Lambeth Community Strategy
Consultation Draft
February 2004
Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................ 3
Facts about Lambeth............................................................................................... 6
Creating a Cleaner and
Greener Environment.................................................. 8
Making Safer Communities.................................................................................. 10
Investing in Children and
Young People.......................................................... 12
Supporting Healthy Citizens................................................................................ 14
Building Better Homes.......................................................................................... 16
Encouraging Enterprise,
Employment and Culture...................................... 18
North Lambeth......................................................................................................... 21
Clapham and Stockwell........................................................................................ 23
Brixton....................................................................................................................... 25
Norwood................................................................................................................... 27
Streatham.................................................................................................................. 29
Appendix One – Action Plan................................................................................ 31
The Lambeth Community Strategy sets out the long-term vision for the borough to 2015. The strategy and the accompanying action plan are designed to promote the social, economic and environmental well being of our residents. It provides a framework for joined up solutions and brings together existing plans and partnerships in Lambeth, helping to co-ordinate the delivery of services and share information more easily. It establishes a mechanism for planning for change and acts as a link between social, economic and environmental improvement.
The strategy is one phase of a continuous process. Future phases will be about delivery and continuous improvement. The current phase of setting out a strategy will enable us to use our existing resources better and allow access to sources of funding for improving Lambeth.
Lambeth will be an inclusive place where people are treated with fairness and respect. We will maximise the opportunities the borough can offer for the benefit of individuals, communities and Lambeth as a whole.
By 2015 the
The population and its density will increase with accompanying pressures on land, open spaces, transport, infrastructure and housing type and prices.
Lambeth will be a younger place with high levels of diversity. Two changes will develop – some parts of the borough will become more diverse, while other parts will continue the trend of gentrification. This could potentially lead to greater disparities between rich and poor.
All of these factors will have a huge impact on services – how we are going to provide them, where they will be provided and how well they are delivered.
This Strategy will manage the risks associated with these changes and enable us to respond flexibly to the changes and opportunities in Lambeth.
Lambeth First, the Lambeth Local Strategic Partnership (LSP), brings together the Council, the Police, Primary Care Trust, the community and voluntary sector, Lambeth College, local businesses, Jobcentre Plus, faith organisations, the Tenant’s Council, housing associations and resident representatives of the five town centres in the borough.
The Lambeth Community Strategy sets out the shared commitment of the Council and its partners for the borough. The government requires every borough to produce a Community Strategy. The strategy must describe how partners will promote economic, social and environmental wellbeing, give a long-term direction for the borough and include an Action Plan for delivery.
This Strategy is based on what our residents tell us are their priorities – the environment, community safety, children and young people, healthier citizens, better housing and encouraging enterprise, employment and culture. The Strategy sets out a long-term direction for Lambeth up to 2015. The Action Plan will help us begin delivering these long-term objectives.
Lambeth Council is responsible for the performance management of the Community Strategy. As the lead authority the council will ensure objectives are realistic and achievable and the action plan clearly establishes how to meet these objectives.
A lack of joint working at the local level is one of the key reasons for a lack of progress in delivering sustainable economic, social and physical regeneration in Lambeth and this strategy will help us to work more closely.
This strategy will be judged not by what it says but by what it achieves. Our residents want to see the objectives we have set turned into an action plan delivering positive results.
There are three aspects to delivering the plan:
· Locally co-ordinated action,
· Quality services, and
· Active citizens,
Services working together and working with residents will deliver better results.
There is already a lot of locally co-ordinated action – for instance, we have neighbourhood safety teams, town centre teams, local regeneration partnerships and voluntary sector networks and projects. The police, council and voluntary organisations are working effectively to improve community safety at the local level. Community-led initiatives, responding to local needs and solving local problems are a real strength of the partners in Lambeth First.
In many areas we are already working successfully at a local and area level – for example the Safer Estates Task Force has police, youth and community safety workers and housing staff is based on a local estate responding to residents’ needs. Local housing associations working to regenerate the estate are also involved. As well as estate-level work, joint service centres, town centre teams and housing Area Offices, are all successful examples of integrated service delivery.
Providing high quality services is the most important work of every public authority. We must build and maintain an infrastructure that works – healthcare, environmental improvement, good quality housing, proper transport systems and excellent education for our children.
Culturally sensitive services are vital and access to information and services by electronic and digital means are just as important. All our services must be accessible to people regardless of their background – services that give our residents value for money must be accessible and draw upon our commitment to equality.
Services are increasingly being challenged to enable access through computer networks and there is great opportunity to use electronic information and communication in a more collaborative manner.
Many of our services are working in innovative ways to increase access to their services. There is a major opportunity, through partnership working, to pool this expertise and develop shared approaches.
The communities of Lambeth have a long and proud history of voluntary involvement. Residents have told us how much they value being involved in developing the strategy and continuing to be involved as the plan moves from development to action. The amount of time people freely give to their community is impressive and underlines the importance of voluntary and community activity.
We have a strong culture of people helping themselves – for example refugees and newly arrived residents. There are already a series of networks and forums encouraging activity and involvement across Lambeth. Some are based on community locations such as Area Committees and Forums, some on shared interest such as Tenants’ and Leaseholders’ Councils and the Public and Patient Involvement initiatives of the Health Trusts.
Providing services that support communities to help themselves and enable them to work together will be the most effective way of delivering change.
Action: Ensure that
effective partnership and delivery arrangements are in place to deliver the
Community Strategy.
Action: Develop
a performance management framework for delivery of the Community Strategy.
Action: Maximise
the physical opportunities for joint service delivery.
Action: Increase
the delivery of services by electronic means.
Action: Ensure
inclusion and equality in the implementation of the Community Strategy.
Action: Involve
users in the development and delivery of services.
Action: Promote
collective action, self-help and volunteering.
For more information on this strategy see Lambeth First’s website at www.lambethfirst.org.uk or contact Ian Jackson on 020 7926 2462.
Lambeth is a place of contrasts. World-famous tourist landmarks sit alongside some of the poorest areas in the country. Diversity and tolerance for others are hallmarks of the area. Vibrant nightlife, bars and restaurants attract people to the borough. Crime, poverty and deprivation are problems to be solved, but there is a lot to be proud of in Lambeth.
Our streets are cleaner. Our schools are improving faster than the national average. New schools are being built. Crime is coming down. The creative and cultural industries are growing, with music companies, design companies and artists’ spaces proliferating.
Reducing inequality is a key aim for the partners in Lambeth First – and can only be achieved by cutting unemployment, tackling crime, improving the environment, raising educational achievement and reducing ill health.
We want to celebrate and promote Lambeth, showing its potential for investment. Most importantly, we want our residents and others to know what we’re doing to make Lambeth a safe and thriving place to live.
· 266,170 people live in Lambeth
· 118,440 households in the borough
· 38% of our residents are from minority ethnic communities
· 45% of people are aged between 20 and 39
Lambeth has the largest population of the inner
· 41% live in council or housing association properties
· 22% live in private rented homes
· 37% own their own home
Households with one person, not on a pension, far outnumber any other type of household.
· 72 primary schools, 10 secondary schools
· 157 languages spoken in schools
More places are being created at the secondary school
level. New facilities are being built at St.Martin-in-the-Fields in Tulse Hill,
· Population density of 99.2 people per hectare
· Life expectancy of 70 years for men and 80 years for women
· 71% of residents describe themselves as being in good health
· Street crime down 42% since 2002
· Crime still the biggest concern for Lambeth residents
Crime in Lambeth remains high compared to the rest of
central
· 64 parks and open spaces
·
Five major transport hubs
including
· 85% of street lighting needs replacing
· 46% of Lambeth residents are in full time employment
· 9,200 businesses in Lambeth
· 53% of all jobs in the borough are in the Cultural and Creative Industrial (CCI) sector - the CCI sector in the borough generates £654 million each year.
· Retail and hospitality (hotel, restaurants and bar) are the fastest growing sectors in Lambeth accounting for 19% of all employment,
· Business and financial services accounts for 28% of all jobs.
We will create and maintain well-designed,
safe, clean and accessible public realm. We will promote
a high-quality, integrated public transport network.
The quality of Lambeth’s environment is improving. But it needs to remain a priority where it is in poor condition. A low quality environment undermines the confidence of our residents and business and gives rise to crime.
Lambeth residents care about their environment and want to see their neighbourhoods improved, made safer, and more accessible.
In the recent residents’ survey, there was great dissatisfaction (56%) with the quality of our roads and pavements. Half of all the households in Lambeth don’t own a car, so it is understandable that residents also place improved public transport services high on their agenda. The need for improvement becomes particularly important when looking at the figures for car ownership:
· In wards such as Coldharbour, Vassall, Stockwell and Larkhall up to 89% of households don’t have a car;
· Over 80% of the borough’s pensioners and 62% of Lambeth’s lone parents don’t have a car;
· Three quarters of people in employment rely on public transport to get to work.
Car ownership is decreasing. Many households have a choice and now choose alternative means of transport such as walking and cycling. More people than ever need safe and accessible routes to reach the public transport network and ideally this should be close to their homes.
But Lambeth is dominated by routes serving
This isn’t just a local problem. Action is needed across
Many areas need substantial work to improve the environment. Streets are poorly lit and littered. Parks and open spaces need major investment. Roads and pavements are in serious need of repair. An environment like this undermines the confidence of residents and business and fosters crime.
In Lambeth 85% of the street lighting is below the national standard. The quality of lighting impinges directly on people’s perception of safety and where lighting is poor the fear of crime grows. Continued effort and investment in the quality of the public realm is needed to create and maintain safe, accessible, well designed attractive street environment.
· We will begin a programme of replacing 80% of Lambeth’s public lighting in April 2004, using £35.2m of government funds.
· We must continue to invest in street cleaning to create and maintain a safe, accessible, well-designed and attractive street environment.
· We need to lobby to improve the current transport network and improve the quality of services. Better integration, reliability, accessibility, safety and availability day and night will help improve our public transport system.
Lambeth manages over 64 open and green spaces,
representing an average of 9.87 square metres per person. This is low compared
to the national standard of 24 square metres per person. It’s a problem that
directly affects the health and wellbeing of our residents, especially in wards
such as
Our work to increase recycling in Lambeth is expanding. For example, the Lambeth Total Recycling pilot scheme began in October, covering 500 residents in the Clapham area. Despite the availability of local recycling facilities, before the scheme got underway residents were recycling in line with the borough average of 10.6 per cent of their rubbish. Four weeks later, a massive 50 per cent of the rubbish was being recycled.
Action: Introduce
new cleansing service.
Action: Introduce additional and improved
roadside arrangements for recycling.
Action: Commence street lighting replacement programme.
We will reduce crime and the fear of crime.
Crime in Lambeth is falling. Increased policing and concerted action by the Council, voluntary agencies and local communities have begun to make a difference. There is now a clear and sustained downward trend in street crime, burglaries, drug offences and motor vehicle crimes.
But crime remains high. The intensity of action and effort needs to be sustained.
Reducing crime and the fear of crime is a critical factor
in transforming the quality of life and well being of our residents. Crime affects
everyone, determining how people view their homes and neighbourhoods and
affecting the choices made in daily life. Crime has stigmatised Lambeth,
effecting our outside reputation and limiting our potential to attract
investment and take advantage of the opportunities of the borough’s central
Domestic violence in Lambeth is shockingly high. In 2002-03 there were 4,184 domestic violence offences, six of which were murders. In 2003-04 there have been 3,372 offences.
Equally shocking, women suffer on average 35 incidents of domestic violence before going to the police. Reducing domestic violence means enabling and encouraging victims to come forward. We need to increase the rate of reporting, using awareness campaigns, education, information and prevention measures.
Burglary and Street Crime are still high. In this year there have been 2,818 burglaries and 3,305 incidents of Street Crime. Good partnership working has already had an impact in reducing these figures but we are clear that reducing these crimes needs to be a key objective of this Strategy.
Lambeth is unique and diverse – and we do not accept racist or homophobic crime. We will reduce hate crime through increased reporting and preventative partnership working. Victims of these crimes frequently believe that nothing can or will be done and we need to work hard to change this perception.
We have had notable success against crack cocaine in the borough, but this momentum must be maintained to keep it off our streets. The council’s housing and legal teams will support police and other agencies in the campaign against crack.
Transport hubs in Lambeth are crime ‘hot spots’. Of all the people arrested by local police and referred on for drug related issues, half come from outside Lambeth. There is a perception that Lambeth is a place to buy drugs. We must reduce the drugs market, improve the environment around transport hubs, improve the treatment services available – and work to change the image of the borough.
On our housing estates we need to work together to reduce crime, antisocial behaviour and environmental degradation. The Safer Estates Task Force, launched in November 2003, shows how effective joint working can be when agencies act together, providing resources concentrating on reducing crime and the fear of crime on our housing estates.
Unfortunately, young people are disproportionately represented as both victims and perpetrators of crime in Lambeth. Drugs, violence and theft are the main offences. We must reduce young people’s involvement in crime through Improved educational attainment, support for the most vulnerable young people and increasing out of school hours activities. For example, summer and half term youth activities in 2003 reduced street crime in Lambeth by 20% on the same period in 2002 when these activities were not available.
Over the next 10 years all the partners involved in Lambeth’s Community Strategy, including local residents, will work together to reduce crime. We know that success will come from a number of approaches.
· Using our excellent data, so we know where and when crimes are committed and where the ‘hot spots’ are;
· Using problem-solving approaches with agencies and working together to improve environments that encourage crime;
· Taking appropriate measures to tackle anti-social behaviour and resolve the many issues that can result in crime;
· Promoting Warden schemes and more visible policing to provide greater confidence and community collaboration;
· Co-operating closely with agencies to target work on reducing particular crimes, such as closing crack houses;
· Encouraging collective responsibility to improve the local quality of life.
Action: Deliver
additional warden and park ranger schemes.
Action: Increase the means of reporting and
responding to racial and domestic violence incidents.
Action: Close down crack houses
We will enable children and young people to
enjoy life and achieve a successful progression to adulthood. We will enable
children and young people to value learning as a route to their health,
well-being, prosperity and future potential.
Lambeth is young. There are over 57,000 children and young people in the borough and this number is expected to rise to over 62,000 by 2006. The children and young people of Lambeth are our most valuable asset – not just for their potential but also for the energy, enthusiasm and vision they bring to the borough.
The progression from home to childcare, early years learning and into school provides many opportunities for children. Lambeth schools are vibrant and exciting places. Over 150 different languages are spoken. The school age population is even more diverse than the borough, with 80% of school children and young people from black and ethnic minority communities. However schools need to address the issues their pupils arrive with – issues often shaped by deprivation and poor physical and social environments. One in four Lambeth pupils have special educational needs. The same number has poor levels of literacy and numeracy. Four out of 10 pupils are eligible for free school meals.
The longer a child or young person stays in school the better they will do in life. But with many pupils moving in and out of the borough achievement can be significantly affected. Further, the achievement of children with English as a second language initially is much lower than children with English as a first language
It’s crucial we provide enough facilities and places for children: We aim to create 591 new childcare places by 2006. By 2010 our services will reach 8,840 under fives.
The creation of a network of Children’s Centres will help ensure every child gets the best start in life. It will ensure there are better opportunities for parents, that there is affordable and good quality childcare and as a result, stronger and safer communities. Positive experiences at home, in childcare and in early education, as well as health and family support, make a real difference to the life chances of every child.
Lambeth schools will continue to focus on underachieving groups. We must ensure standards are improved for all groups and that increasing numbers are included in the raised standards. A drop in achievement, attendance and behaviour often marks the transition between primary and secondary school, so we must continue to find ways of making this transition easier.
Around one in five 16-18 year olds are not in education, employment or training. We need to ensure there is more focus on this group. The work of Connexions, the Youth Service and a range of community and voluntary organisations is vital to encourage and guide young people. Currently, 70% of Lambeth pupils over the age of 16 stay on in education. Nationally this figure is 75% and we plan to improve our performance to above the national average.
We also need to develop a curriculum for those who may not be receiving their full educational entitlement due to mobility, exclusion or other factors. This ‘virtual’ curriculum, or school-outside-school, could help to fill an important gap.
In the face of these challenges Lambeth’s schools continue
to improve. New developments will continue this improvement, with more places
at the secondary school level and new facilities at St.Martin’s in the Fields
in Tulse Hill, Dunraven in Streatham, at the new Academy in Clapham and the new
Lillian Baylis on
New developments in schools are ensuring that the facilities that schools have to offer are extended beyond the school day to the benefit of pupils and the wider community. This will create a learning culture in our neighbourhoods and will ensure that schools are the hubs at the heart of strong and sustainable communities.
We are committed to setting up a Children and Young People’s Strategic Partnership to oversee the delivery of quality services. The Partnership will focus on vulnerable children and young people – those in care, in the youth justice system or excluded from school; or who are disabled or have learning difficulties. It will also co-ordinate services for children and young people across the borough.
We want two things to happen for our children and young people. Firstly, that the experience of growing up in Lambeth is a positive one, enjoyed, celebrated and lived to the full. Secondly, that children and young people grow into educated, employed, secure and healthy adults. It’s a challenge that we have set a number of objectives to meet.
Action: More
children achieving better results.
Action: Build
new secondary schools.
Action: Increase
the range of out of school services for young people.
We will improve the health and well being of Lambeth residents and reduce health inequalities.
Lambeth is the capital of
But many factors affect the health of local people.
Life expectancy for men is 73 years and for women, 80
years. The major causes of death in men under 75 are heart disease, stroke, injury and suicide. Rates of heart disease, cancer, diabetes and stroke are all above the national and
These high rates are seen across the borough, not just the
most deprived wards. There
are similar patterns for most causes of death and other measures of illness,
with Lambeth residents having higher rates than the
The outside environment has a drastic effect on the quality of people’s lives. Crime, poor housing, lack of work and money and poor nutrition can all reduce the health of our residents. Low quality housing is often central to our residents’ health, particularly if the problems are outside their control. High rents or mortgage payments can impact on health by reducing money for food, heating or normal social activities. Nuisance or noise from neighbours causes stress and can lead to social isolation. Lack of suitable accommodation can isolate people with disabilities and limit the independence of people with chronic health and social problems.
Work is usually good for a person’s health – as long as their income is adequate and they have reasonable control over their work. Individual loss of work is a stressful event. It increases the risk of health problems for our residents, partly through the impact on income and partly through the loss of peer support and status. The work environment can promote individual health by providing a healthy environment, supporting access to sport and leisure facilities, promoting healthy behaviour through smoking and alcohol and drug policies and through access to advice services.
Good community networks, involvement with local groups and organisations and a supportive social environment all contribute to better health and well being: places where people can meet, associate and organise are vital. But places accessible to local communities, such as schools and private facilities, are often closed to the public. We plan to set up community use agreements providing a programme of activities at a local level, targeted at specific needs and potentially delivered by local people.
Schools can be a major influence on health, both through education programmes and the influence of the school community. We plan to expand existing local initiatives, such as the Healthy Schools programme, free fruit in schools, safe routes to schools and ‘walking buses’.
We look at solving the problems of housing, environment and employment elsewhere in this strategy. We recognise they are central to improving the health of our residents and reducing health inequalities.
Closer working between agencies can produce many benefits for our residents’ health. Research has shown the economic cost of inactive lifestyles – lack of exercise can lead to serious health problems such as obesity, heart disease and diabetes. Government research has highlighted the economic costs of inactive lifestyles. For example, Sport England found that only 32% of the population undertakes moderate physical activity, about five 30 minute sessions each week. The resulting cost of this inactivity is obesity, coronary heart disease, diabetes and a range of other health problems.
Gardening, DIY and walking are
the most popular leisure activities. In Lambeth there is 115,000 square metres
of allotments – 81,000 of these in
Action: New
health centres.
Action: More
preventative services.
Action: Reduce
incidence of Sexually Transmitted Diseases
We want to increase the supply of affordable
housing in Lambeth and improve the quality of existing homes.
We have the fifth-highest population density in the country and we continue to grow. The Mayor of London’s target for new homes in Lambeth over the next 15 years is 29,000 – we think this is unrealistic and have set a target of 15,000 new homes to be built, half of which are to be affordable.
At the moment one in four council houses don’t meet the Government’s Decent Homes standard. At current costs it would take an estimated £265 million to bring all these properties up to standard.
In Lambeth over the last decade
there have been many changes in the population of the borough and the numbers
of people owning or renting their homes. There is a wide range of housing from
large Victorian and Georgian properties in Kennington to small workers’
cottages in Clapham, larger family homes in Streatham and one bedroom flats on
large housing estates. A lot of homes have been converted to flats, increasing
population density in areas like Brixton, Clapham,
As the demand for homes increase, so does the price. The facts illustrate the challenges we are facing to provide a home for everyone who wants one:
· At the start of 2003 the average house price was £233,000.
·
Property prices are rising faster
in Lambeth than in any other borough in
· In Kennington, the rent on a three-bedroom home has risen by 103% in the last five years.
People coming into the borough to buy or rent often have high incomes, while local people on lower incomes are effectively being priced out of the housing market. If they have the means and the choice, they are moving to cheaper areas south of the borough.
These supply issues, coupled with the impact of ‘right to buy’ has led to a reduction in available affordable housing, particularly in the north of the borough. There are now over 24,000 people on Lambeth’s housing waiting list and nearly half of the people on the homeless register have children.
A quarter of the Council’s housing stock doesn’t meet the Government’s Decent Homes Standard. One in ten homes in the private rental sector are considered unfit for living in. This low standard of housing affects people’s health, their ability to work and study and their quality of life.
People living in areas where there are large concentrations of social housing – for example in the Coldharbour and Princes wards – are more likely to have long term limiting illness, be victims of crime, underachieve at school and to be long-term unemployed. Residents from Black Caribbean and Black African communities are worst affected, with 68% of Black Caribbean and 71% of Black African residents living in Council or other social housing properties.
We know we have a long way to go to improve our existing housing. Providing better quality homes is central to improving opportunities for our residents.
Action: More affordable
homes
Action: Improve Council
housing
Action: Tackle quality
of life issues on estates
We will create a place where businesses and individuals
achieve their full economic potential.
Lambeth is a key part of the expanding central
There are wide disparities, both economic and social, between our residents. Research shows that some of Lambeth’s poorest residents live close to the most highly qualified and well paid people in the capital.
For Lambeth, the challenges and opportunities for our
economic growth and sustainability will be to compete as part of the
As in many other parts of
Between 1998 and 2001, jobs in Lambeth grew at the rate of
2.8% per year, compared with 2.2% a year across
Five of Lambeth’s wards were in the top 10% of employment
deprived wards in
Eight out of Lambeth’s 22 wards account for almost half the unemployment, mainly around Brixton and Streatham. New Deal and ‘back to work’ initiatives have benefited eligible groups – particularly young people – but other unemployed residents have fared less well.
In 2000 Lambeth was the 17th most employment-deprived
borough in
Low income and unemployment are clear indicators of deprivation. One in five households in Lambeth have a gross income of less than £10,000 a year. By contrast, almost another fifth have gross incomes of over £50,000 pa.
Lambeth has 9,200 businesses, 8,000 of which employ 10 employees or less. Town centres such as Brixton and Streatham have a wide range of minority ethnic-owned businesses. The local economy is expanding in the service sectors, notably in shopping, leisure and the night-time economy. Public sector employment, the second highest employment sector in Lambeth, has been diversifying through new forms of public service delivery.
The challenge for the future is to maximise opportunities for economic growth, particularly in the CCI sector and support local people into jobs.