Active Communities
Neighbourhood Renewal Assessment Manual 2004
This is the new guidance for Neighbourhood Renewal Assessment (NRA). It is a useful approach to systematically assessing local areas prior to regeneration or renewal.
Title: Neighbourhood Renewal Assessment: Guidance Manual 2004
Author: Office of the Deputy Prime
Minister
Date published: September 2004
Number of pages: 108 (summary 5)
What is Neighbourhood Renewal Assessment, and why has the guidance been updated?
NRA is an aid to decision making to help local authorities and other stakeholders to think through the options for an housing area to decide the most satisfactory or best course of action.
The new guidance replaces the original guidance first published in 1992 because both practice and policy have moved on considerably since then.
When should you use NRA guidance?
NRA is not a blueprint for all local authorities, it must suit local circumstances. Alternative approaches can be used if they involve a systematic consideration of options to address the problems of a neighbourhood.
NRA can be used:
on large-scale or small-scale housing based neighbourhood assessment
to decide the best or most appropriate course of action for:
one street or block of houses
or individual properties
to undertake a housing assessment as part of a wider neighbourhood renewal initiative
to form the basis of a neighbourhood or community plan
to help inform other area based regeneration activities.
What are the steps in the Neighbourhood Renewal Assessment?
There are 10 steps:
Step 1: Understanding the Wider Context
You need to understand the 'big picture' (national, regional, sub regional and local) within which priorities are developed and neighbourhood level assessment takes place.
Step 2: Deciding on an Area Approach and identify the Area/Neighbourhood
You should consider existing local housing and associated strategies, regeneration partnerships, and other neighbourhood renewal
activities, when deciding which approach is best.
Step 3: Team Selection and stakeholder involvement
A strong team leader is vital and should have sufficient authority to engage wide commitment and ensure that adequate resources are devoted to the many varied tasks involved.
Step 4: Setting Aims, Defining Objectives and Drawing the Boundary
Stakeholders need to think about the aim for the area and have a clear idea of what they want to achieve by taking an area approach. Determining aims and objectives should help to shape decisions.
Step 5: Information Gathering
This step will be ongoing and will need to provide information to assist in decision making in Steps 6 and 7.
Step 6: Option Generation and Option Selection
Identify different ways of dealing with the problems. The team should think
creatively and not be held back by existing policies and approaches.
Step 7: Option Development
The team produces a number of alternative option packages using the output from the information gathering exercise.
Step 8: Option Appraisal and Selection of Preferred Package
Stakeholders assess opyion packages and test them against the original
objectives. There are no rules for how the stakeholders should choose an option package following the option appraisal.
Step 9: Dissemination and Implementation
The final stage is to produce a fully costed plan. If a Renewal Area is to be declared the report will need to contain information specified by legislation. More than one report may be required to communicate the findings to different audiences.
Step 10: Monitoring and Evaluation
Once an option has been implemented, NRA can be used to evaluate its
effectiveness and to ensure the project remains relevant and appropriate.
What are the main changes?
The new guidance retains the same logical structure and core principles but has been updated to reflect changes to recent financial and policy frameworks.
The key changes reflected in the revised NRA Guidance Manual are:
Local authorities have more freedom and discretion as to how to use the funding available from the Single Housing Pot.
The Regulatory Reform Order (Housing Assistance) 2002 amends the Local Government and Housing Act 1989. It replaces legislation on renewal grants to homeowners, with a general power to provide assistance for housing renewal ( subject to local authorities having in place a published policy with other stakeholders and partners).
Greater emphasis on strategy and on partnership working.
Demand for housing in a neighbourhood should be better understood in the context of the local area. Without an understanding of the market, local actions may fail to achieve their desired outcomes. Assessments should be made using the 'Housing Market Assessment Manual' (ODPM 2004).
Consideration of both the environmental and economic sustainability of proposals.
What are the benefits of undertaking a neighbourhood renewal assessment?
NRA remains the primary tool for local authorities addressing areas of run down private sector housing. The approach may also help make decisions about public sector housing, mixed tenure neighbourhoods and for regeneration partnerships undertaking wider neighbourhood renewal.
NRA helps you understand and assess neighbourhoods by:
thinking about housing in a wider strategic context (e.g. in terms of supply and demand of housing in the region, sub region and local authority area)
helping draw boundaries around cohesive neighbourhoods
encouraging authorities to think broadly about possible alternative courses of action for renewal and to take account of both public and private sector costs
assessing wider neighbourhood sustainability factors, the quality of life in the area and joined up approaches
encouraging authorities to consider all of the land uses within the area they are assessing
encouraging the community to get involved at an early stage in the process
encouraging authorities to take into account the wide range of stakeholders who already have an interest in the area
building up a commitment by all concerned to work together on implementing the chosen strategy.
Last update: 15 October 2004