas benefitting from it do better on all the key metrics: health, employment, education, skills and household income.

Within County Durham 16 ‘left behind’ neighbourhoods were identified (based on electoral ward boundaries) and the map below shows the location of these ‘neighbourhoods’ along with deprivation information.

List of ‘left behind’ neighbourhoods: Community Needs Index Score and Rank 2019 (XLXS; 625Kb)

Accessible list: Community Needs Index Score and Rank 2019 (CSV; 620Kb)

Direct link to the map below: Left-behind Neighbourhoods in County Durham Map

Other links: PovertyIndex of Deprivation 2019