Principal Findings and Recommendations

Funding

• The proposed Action Plans will need to be tailored to realistic funding opportunities.
  
• ERDF Objective 1 will be the primary long term funding opportunity for the project.
  
• Lead in funding to maintain momentum on the project will be essential.
  
• Income generation will be used to assist in the sustainability of the project.
  
• A multi-agency approach through partnership with active community groups will form the basis of the project.
  
• Areas of funding may include; ERDF, the Local Authority, charitable trusts, Welsh Office initiatives, the WDA, the national lottery distributors and the private sector.
  
• The Action Plans will be built on the success of existing local community and voluntary sector groups.
  
• A development strategy for the Urban Village proposal should be considered once the Community Partnership is fully established.
  
• The Local Authority and the WDA should continue to target support to the commercial and industrial activity in the area.
  
• A community resource centre should be considered to assist in the co-ordination of activities between existing/new groups, help target service delivery and identify gaps in provision.
  
• Healthy living initiatives should be considered as fundamental to the activities of the Community Partnership.
  
• An effective and representative management structure will be required to deliver co-coordinated action at a local level."
  
  

1. Education to improve individual and group opportunity
   
2. Employment to strengthen the local economy
   
3. Social facilities to improve access to services
   
4. Group action to foster community spirit and support individuals
   
5. Environmental improvement to benefit health and quality of life
   
6. Partnership to achieve the most effective results
   
   

“It is anticipated that projects will be generated according to the needs of diverse groups and individuals, aimed at tackling the root causes of social exclusion.

“The Youth Action Plan… will recognise that different age groups need diverse types of support and activities. The Plan will include playgroups and will target employment and training initiatives for young people up to the age of 25.

“Problems that the Action Plan will seek to address include:

· A lack of facilities for children of all ages out of school hours.
· The isolation of children in specific areas of the community
· Social deprivation and family poverty
· Lack of parental support e.g. homework support
· Lack of opportunity leading to disaffection
· Lack of involvement in sporting activities and informal recreational
· Lack of a meeting place for young people
· Petty crime and vandalism associated with groups of young people
· Poor relationship between elderly sections of the community and young people
· Perceived lack of parental control and discipline
· Youth boredom and isolation
· Easy access to drugs and alcohol and laissez faire attitude to the misuse of controlled substances

“The principal objectives of the Action Plan will be:

· To support the Community Partnership in the delivery of a Youth Action Plan including the provision/upgrading of facilities owned by existing groups or the Community Partnership
· To support and extend existing youth club and sports facilities into a youth project tackling the issues outlined in this plan, with priority for employment and training
· To encourage the development of the project involving children and young people in planning, managing and implementing their own projects
· To link with the Community Enterprise Project to create real jobs and target training.”

"The Action Plan will seek to build on the success of groups such as RCBI and RCDA to establish community business, business support structures and training initiatives as part of the overall regeneration strategy.

"The aims of the Community Enterprise Action Plan are:

• Halting the emigration of employed people and the consequent decline of the economic structure of the area
  
• Reducing crime by building on the work of RCBI
  
• Creating support groups for community action on a range of issues identified by the community
  
• Identifying and filling gaps in service provision
  
• Improving quality and choice in the housing market
  
• Caring for disadvantaged groups in society
  
• Promoting sustainable environmental improvement
  
• Creating employment through the provision of training and support for the development of micro businesses and community enterprise
  
• Promoting healthy living particularly among low income groups and the elderly
  
  

Suggested areas for inclusion are:

• Capacity building
  
• Training targeted at creating/supporting the employment needs of the community
  
• Involving the community in arts projects
  
• Social development and information access to service provision from all providers
  
• Employment created through small business development, work programmes and income generating activities
  
• Equal opportunities programme providing inclusion mechanisms and strategies tackling issues of child care, access to service providers, racism and language issues
  
• Administration of community resources
  
• Healthy living initiatives
  
• Promotion of local heritage initiatives
  
• Co-ordination of community led envorinmental improvement projects, recycling, fund raising and planning
  
• Community safety projects.
  
  

Action Plan 2003 recognises the value of the Pentre and Ton Pentre Action Plan and will continue to use its principal findings and recommendations to underpin the strategic value of new projects.

Future meetings will be for RCBI directors, staff members and/or representatives of RCDA member organisation only.

The only exception to this rule will be that the appropriate Area Regeneration Co-ordinators will be invited to attend in an advisory capacity.

Future emphasis will be on the continuing development of projects, and the setting up of action-oriented steering groups.

Key decisions and policy matters will be made at RCBI Directors and/or RCDA Management level. Approval of various reports will also take place at this level.

Steering groups may include relevant Agency or Local Authority members as appropriate.

There will be a revival of our bi-monthly newsletter to keep RCDA network participants and members of the general public informed about the progress of our key projects and other relevant matters.

These decisions recognise that the new role of RCDA must reflect our ongoing ability to meet Objective One targets by acting as a catalyst in the community, and by continuing to provide an independent mechanism through which local people and groups are enabled to work together for mutual and community benefit.The emphasis of our new Action Plan is to support local people who wish to contribute to neighbourhood regeneratoin processes by active participation in Project Steering Groups. Local people must be provided with appropriate opportunities to become involved in relevant planning processes, but the emphasis of Action Plan 2003 represents a shift from strategy (which will be provided the new Area Regeneration Partnerships) towards the dvelopment and delivery of community initiatives and locally supported projects. Past methods of working are still valid and should not be discarded. For example, the Pentre, Ton Pentre and Gelli Action PLan is still an important document and contains nothing that is incompatible with the new strategies and programmes now being put in place by our local authority. We can possibly contribute most to new strategies by continuing to develop projects that work effectively across Area Regeneration boundaries; we should therefore work with the new Area Regeneration Co-ordinators to the best of our ability, and should attempt to fit our projects into new Area Regeneration Action Plans as appropriate.