National Association of Neighbourhood Management - Neighbourhood Agreements: Practioners guidance

8/6/2019 National Association of Neighbourhood Management - Neighbourhood Agreements: Practioners guidance

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ContentsBecause youre reading this guidance,

chances are that youve been asked to manage

the development of a neighbourhood

agreement. In this guidance, we go over

some quick, simple steps that others have

found useful during the process:

CHAPTER 1 ....................................... 1

Introducing neighbourhood

agreements

CHAPTER 2 ...................................... 9

Getting started

CHAPTER 3 .................................... 21

Developing the agreement

CHAPTER 4 .................................... 31

Monitoring the agreement

CHAPTER 5 .................................... 41

Publicising the agreement

CHAPTER 6 .................................... 51Evaluating the agreement

NANM the national association forneighbourhood management

Produced by the NANM and the Institute for Public Policy Research(IPPR) based at the University of Manchester


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1 Introducingneighbourhoodagreements

This chapter provides the context

and background to neighbourhood

agreements. Here we cover:

What is a neighbourhood

agreement?

Who is involved?

What are the implications:

benets and risks

Some tough questions aboutneighbourhood agreements -

answered

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the

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oodagreements What is a neighbourhood agreement?

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A neighbourhood agreement is a deal betweenstakeholders in a dened neighbourhood in whicheach party makes commitments about how theywill help improve the area. Usually this means anagreement between local residents and providers oflocal services and amenities.

Agreements can also be excellent tools forcommunities to reach agreement among themselves.For example residents may agree with young peoplewhat actions would amount to antisocial behaviour.

Local agencies or service providers that typicallysign up to agreements include: New Deal forCommunities organisations; neighbourhood

management partnerships; local authorities; police;housing associations; voluntary and communitygroups; and other statutory service providers like theNHS or re brigade.

Agreements, charters and contracts

In this guide we use the term neighbourhoodagreement as this is most commonly used. Sometimesthese agreements are called neighbourhood orcommunity contracts or charters. The differencein terminology is due partly to these being locally-

led projects. Most people want to use words whichreect how the community and service providers in anarea see the agreement.

Some areas use different words altogether whichmean something locally. Coventrys Scoop thePoop is one example. The main idea is just tochoose language which doesnt sound bureaucratic,outdated or full of jargon

Making it relevant to your

community

We know of more than 50 agreements which arebeing implemented across the country. We knowof more being developed (including many by policeforces).

They all vary in content, tone, and style, witheach tailored to a specic communitys needs,circumstances and aspirations. Some cover a singleissue or service, others relate to a range of issues orservices. What they all have in common is that eachis a voluntary agreement setting out standards andpriorities which service providers commit to work to,and obligations that residents agree to take on.

Some communities make it clear that theirneighbourhood agreement is informal - ie it is

voluntary and based on trust and goodwill, ratherthan being a legal document. Others like the ideaof a bill of rights for their neighbourhood.

Who leads the process and what is

it like?

Staff from one public agency often take the leadin developing an agreement. They work with otherservice providers and with local residents in doing so.The person leading the process has usually workedin a community-based team and in communitydevelopment, public engagement, or anotherfrontline role. They should be someone who is at

ease working with senior managers and politicians,who can set up and facilitate public meetings,persuade service managers and other agenciesto support the process. They can write clearly andcreate excitement around the agreement.

The local residents who get involved are usuallyalready active in community groups, public forums,youth assemblies and so on - although it is betterif those leading on agreements try to get moreresidents involved. This will help raise awareness andensure that the concerns tackled by the agreement

reect the concerns of the community as a wholerather than just of a limited group.

Because much of the work in developing anagreement takes place in meetings and involvesdealing with written documents, it is likely to attractthose residents who are comfortable with these waysof working. However, some more practically-mindedresidents (especially younger people) are keen tobreak away from traditional bureaucratic processesand include meetings which are more practical and/or held outdoors in the process of developing theirneighbourhood agreement.

Resources

The main resource is time and effort mainlyfor the person leading the process and also forresident volunteers. The amount of time invested indeveloping agreements varies. It is better to decidein advance how many days can be allocated to theproject, over what period (usually six to nine months)and then work within that limit.

Costs of printing, design and meeting room hire can

be minimal. Teams usually assign a budget early on,and while this varies from team to team, it can be aslittle as 300.


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1.Introducingneighbourhoodagreements

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Hathershaw and Fitton Hill agreement

HEALTH MATTERSA HEALTHIER LIFESTYLE WITHIN THE HOME AND THE COMMUNITY

Neighbourhood Agreement

WHAT IS A NEIGHBOURHOOD AGREEMENT?

It is a contract designed and agreed by the residents and the providers

of services in the area. The service providers detail what they intend to

do and, how,where and when they will do it.The residents on their part

will have specific roles and responsibilities so that they can work with

the service providers to ensure the best possible outcome for both sides.

WHAT DOES THIS AGREEMENT COVER?

Using Medical Services & Access

Self Care &Training

Healthy Eating

Sport and Activities

Contraception and sexual health services Healthy schools

Help to stop smoking

Support with Mental Health Support for Drugs Problems

Support for Alcohol Problems

Supporting Carers - Young & Old

Supporting Disability

Healthy Schools

WHAT IS THIS AGREEMENT FOR?

This agreement outlines the joint actions that NHS Oldham,

Oldham Council, Oldham Community Health Services and

their partners will take together with residents to help make

Oldham a happier and healthier place to work and live.

WHO IS INVOLVED IN THIS AGREEMENT?

NHS Oldham

Oldham Community Health Services

Age Concern

The Drug & Alcohol Team (DAAT)

Oldham Addiction Dependency Solutions (ADS)

Oldham Alcohol Substance Intervention Service

Oldham Community Leisure (OCL)

Oldham Integrated Youth Services Brook

Oldham Personal Advocacy Ltd (OPAL)

Oldham Contraception and Sexual Health Service (CASH)

Residents

Welcome to the Health Matters Neighbourhood Agreement


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Neighbourhood agreements carry with them a raft ofbenets. But there are also risks to the process whichare helpful to be be aware of.

The benefts

Some public service managers see neighbourhoodagreements as a way to ensure they are meetinglocal need. Councillors may see them as a way tobetter understand what service providers are offeringto conrm their own assumptions about local needs.

So what are some of the main benets of developingneighbourhood agreements?

Increases satisfaction of residents with public

services and the local area generally

Enables residents to have more direct inuenceover local decision-making

Helps public services be delivered moreefciently, directing resources to where they areneeded most and in ways that better meet usersneeds

Improves communication and relationshipsbetween councillors, service providers andresidents directly involved in the agreement

Helps communities reach agreement amongthemselves about acceptable standards,behaviour and expectations

There is more information in this guide abouthow you might make the case for neighbourhoodagreements to different partners. A full evaluationof the neighbourhood agreement pilot programmerun by CLG between January 2008 and March 2009contains more information about their benets andis at www.communities.gov.uk.

The risksWhile we know neighbourhood agreements resultin many positive outcomes, there are also potentialrisks. People who have already developed anagreement highlight the following:

Local politics (small p)

Neighbourhood agreements are sometimes seen asa threat to democratic accountability. Often this isthe case where agreements are parachuted into thearea without the backing of ward councillor, and aretherefore seen as an intrusion on their work. This isusually avoided when councillors are involved fromthe early stages.

Also, if the person leading the process is seen asoperating outside a local authoritys political andmanagerial structures (for example in anotherpublic agency), they can nd it harder to win overcouncillors and senior managers. We have someideas on how you might do this in Chapter 2.

Service managers dont get it

The support of frontline service managers is crucialto the success of a neighbourhood agreement.Without them questions about resources and serviceentitlement will be virtually impossible to answer.

For some service managers a neighbourhood

agreement represents a way of working which isnew, and about which they need convincing. Othersmay support the process in principle but see itsupercially, not fully understanding the need toproperly involve residents. Even if this happensservice managers must be involved. Finding ways todo it without them usually means the agreement willnot succeed. Chapter 2 includes some ideas on howyou could get them on board.

You might not end up with a neighbourhoodagreement

The nal product of negotiating a neighbourhoodagreement varies widely. In a few cases it does notlead to an agreement at all. If this happens becausethose most closely involved start thinking that anagreement will not meet the objectives then theprocess should be re-assessed. That does not meanthe work done so far is wasted; in fact it will probablyhave increased understanding of what citizens want.

It might take longer than you think, or longerthan you have

Most people who have developed an agreement saysix to nine months is the right length of time to allowfor the process. In some cases it has taken longer after seven months one team was still holding earlydiscussions with residents groups because it tookthem longer than expected to gain the condenceand knowledge to go into detailed meetings withservice managers.

In other cases there was heavy pressure to developthe agreement in much less than six months. Fromexperience this is unlikely to be feasible but if thereis no choice, then the process may be scaled downeither in terms of geography (say by focusing on justa few streets), by covering one very specic issue, orengaging with fewer residents.

Neighbourhood agreements the implications
http://www.communities.gov.uk/http://www.communities.gov.uk/


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Part of the Barnsley agreement


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Who will check that these

standards are being met?How can I help?

A Monitoring Framework has been set up with the help of

local people living in Kendray

This framework will check whether or not the services and

the standards of service you are entitled to are being met

The Community Sustainability Officer based at Community

House is helping local people to get involved with this

initiative

If you would like to help or would like to become a

Neighbourhood Champion please ring 201898 or call in

at the Community House, you can also find details in the

Kendray Newsletter

The Kendray Initiative Board will be responsible for making

sure that any problems identified by the Monitoring

Framework get sorted out

BARNSLEYMetropolitan Borough Council

Helpline contactsRing Highways

01226 773555

Ring Street Lighting

01226 774200

Ring Waste

Management

01226 772045

Ring Environmental

Regulatory Unit

01226 772540

Ring Neighbourhood

Pride

01226 775656

Ring

Berneslai Homes

01226 775475

Ring EnvironmentalRegulatory Unit

01226 772540

Ring Safer

Neighbourhood Team

01226 736387

If you have problems with

Street cleaning / pot holes /

roadworks


Street lights / illuminated

signs


Refuse collection / wheelie

bins, recycling boxes/bags

Recycling centres


Abandoned vehicles or want

to get rid of your old car


Litter / fly tipping / graffiti

grass cutting / litter bins/

doggy bins /abandoned

needles /dead animals


gardens of empty council

owned properties

If you see people leavingrubbish, not cleaning up

after their dogs, allowing

their dogs to stray or fly

tipping

If you see people dropping

needles or doing graffiti

If you need a copy of this document in Braille, large print or on audio tape, please contact 01226 201898


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While developing the agreement you, as the lead,are likely to be asked a series of tough questions

by colleagues, councillors, service providers andresidents. Heres how a few people in your shoesanswered them (or wish they had):

Does an agreement result in cost savings?

Neighbourhood agreements can result in costsavings. By working with local people serviceproividers are able to identify which activities are themost effective and change those that arent.

For instance in one area y-tipping was a hugeissue. Because the community did not report it to

the council until the problem was severe, the cost ofclearing the area was much higher then if the initialy-tipping was dealt with straight away - as it now isfollowing the neighbourhood agreement.

Whats the dierence between a neighbourhoodagremement and the delivery plan?

Delivery plans should be used to complement andenhance the neighbourhood agreement process.While the former set out only what service providersneed to deliver and by when, neighbourhood

agreements dene a role for residents as well.

Will this reach beyond the usual suspects?

It can do, depending on the amount of time youhave to develop the agreement. Weve includedexamples of how some teams have engaged with awider cross section of the community than before.The wider the range of people involved the morerepresentative the agreement will be.

Will this raise the expectations o thecommunity?

In most instances neighbourhood agreements havenot raised the expectations of residents beyond theservice standard. It was often the case that localresidents didnt know what they were entitled to inthe rst place.

How will engagement be sustained ater theneighbourhood agreement is agreed?

The publication of the neighbourhood agreement is just the start of the process. From there work needsto be done to monitor and evaluate the agreement,and continue to engage and educate other residentsin using it. Local resident-run meetings should be

set up to oversee its monitoring.

Is the contract rhetoric or reality?

By signing up to the agreement service providersare committing to deliver their services to a certainstandard, which local people can hold them toaccount on.

Why should we be associated with services thatdont deliver/perorm?

The process for developing agreements gives serviceproviders an opportunity to openly discuss what theyare able to deliver, and nd out how that ts with

local need. It is also a chance for service providers toexplain the limitations they are working under, andmanage the expectations of local communities andpartners.

What i the community want service standardsthat are not achievable?

Through the negotiation phase of the agreement,residents and service providers will discuss servicestandards and develop an understanding for what is,and isnt achieveable.

Do agreements include a political agenda?

Becoming involved in neighbourhood agreementsgives residents the chance to get involved in politicswith a small p. They also provide local councillorswith an opportunity to help with the monitoring oflocal services. However, they should never be seento belong to one group of people as this could affectthe sustainability of the agreement.

Are agreements just about getting thecommunity to do the job o the public sector?

Agreements are not about shifting the work of thepublic sector onto residents. Sometimes local peoplechoose to take a more active role in service delivery,believing that their contribution is vital to improvingthe local area.

Agreements can open a dialogue between residentsand the people running public services day to day.They give residents more options to deal with localissues. They are also a great way of working acrossintergenerational and cultural barriers. All ages andbackgrounds want to live in a safe, clean environmentwith services that are reliable and easy to contact.

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Neighbourhood agreements - tough questions


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Is it right to allow dierent neighbourhoods tohave dierent standards/resources?

Neighbourhood agreements are not abouttransferring resources from one area to another.Instead they are about developing smarter ways ofworking in a given area and communicating that tolocal people.

Do agreements result in efciencies?

The evaluation of the CLG pilot programme foundthat agreement led to the reallocation of resourcesto better reect the wishes of the citizen. This was

often also a reallocation to areas of greatest need.Both of these changes resulted in improvements toservice quality as well as resident satisfaction withservices.


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AN AGREEMENT ABOUTPARTICIPATORY BUDGETING

In Stoke Aldermoor, Coventry, the council worked with

local people to produce a neighbourhood agreement

committing the council to continue participatory

budgeting for another year.

The south neighbourhood management team agreed

to facilitate participatory budgeting events, provide

the community with up-to-date data and ensure that

the process was open and transparent. Residents have

pledged to be actively involved in the monitoring,

evaluation and review of participatory budgeting,

encourage as many people as possible to be involved

and to alert the ofcers when things are not working.


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2Getting startedIn this chapter, we go over some quick,

simple steps that others have found useful

when in the early stages of developing a

neighbourhood agreement:

Project planning: what needs to be

done and when?

Choosing the focus of your

neighbourhood agreement

Involving the community

Convincing stakeholders to get

involved

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the

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oodagreements Project planning

Most projects you manage probably have a projectplan - a clear outline of what needs to be doneand when, including notes about key stakeholders

and external inuences which have the potential tosupport (or delay) the development of the initiative.

There isnt a one-size-ts-all approach to planningneighbourhood agreements, and project plans varysignicantly in format and content. Factors like yourown capacity, external resources, the amount oftime available and the existing level of community

involvement have an impact. But there are a fewthings that you might want to consider whendeveloping a project plan for your neighbourhood

agreement:

When do you want to engage with local peopleabout the neighbourhood agreement?

When do you want to bring residents and serviceproviders together to discuss it?

When does the agreement need to be drafted by?

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A neighbourhood agreement can work anywhere.Most agreements to date have focussed on a lower-income neighbourhood, or an area identied as apriority for the lead organisation. Those who focuson lower-income areas argue that this helps balanceresources more fairly across better-off and less well-off neighbourhoods.

Agreements have also been developed in urban andrural areas and in unitary and two-tier local authorityareas. Social housing providers usually focus ona neighbourhood or estate, or sometimes a few

streets.

Geographical area

A neighbourhood agreement almost always relatesto a specic geographical area. You might havealready decided on this - it will probably matchan existing area committee boundary, the localitymanagement team area, a parish council area, ward,or something similar.

The geographical area will determine what

population size the agreement relates to. We knowof one agreement which covers a street of just 26houses. Another relates to a council ward with apopulation of 17,500 and one even covers a localauthority area of 110,000 population.

Think about what you want to achieve and whatpopulation size or geographic area is the mostappropriate.

What do you want to achieve?

An agreement can achieve some or all of thefollowing:

1. Improving a particular public service, like refusecollections

2. Sorting out specic problems such as anti-socialbehaviour in the park

3. Improving satisfaction with public services andlocal democracy. For example whether people

feel they can inuence local decisionsWe have assumed that you know, broadly speaking,why you want to develop an agreement and whatyou and the others involved hope to achieve. Whatyou might not have done yet though, is decide whichissue to focus on specically.

Choosing a ocus or your agreement


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2.Gettingstarted

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Selecting a specifc issue with

residents

Identifying what issues to focus on in the agreement isone of the most important parts of the process. Someteams decide to develop a neighbourhood agreementin response to an event in the community (such as ahigh prole incidence of anti-social behaviour), or theresults of a survey (which might have revealed lowsatisfaction with the local environment).

However it is vital that this part of the process isresident-led. For those wanting to improve publicsatisfaction with public services and local democracy,consulting on the remit of the neighbourhoodagreement will help do that.

To date, residents have usually wanted to focus onimproving the local environment, community safetyand anti-social behaviour, health, or housing. Otheragreements have focused on issues relating tospecic age groups, for example young people orolder people.

Formats or consultation

All sorts of methods are used to consult residentson their priorities for a neighbourhood agreement.They include large scale community events, high

street information stalls, on-line or electronic voting,specic neighbourhood agreement meetings,dedicated surveys and face-to-face meetings.

Generally speaking practitioners suggest piggy-backing on existing activities which provideopportunities to consult - rather than spending timepersuading local people to take part in somethingnew. These events are also a chance to identifyresidents who might be interested in getting moreclosely involved.

SELECTING A THEME

In Plains Farm, Sunderland, the Home Group RSL, was

about to start a major refurbishment of homes and

realised that an approach which looked beyond pure

physical regeneration was needed. A neighbourhood

agreement was seen as a way of achieving this.

The team consulted extensively with residents,

undertaking door-to-door surveys and estate

walkabouts, and attending existing forums and group

meetings to talk about local issues. Local people

were also invited to contact the team via a newsletter,

leaets and the local press. Having analysed the

material collected, the team decided to focus the

agreement on cleaner, greener and safer issues.

In the Hathershaw and Fitton Hill neighbourhood of

Oldham, the main aim of the agreement was to help

local people feel they could inuence how services

were delivered. The intention was to produce a series

of agreements, each focusing on a different issue. It

was important that the theme for each agreement was

set by local residents.

The councils regeneration team began by writing to

local people and holding a public scoping event. They

contacted everyone they had come into contact with

in the area and 300 people replied. A day long public

meeting was held in which the morning session was

solely for residents with other partners joining them

in the afternoon. In this way residents set the agenda

and the themes for a set of ve neighbourhood

agreements were set: environment, crime, housing,

community and health.


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Involving the community You probably already have some experience ofcommunity engagement, whether in establishingcommunity forums and working groups, setting up

residents meetings, or creating roles for local citizensin decision-making. So here we focus on what youneed to know in relation to developing an agreement,and not on best practice in community engagement -on which a huge amount has already been written.

Levels o involvement will uctuate

Community engagement in the neighbourhoodagreement process will be like a funnel wide atrst, then later, much narrower. At the start youmight hold public events to publicise the process

and agree themes. You are likely to nd it fairly easyto attract a large number of local people.

But when the process gets into the detail and theagreement is being negotiated, youre likely to beleft with a smaller core group of people. This doesntmean the process is going badly. It just means manypeople want to know the basics of what is goingon, but fewer have the time and appetite to stayinvolved.

You can enable people to be involved to differentdegrees from attending meetings and getting

involved in negotiations, to just being on the mailinglist to receive regular updates.

You might also decide to hold working sessionswhich break the traditional meeting format in orderto attract people who are more practically-minded.For example you could have meetings in the formof street briengs, or as practical sleeves rolled-upafternoons where people are asked to start writingsections of the agreement. Activities could alsobe timed to suit different people with a mix ofweekdays, weekends, evenings and working hours.

Describing neighbourhood

agreements

Neighbourhood agreement isnt a term most peopleare familiar with so the rst step will involve raisingpeoples awareness of what it is and why one is beingdeveloped. These are some ways neighbourhoodagreements have been described to local people:

To let you know, as a resident o Castle Vale, thelevel o service you can expect to be provided in

Castle Vale, what is expected o you as a resident oCastle Vale and to tell you how these services can bechecked

Castle Vale, Birmingham

Charters represent a two-way voluntaryagreement which provides a way or communitiesto get involved and infuence the way services are

developed and delivered. Charters clariy who doeswhat, what decisions can be infuenced and how allresidents can help to make improvements in theirneighbourhood.

Plains Farm, Home Group

This Neighbourhood Agreement is a writtenagreement between service providers (WestMidlands Police and Coventry City Council)and residents o Foleshill (through the FoleshillCommunity Saety Forum). The agreement lists anumber o commitments by service providers to

address crime and saety issues in Foleshill. It alsolists the roles and responsibilities o residents andbusinesses in the area.

Foleshill, Coventry

Generating local publicity

Press releases and readymade articles will helpget the message into the local press. You can putstories in your own newsletters and those of partnerorganisations. Leaets and posters about theagreement are also sometimes used.

Talking to residents

Face-to-face contact with residents will give you theopportunity to talk about the agreement, get someinitial feedback on priorities, and build up interestamong the community.

One common approach is to give presentations toneighbourhood groups, parish councils, tenantsand residents associations and neighbourhoodmanagement board meetings. Other approachesinclude:

Approaching people outside supermarkets,schools or at bus stops, to ask what their localconcerns are

Thin-le-days where the quiet majority ofhousing tenants who have nothing on their leare targeted to nd out their views

Getting school children involved as a routeto parents for example a themed drawingcompetition to show My perfect neighbourhood

Using online social media to generate debate andcontributions, such as blogs, Facebook and Twitter

When people submit a complaint about localservices asking if they want to help improve

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A press release following the rst LewishamAssembly meeting

2.Gettingstarted


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Fairstead Neigbourhood Charter - Bulletin 3

Summary of discussion 18th March 2008

Play Areas and Parks Ask Children and Young People what they think about the

play areas and open spaces on the estate.

Ask Children and Young People to help look after play

areas by putting litter in the bins and not spoiling

equipment and fences with graffiti.

Ask parents and grandparents to help by encouraging theirchildren to think about others when they are playing on

grass and open spaces near houses so that peoples

property is not damaged and elderly and vulnerable peopleare not frightened by the noise or groups of young people.

The Council and Police will look to put in place bylaws that

cover all play areas and will help them to take action

against antisocial behaviour in play areas.

We would like enforcement measures to be used as a last

resort.

Traffic - Parking, Speeding and Street signs The County Council, Freebridge, Police and Borough

Council will work with residents to draw up an action plan

to better manage parking on the estate.

The Police will do speed checks in the main problem

areas, we think these are; Winston Churchill Drive, William

Booth Road, Silver Green, Pandora and Five Elms.

Residents can help by working with the Police to set up a

community speed watch project. The Police and Residents will work together to ask the

County Council to put in place a 20 mph speed limit on theestate.

The Borough Council will give advice about how to

improve street and road signage so that it is easy to find

an address anywhere on the estate.

Communication Include a map of the area covered by the Agreement.

Include a list of really useful numbers and make it clear

what each number is for, for example, Clean Up Line or

the Police non-emergency number.

Include a section about who to contact about the Charter

and how people can get involved.

If you are unable to make these

dates and would like to putforward your ideas and

suggestions, please do get intouch with any of the

following;

Wally Glynn or any member ofFairstead Area Neighbourhood

Group;Tel: KL 692 400 Or call into the

Community Shop,Monday to Friday 9-3pm

Cllrs Ian Gourlay or MargaretWilkinsonTel: KL 770 025 or 766 531

Email: Cllr.Ian.Gourlay@West-

Norfolk.gov.uk orCllr.Margaret.Wilkinson@West-

Norfok.gov.uk

Vicky Etheridge,Neighbourhood Manager

Tel: KL 763 756 Or Email:Vicky.Etheridge@west-

norfolk.gov.uk

Other points to tell you about We think it is important to get as many residents as possible to actually sign the Agreement;

Residents and Service Providers will work together to monitor and review the Agreement, they will meet regularlyand go on estate walkabouts to see what progress has been made and what issues are still outstanding;

We will hold an Annual Review which all residents will be invited to attend and contribute to;

What happens next? We will produce a draft Fairstead Community Agreement for everyone to look at and comment on;

The Negotiators will meet again to agree a final document, they will consider all the comments that people make on

the draft document and take these into account;

We will meet with Children and Young People to find out their views and ask for their help to make the

Agreement work;

We will hold a public event to launch the document

Have your sayYou are invited to come to one of three events on;

Wednesday, 16 April, 9.30-11.30 a.m.

Thursday, 17 April, 3-5 p.m. and 6-8 p.m.

Come and put forward your ideas, these events will be informal (not like meetings)

and you will have the chance to talk to the resident negotiators, your ward

councillors, and the service providers, such as the Police, Borough Council,

County Council Highways Department and Freebridge Community Housing.

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A yer from the Improving Neighbourhoods teamin West Norfolk, summarising the negotiation forpeople who did not attend the meeting

Neighbourhood Agreement for Felling

Felling residents are being given the chance to create a

Neighbourhood Agreement for their area.

Residents in Brandling, Felling House and Stoneygatewill help to develop a Neighbourhood Agreement

that sets out how residents and the council will work

together to improve local issues.

This will include learning more about what public

services are delivered in the neighbourhood, and how

local people can make the area a better place to live.

Dont miss your chance to get involved - look out for the

events happening in Felling over the next few weeks.

Felling residents have already started work on their

Neighbourhood Agreement

Article as published in a local newsletter


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2.Gettingstarted

Identiying the stakeholders

This is crucial: if residents, local service managers,and elected councillors (both at ward and cabinetlevel) are not jointly involved in developing the

neighbourhood agreement, it is unlikely to deliverreal benets or survive in the long term.

Mapping stakeholders

Very early on, you need identify the right people tobe involved, who can contribute to key discussionsand decisions. This should be reviewed regularly,because as the project progresses you might needto bring in other people. For example, if you recruita group of adult residents and this leads to focusingon issues around a local school (like opening up

facilities to other uses, or pupil behaviour enroute toschool), then it makes sense to then go and recruitschool age residents and teachers to contribute tothe process.

Initially it may be worth brainstorming who thestakeholders are for the agreement and mappingthem out. You can use the same exercise to thinkabout which member of your own team is bestplaced to engage with which organisation. Forexample you might already have a good contact inthe police, but it may be your colleague who is best

placed to go and speak to the Friends of the localpark group.

As a team youll need to decide which stakeholders toinvolve rst. Here are some things to keep in mind:

Whose buy-in is essential? Whose is desirable?

Does the person you are contacting needpermission to be involved from someone else?

Who could block progress - or increasemomentum - by being involved?

How well do they know you? Have you haddealings with them before?

The aim of these initial conversations is to getagreement to take the idea forward, not to go intodetail about content.

A one-page brieng is a very useful way of setting outkey information about the agreement for stakeholdersand answering questions like:

What does the agreement mean for them?

What could they get out of a neighbourhoodagreement?

What might their reservations be?

How does it link to their existing targets andcurrent challenges?

How will the agreement impact on the widercommunity/ or individual community groups?

A STAEHOLDER MAP

highways

wasteremoval

older people

young peoplecommuters

neighbourhoodpride

children

ENVIRONMENTAL

SERVICES

LOCAL HOSINGASSOCIATION

LOCAL BSINESSES

LOCAL CONCILLORS

LOCAL COMMNITY

parkswardens

students

Streetscene

Grant to callSusan at RSL

Loma to get theneighbourhood

agrement as an itemon the Environmental

services workinggroup meeting

developing a cleaner,greener argument


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Securing commitment from elected councillors,both at ward and cabinet level, is vital to ensurewider stakeholder engagement. We dont think it is

possible to develop a viable agreement without wardcouncillors in particular being involved in the processfrom an early stage. Those who get them involvedlate in the process tend to nd it much more difcultto get their support.

One-to-one meetings with ward and cabinetmembers are often the best way to explain what aneighbourhood agreement is and how it will helpthe council and local people. The type of supportyou might get from councillors might include:

Being quoted in a press release to the local paper

explaining what an agreement is, and why thecouncil is doing it

Introducing the neighbourhood agreement atcommunity consultation events

Making calls to difcult partners, or their allies

Championing the agreement at cabinet meetings

Leading the signing of the agreement at thelaunch event

Writing the foreword of the nal agreement

Building on their relationships with residentsand service providers to better understand the irwants or limitations on delivery

If the agreement covers services delivered by the localauthority then you will need support from the cabinetor executive. Getting the council leadership, the chiefexecutive and even the local MP on board signals to

stakeholders how important the agreement is, andhelps ensure commitments are met.

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EPLAINING THE BENEFITS TO COUNCILLORS

Neighbourhood agreements have enhanced relationships between the councillors and citizens involved.

In West Norfolk, a councillor was pleased that residents had begun to learn that there are limits to funding, and

no longer demand unattainable things. They have realised that there are limits, yet they have stayed involved.

In Oldham, a resident involved in the working group said: we are on rst name terms with the old chief

executive, councillors and senior directors. They are open and willing to talk.

A ward councillor in Oldham said: We used to have community committee meetings that were slanging matches

with the police. Now there are Key Individuals Network meetings, residents come, there is less moaning and

whinging, residents bring issues and feel listened to.

Neighbourhood agreements can help to reduce contact between citizens and elected members on specic

issues by enabling the public to deal directly with service providers.

In Asheld, one councillor noted: I dont get as many complaints now from people as I used to. I presume

its the neighbourhood teams doing a good job one councillor who was very verbally against the Contract

at the start actually phoned me up to say what a difference it was making in her ward.

A councillor in Brighton said: The process of developing and publicising the contract was an intense way of

bringing the neighbourhood together it has enabled people to contact services directly without the help of

ward councillors.

Neighbourhood agreements help promote the work of the council and councillors.

In Oldham, the neighbourhood agreement included details of the role of councillors because people were

not aware of what their role involves. The information was drawn up by a local councillor, in consultation with

other councillors across the borough.

In West Norfolk,a councillor said: The main benet of the contract from an agency point of view is better

working together, for example, with [the housing association]. It focused minds. Demand for sorting out the

land ownership issue came through loud and clear from the public!


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2.Gettingstarted

Paper to cabinet in Barnsley

(Report Ref. No)

Report to Cabinet (purple): 2 January 2008

Report of the Borough Secretary

Stronger Neighbourhoods Initiative (for New Lodge and Athersley)

Neighbourhood Charter

1. Purpose of Report

The purpose of this report is to advise Cabinet that the Stronger

Neighbourhoods Initiative for New Lodge and Athersley, has been selected as

one of the Governments 12 national pilots for the development of a

Neighbourhood Charter, and linked CLG/LGA Community EmpowermentAction Plan.

2. Recommendations

It is recommended that Cabinet:

2.1 Welcomes the Neighbourhood Charter pilot status given to the New Lodge

and Athersley Stronger Neighbourhoods Initiative (SNI).

3. Introduction/Background

3.1 The Government announced the launch of a national CommunityEmpowerment Action Plan Building on Success on 19 October 2007. It is a

joint action plan

for Communities and Local Government and the LGA to take forward the

Community Empowerment agenda. It forms an important strand of the

Governments overall strategy for constitutional renewal, as set out in the

Governance of Britain Green Paper.

3.2 The Action Plan sets out Governments work towards three key outcomes: Greater participation, collective action and engagement in democracy Changes in attitudes towards community empowerment Improved performance of public services and quality of life


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The content of the agreement will have to benegotiated with the managers who run the servicesit relates to. So service managers in local authorities,policing authorities or housing associations and otherpartners need to be part of the process as soon as itbecomes clear what the agreement is likely to focuson.

Ways in with service providers

If you already have good relationships with the rightservice managers it will just be a matter of picking upthe phone or arranging a time to meet. With othersyou will have to establish new relationships.

You will need to invest more time in nurturing new

contacts. Its a good idea to send them your one-page brieng explaining the background prior toany face to face meetings. For those whose buy-in isdesirable but not essential, the one-page briengmay be enough or you could hold a group brieng.

You might also want to think about whether youwant to invite a resident or ward councillor to helpyou explain the agreement to service managers. Beprepared to answer some tough questions on theneighbourhood agreement:

What does the agreement add to activities

already happening such as neighbourhood teamsor forums?

Will this process reach beyond the usualsuspects?

Is the agreement just a PR exercise?

Will this raise expectations of the community andcreate increased demand instead of efciencies?

How will engagement be sustained after theagreement is nalised? Once it is published doesthat mean the job is done?

Wont this just draw more attention to servicesthat dont deliver to the level residents expect?

What if the community want service standardsthat are not achievable?

Is it right to allow different neighbourhoods toreceive different standards or levels of resources?

How will we get people not involved indeveloping the agreement to be bound by it?

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EPLAINING THE BENEFITS TOSERVICE PROVIDERS

Neighbourhood agreements improve service

performance.

The CLG evaluation found that they did this

through the negotiation of service standards and

intense scrutiny of service performance, renewing

the attention paid to existing standards. Contracts

acted as a spotlight and a form of neighbourhood

regulation or local scrutiny on how well existing

service standards were being achieved.

Neighbourhood agreements lead to efciency gains.

From the CLG pilot agreement evaluation: They

led to re-allocation of resources to better reect

the wishes of the citizen. This was often also a

reallocation to areas of greatest need. Both of

these changes resulted in improvements to service

quality and resident satisfaction with services.

Agreements focus on, and often t in with, previously

agreed priorities and strategies

Neighbourhood agreements could be part of

a broader policy in a local authority to devolve

power to neighbourhoods. If thought about early

enough there is potential to mesh agreements

with authority and sub-regional strategies.

Residents involved develop more realistic ideas

of what they can reasonably expect from the local

authority.

Agreements have enabled better management of

expectations between services, councillors and the

residents who were directly involved in developing

the agreement.


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3Developing theagreementBy now you will have had discussions

with residents about the agreement and

jointly decided on a theme. You have also

probably started to think about specic

issues the agreement might focus on, andgot agreement in principle from service

managers and local politicians to its

development.

The next few sections are all about

building awareness of the neighbourhood

agreement and then the heart of the

process in our view - negotiating the detail

with the community and service providers.

We cover here:

Deciding the scope of the agreement

Clarifying what residents are already

entitled to

Managing negotiations between

residents and service providers

Writing the agreement

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Now that youve raised awareness and generated

some interest around the neighbourhood agreement,the next stage is to drill down into the specics.For example, if the theme of the neighbourhoodagreement is the cleanliness of the neighbourhoodthen you need to explore with residents wherethe agreement can make a difference. It might bearound street-cleaning, tackling grafti, preventingy-tipping or cleaning up abandoned patches ofpublic land.

Exploring the issues might even reveal that the realproblem is something else. For example, solving a

daytime litter problem might actually relate more todealing with an issue of street drinkers congregatinglate at night.

Deciding on the scopeo the agreement

In theory, the process of clarifying what level ofservice the public is already entitled to should be

relatively simple.

But in reality it is complicated because few publicservices dene service standards in simple terms.They often focus on the mechanics rather thanoutcomes. So rather than stating: we will aim toresolve your issue within 24 hours 90% of the time,they say we will answer your call in less than 30seconds.

Another problem is that important words are oftennot dened. To the right is an example of a streetcleaning service standard containing words andphrases which are ambiguous. For example, it is notclear whether urgent refers to a situation wherethere is immediate danger, or just that someone isseverely inconvenienced. Similarly, what coutns aslitter - fallen tree branches?

You could ask residents to go through a proposedstatement of entitlement and highlight ambiguitiessuch as these.

It is vital to know what the current commitment isbefore discussing any different commitments for theneighbourhood.

Clariying residentsentitlements

CLARIFYING SERVICE STANDARDS

Ambiguous words and phrases are underlined below

What can you expect? Normalofcehoursare8am5pm,

MondaytoFriday Forurgentwork,youcancontactus

outofhours Werespondtoallenquirieswithin5

daysofinitialcontact Wherethereisarisktothepublic

wewillrespondwithinamaximumof5hoursofbeingnotied

Wewillprovidearangeofservicestokeeptheroads,pavementsandotherareasthecouncilisresponsibleformaintaining,cleanandtidy

In doing this, we will Cleanallmainshoppingroadsdaily Cleanareaswithlitterproblems

onceeachdayMondaytoFriday Cleanresidentialroadsona

scheduledbasis Cleansubwayseveryotherday

(excludingBankHolidays) Cleanroadsidegutterseveryday

inthetowncentre,onceaweekonmainshoppingroadsandothersonascheduledbasis

Ensureastreetisfreeoflitter,dogfoulingandotherrubbishimmediatelyaftercleaning

Emptylitterbinseverydayinthetowncentre,weeklyelsewhere

e.g.?

e.g.?

do residentsmake thisdistinction?

whichareas?

whereis theschedule?

CONSULTING ON THE REMIT

In Ramsey, Huntingdonshire, the neighbourhood

management team knew residents saw anti-social

behaviour as a major problem. It convened a mini-

working group of local residents and public service

managers to develop a neighbourhood agreement.

The rst meeting sought only to agree a process for

and identify which skills each person could contribute.

It was agreed that local residents would meet again

without the managers, to identify the priority issues.

At the second meeting it became apparent that what

residents were really concerned about was the lack of

things to do in Ramsey. This reframing of the problem

may not have happened had service managersidentied priorities. Many assumed street scene was

the issue and may have inuenced the focus of the

agreement.


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3.Developingtheagreement

24

Negotiations betweenresidents and serviceprovidersWhen is the best time to bring together residentsand service managers to start discussing the detail ofwhat goes in the agreement?

Some teams nd that if you invite residents andservice providers to a meeting at the very start ofthe process, both groups can feel uncomfortable.Service managers feel they are being put on thespot, and residents may be concerned that servicemanagers will set the tone and detail of what goesin the agreement. But bringing them together

later on when each group has developed a rmview without being challenged can set the scene forconfrontation.

What happens in the negotations?

The negotiation meetings are at the heart of theneighbourhood agreement process. They involvereaching an understanding about what publicservices will do and what is expected of local peoplein return.

They also help build mutual understanding about

one anothers priorities, values, and constraints.

The benefts o negotiations

In some cases these negotiations highlight toservice managers where resources have followedinuence rather than need. One senior police ofcercommented: [other areas in the borough are] moreafuent, more vocal, but also more critical and havehigher expectations, even though there is less need.In poorer areas, neighbourhood agreements canraise expectations; in more afuent areas, they canbe used to manage expectations and explain whypeople cant have everything.

The negotiations stage has also helped reassureservice managers that neighbourhood agreementsdo not open the oodgates to complaints. Onemanager said: My initial thoughts were that wewould be getting ack from residents... and youwould get hassled when youre on the job but thathasnt happened.

BUILDING A BETTER MUTUALUNDERSTANDING

A community in one area was unhappy with the

number of police ofces on the streets. However

those residents who took part in negotiating the

neighbourhood agreement came to understand the

constraints on the police service. The point is, they

cant be everywhere can they? asked one resident,

who felt the general public did not understand these

limits and as a result had unrealistic expectations.

People expect too much from the police I think.

Others argued that lack of support for services from

the wider population meant that the police were

hampered in doing their work: To me its more abouta community thing, said one. And this is where the

culture is. Theres not enough of the community get

in and are prepared to be stood up and counted and

charged to put things right.

INCENTIVES FOR FULFILLINGPROMISES IN THE AGREEMENT

In Oldham, the residents group were involved in thestrategic board gave out Champagne and Turkey

awards to reect examples of good and bad practices

among service providers. They did 3 presentations to

the Baord using this format. This approach caught the

imagination of several stakeholders, including active

residents and offered a humorous yet effective way

to publicly reect both high and low levels of service

performance.

When Gentoo Sunderland (a housing association)

piloted their Agreements, residents used a red card

system in Contract meetings, similar to that used in

football, where they felt that service providers were

not meeting their commitments.

Young people did garden tidy ups for residents who

had difculty in managing their gardens. This was

part of an incentive scheme called Dreamscheme - a

nationally available initiative - which offers young

people rewards for contributing to their communities

or volunteering. Young people earn points which

are converted into rewards like trips out: www.

dreamscheme.org.uk.
http://www.dreamscheme.org.uk/http://www.dreamscheme.org.uk/http://www.dreamscheme.org.uk/http://www.dreamscheme.org.uk/


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It is important to have clear governancearrangements for negotiating neighbourhoodagreements. There needs to be a person or group

who is clearly in charge, and it should be clear whothey are accountable to and under what authoritythey are operating.

Often there is a senior level steering group, chairedby a respected gure such as a ward member, headof service or police inspector and which also includeslocal residents and senior decision-makers from anyservices covered by the agreement. This group givesoverall direction to the project, can identify strategicissues which need to be dealt with elsewhere (likedata sharing, or skills gaps in a particular service),

and if necessary, broker compromises.In addition there should be a working group chairedby the project lead. This is where local residents andservice providers look at the detailed content andwording of the agreement.

Resident representation

The number of residents involved in the negotiationphase varies - as do the ways in which they areinvolved. Sometimes a resident group is formed

to negotiate the commitments in the agreement.In other areas existing forums or groups act as themouthpiece for local people.

Format or negotiations

Typically negotiations involve fewer residents than atany other stage of the neighbourhood agreement,and there are more formal meetings.

Three negotiation meetings in total, between four

and six weeks apart seems to work.As well as meetings, it can be very useful to havewalkabouts, where residents, service providers(and councillors) visit the area together. This helpseveryone to understand the realities on the groundand can usefully identify hotspots that need specialattention or areas with particular priorities. Forexample, streets close to local takeaways might needmore frequent litter picks or extra waste bins.

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ROOM SETUP

Meetings tend to work best when the room is set up

in a horseshoe or cabaret style as it allows for a more

open discussion. Theatre style layouts do not tend to

work well, because they create a separation between

the top table and everyone else, and can lead to more

confrontational discussion.

boardroom style

Suitable for groups up to about 14 people

cabaret style

Suitable when there are more than about 14 people

theatre style

Unsuitable for negotiation meetings

MAPPING COMMITMENTS

In Brighton the team asked residents and service

providers to write on a post-it note what problems

they considered a priority, whose responsibility it

was to x, the commitment of the service provider

to deal with the issue and that of the residents.


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26

An agenda to agree the design and nal text forthe neighbourhood agreement


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How the Improving Neighbourhoods Team inFairstead kept the whole commuity informedof what was going on, and the issues that werediscussed at the three negotiation sessions.

Fairstead Neigbourhood Charter Bulletin no. 2

In the first bulletin, we reported back on the issues that had

been raised at the public meetings on the 12th February,

residents highlighted 7 points:

1. What is a Charter? We need to find a name to make it our

own

2. The environment litter, fly tipping, dog fouling, play

areas and parks

3.Traffic parking, speeding and better street signage

4.Safety feeling safe to walk around the estate after night

5. Reporting incidents not enough people do, sometimes

people are too afraid

6. Communications who does what? How do you contact

them?

7. Children, young people and parents involve them in

this work.

Results of the First Negotiation Meeting 26th February,

Fairstead Community Centre

11 Residents took part in the meeting alongside the Ward

Councillors and staff from the Borough Council and police.

This is the progress that they made against the 7 points

listed above:

What Happens Next?

The next negotiation will take place on 18th March. At that

meeting we will look at a draft agreement on the points

raised this week and which are set out above. We will also

need to finish off discussions about reporting incidents and

safety, and pick up the points that were not covered on 26th

February, these include:

Have your Say

At the time of going to print we are working on a date for you

to meet with the people who are sitting round the table and

working out these points. This meeting or meetings will take

place around 18th March so keep your eyes on the notice

boards and the paper for further information.

In the meantime, we would like to know what you think about

these proposals, including the name for the Charter. So

please do get in touch with any of the following people:

Vicky Etheridge, Neighbourhood Manager, Improving

Neighbourhoods; Tel: Kl 763 756

Email: [email protected]

Wally Glynn or any member of Fairstead Area

Neighbourhood Group;Tel: KL 692 400Or call into the Community Shop, Monday to Friday 9-3pm

Cllrs Ian Gourlay or Margaret Wilkinson

Tel: KL 770 025 or 766 531

Email: [email protected] or

[email protected]

Point 2: Play areas and parks

Point 3: Traffic parking, speeding and better street signage

Point 6: Communications who does what?

How do you contact them?

Points

1. What is a Charter?

2. The Environment

4. Safety

5. Reporting Incidents

7. Children, Young

People and Parents

Proposal

How about the Fairstead Community Agreement?

Clearer information about the bulky item collection service and publicise collection services run by charities in the town.

Promote idea of sharing costs of collection with neighbours if individually they only have one item each for removal.

Encourage people to report fly tipping to the CLEAN UP line, particularly persistent offenders.

More litter bins will be installed. Some of the residents in attendance will go on a walk-about with the Open Spaces Manager

to identify suitable locations.

Promote and encourage people to report dog fouling and name and shame those that are fined.

Community to work with the police to promote Community Action Groups; these are regular meetings with the SaferNeighbourhoods Team.

Promote an option for third-party reporting and set up a buddying scheme so that people who do report incidents do not feel

isolate and vulnerable.

We will work with Springwood High School and Fairstead Community Primary School to get young peoples views on the

Fairstead Community Agreement. However, this agreement will not be about providing more activities for children and young

people on the Estate; that needs a separate discussion.

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28

Overall structure

Once service providers, residents and localcouncillors have agreed on the commitments thatthey are willing to make and how they will each bemonitored, you can start putting these into a draftagreement.

When it comes to the document structure,neighbourhood agreements tend to be remarkablysimilar with most using the following outline:

1. What is a neighbourhood agreement?

2. What does the neighbourhood agreement coverspecically?

3. Who has signed up and made commitments?4. A we will - you will section

5. Information on how to report problems, contactnumbers etc

Agreeing the fnal text

It is important the parties to the agreement formallyagree on the words and sign them off. If any of themain signatories disagrees with the substance or

even the terminology of the agreement then all yourhard work could be compromised.

However, you also need to avoid getting boggeddown at the nal drafting stage. Based on theexperience of the charter pilots we recommend:

Setting a clear end date for the drafting stage andpossibly limit the number of cycles of commentsyou will allow. One agreement went through 20re-drafts which meant the agreement was in draftfor three months.

Being strict on keeping sentences clear andshort, and jargon out, especially at the nal stagewhen some ofcers may want to add caveats andqualifying statements.

Set an overall maximum document length everypage you add means one less person will read itto the end. A four page summary, accompaniedby a lightly longer explanatory leaet has beenused in many areas.

The design and look

The agreement should be seen as jointly owned bythe community and local agencies, and the graphicdesign process should reect this. The bulk of thedesign work is often done by a public agency sothe main risk is that it looks too ofcial. Some ofthe ways the community have been involved in thedesign of agreements has been:

Asking school children to design the cover pageor other graphics, such as a logo.

Asking resident members of the working group toset the design brief, choose a preferred design,and sign off the nal artwork.

Asking for one resident to spend a day with theneighbourhood manager to work on the nal textand design of the agreement.

Writing the agreement


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Who is involved inthis agreement?

You the Residents of Kendray

Berneslai HomesNeighbourhood Pride (BMBC)Environmental Regulatory Unit (BMBC)Highways (BMBC)Waste Management (BMBC)Safer Neighbourhood Team

What is thisagreement for?To let you know as a resident of Kendray, the

level of service you can expect to be provided inKendray, what is expected of you as a residentof Kendray and to tell you how these serviceswill be checked.

Keeping the streets cleanLitter pickingEmptying of litter/doggy binsGraffiti removal

The removal of fly tippingSafety checks in childrens play areasGrass cutting of public green spacesGround maintenance of public spacesGarden maintenance of empty council properties

The removal of abandoned vehicles and peoplesunwanted old carsWheelie bin collectionRecycling bin collection

What does thisagreement cover ?

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Describing what the agreement is and what itmeans for local people in Kendray


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30

The Council will:

Litter pick Ashton Road daily (Monday -Saturday).

Mechanically sweep residential streets either weekly or monthly.

Sweep and litter pick the main roads in the area weekly.

Carry out additional litter picking on a request basis as and when it is needed.

Provide litter bins if considered necessary.

Empty public litter bins weekly.

Remove weeds on public highways (service standards currently being decided).

Provide equipment and support for community clean upson public or private land.

Carry out litter patrols and issue fixed penalty notices to offenders.

Put up warning signs in problem areas.

Visit schools and undertake education and awareness raising activities.

Educate and take enforcement action against shops and businesseswho do not comply with litter legislation.

Educate and take enforcement action against ownersand occupiers whose land is defaced by litter.

Carry out dog fouling patrols, speak to dog walkers to raise awarenessof problems and advise them on correct disposal of dog mess.

Issue fixed penalty notices to people not cleaning up after their dogs.

Where residents allow large amounts of dog mess to build up in yardsand gardens, an enforcement officer will take action against those

people to ensure the dog faeces are removed.This may be by informalaction or by means of a legal notice in line with our Enforcement Policy.

For all the above any legal action taken will be in line with the CouncilsEnforcement Policy.

Residents will:

Not drop litter(Remember chewing gum and cigarette ends are litter too).

Use public litter bins and encourage others to do the same.

Encourage businesses to keep the area around their premises clear of litter.

Move parked cars when asked to do so.

Report streets that get badly littered between sweeps.

Let the Council know if a public litter bin has been damaged.

Report public litter bins that have not been emptied or which are overflowing.

Understand the Council can only act within the laws available.

Businesses will keep the area around their premises clear of litter.

Make sure that their land is maintained and not defaced by litter.

Understand that the Council can only act within the laws available.

Clear up after their own dog whether in a public place or in theirown yard or garden and encourage others to do the same.

Report those who do not clear up after their dog giving as manydetails as possible.

The number to call for all the above is 0161 770 6644.

In an ideal world

Could you take part in Clean Ups or

become a Litter Watcher?

Could you pick up litter from

outside your house?

Litter and Dog Fouling

Oldhams we will, you will page in theneighbourhood agreement


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4 Monitoring theagreementPlanning ahead how the commitments

in a neighbourhood agreement will be

monitored is the main way of ensuring it

has a lasting impact. Its something you

should start thinking and talking about

well before the text is nalised.

Weve devoted a whole chapter to

monitoring because its so important

for the success of any agreement and

potentially for wider improvements

to public services. If monitoring the

agreement means residents and service

managers work collaboratively and spend

time tackling problems jointly, it can lead

to fundamental changes in the culture of

public services and the publics perception

of them.

This chapter covers:

Monitoring the agreement using

service data, community monitors and

neighbourhood walkabouts

How to use the information to hold

individuals and organisations to account

and reward and incentivise them

Keeping the agreement updated as

issues and priorities change

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Which methods?

The ways in which service providers and a communitymonitor the commitments made in a neighbourhoodagreement vary enormously. The number of residentsinvolved, what is measured, and the resourcescommitted all depend on the circumstances in anarea.

Here weve included advice on which method mightbe right for you. But when deciding how to approachthis, these are some of the things you need to thinkabout:

What was the original aim of the neighbourhood

agreement? Will this method of monitoring helpyou assess if you have achieved that?

What resources are available within thecommunity and your team?

Is there data which is already collected that issuitable for monitoring this? And is it available foryou to use? Or will you have to collect new data?

Whose responsibility?

If you are leading on developing the neighbourhood

agreement, you should not also take on responsibilityfor holding service providers and residents toaccount. However, you will probably have to takeresponsibility (at least for a while) for overseeing themonitoring process, arranging monitoring meetings,and pulling together monitoring reports.

Holding signatories to account should be anactivity which the communities and serviceproviders tackle jointly. The most obvious way todo this is through the working group which helpedproduce the agreement. Or responsibility could

be given to another existing group. For example aneighbourhood forum or, if perhaps the agreementis borough-wide, the Local Strategic Partnership.

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Monitoring arrangements

Environment GroupTerms of Reference

The environment group is a group consisting of service providers, local residents, local Councillors, members of the StrongerNeighbourhoods Initiative team, and other relevant partner agencies

The overall aim of the group is:

to oversee the monitoring arrangements for the Clean and Tidy Neighbourhood Agreement for NewLodge and Athersley.

In order to do this we will:

Complete the agreed monitoring paperwork within theagreed timescales

Attend meetings on a quarterly basis to share information,identify issues.

Agree action to address issues and agree who will takethis action forward.

Maintain open dialogue with all members of the group.

Meetings:

Will last no longer than 2 hoursWill be held at locally to New Lodge & Athersley unlessotherwise specified this will be at New Lodge CommunityCentre

Timings of meeting

Meeting will be held on a Wednesday approximately onceevery three months and will start at 10 a.m. and should befinished by 12 noon.

Meeting Dates for 2009

Wednesday June 3rd Wednesday August 12th Wednesday October 21st

Ground Rules for meetings:

We shall treat each other with respect.We will allow each other to speak and be heard.We will listen to what people are sayingWe shall challenge constructively.We will be on time unless unavoidable

In Barnsley the team set up a separate group to

oversee the monitoring arrangements for theagreement and review the data.


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4.Monitoringt

heagreement

34

Providers of local services and amenities alreadycollect a lot of data. You will need to decide whichdata is relevant to the neighbourhood agreementand nd out if the data holders will grant you accessto it - either the live data or regular snapshots.

What can service data oer?

Service data can tell you a number of things:

Response times, like the length of time betweena report of y-tipping and its removal

Service activities, such as the frequency of graftiremoval or litter picks

Resident experiences, through customercomplaints and calls

Number of incidents of a certain type, for examplereports of anti-social behaviour

Start by looking at the commitments made in theneighbourhood agreement and discuss with relevantservice providers and residents whether these can bemeasured using existing service data.

Sometimes existing data will not provide the

information you need. In Oldham the Street Scenedepartment now conducts monthly monitoring todemonstrate it is meeting its side of the agreement.For instance with y-tipping, it is recorded when theincident is reported and when staff clear it away. Asummary of this information is provided each month.

Some service managers may agree to collectadditional data for your area to reect the issueslocal people care most about. However you shouldbe careful that the agreement does not lead to anincrease in bureaucracy.

Is the service data you have access

to useul?

Here are some questions you could apply to the databeing offered to check whether it is useful:

Can the data be broken down to match thegeographical area covered by the agreement? Doboundaries match?

Is data collected frequently enough for effectivemonitoring of the agreement?

What kind of analysis has been done on the data?Is it in an easily readable form, or does someoneneed to do more analysis and draw out key

messages?

Are there any condentiality or safety issues whichmean the data will be difcult to access or useroutinely?

Service data and inormation

Commitment Existing data

The dog warden will investigatereports of stray dogs within oneworking day

Average time fromreporting to start ofinvestigation

Report any problems, whetherfor dog fouling, streetcleansing or refuse issues, tothe contact centre

Number and type ofcalls to the contactcentre from that area

Carry out emergency repairswithin 24 hours

Average time fromreporting to repair

Dog owners use the litter binsprovided to dispose of the dogmess

Reports of dog messin the area

SERVICE LOG BOO

In Manton the Street Scene team keeps a log of all

reports received from the public. Information recorded

includes the nature of the problem, its location,

when it was reported and when it was cleared. This ispresented to the neighbourhood management team

each month, to enable it to check it is meeting the

commitments made in the agreement and report back

to the board, which has responsibility for overseeing

the agreement.

LOCATION REPORTEDBY

MESSAGE DATECOMPLETED

ISSUETYPE

Manton,Worksop

Public litterpick thebanking oncheapside

08/01/2009 LITTER

Manton,Worksop

Public sweepalong thewall thatruns fromRetfordRoad trafclights tooppositethe pub- leaves

13/01/2009 LEAVES

Manton,Worksop

Public emptythe litterbin at thebus stopopposite

the top ofmartlettway.

08/01/2009 LITTERBIN


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Community monitors and street repsTraining and supporting local residents to monitoragreements is a popular and effective option. Theyare usually known as community monitors or street

reps but are sometimes called community surveyorsor resident reporters. They are a good way tomeasure how services are performing from the pointof view of local residents.

Community monitors can also encourage otherresidents to report issues to the council directly,rather than acting only as a go-between.

What community monitors oer

Community monitors can provide information on:

User experiences of services, similar to a mysteryshopper

Live conditions, like trafc volumes and streetlighting

Public perceptions of the area such as safety orcleanliness

Local intelligence, such as public attitudes

Visible service responses, such as when issues getxed

Some things to consider if you are thinking aboutcreating a role for community monitors:

Are enough local people interested in beingcommunity monitors? If not, how might youincrease interest?

Do you have the staff and resources to train andsupport monitors?

Are service managers willing to work withcommunity monitors as part of being held toaccount?

Supporting volunteers

If you are going to create a role for communitymonitors as part of monitoring the agreement thenyou need to be sure the people who volunteer haveenough time, skills, and condence to take on thetask. There also need to be enough volunteers forthe scale of the task so it doesnt become too muchof a burden on too small a group.

the

guide

toneighbourh

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35

COMMUNITY MONITORS INBARNSLEY

The Stronger Neighbourhoods Initiative in Barnsley

recruited community monitors while the agreement

was still being discussed. The monitors were given

informal training covering what the agreement is

for, what their role is, and what it isnt, the form and

process for reporting. The neighbourhood agreement

covers a population of about 10,000, for which there

are between 15 and 20 monitors:

What does being a community monitor entail?

Returning a quarterly tick-box monitoring form

to SNI Team. This complements monthly service

monitoring

Reporting other signicant issues between

quarters

Encouraging other residents to report issues and

help them understand the agreement

Attending quarterly environment meetings

alongside service providers and jointly solving

problems as they arise

Getting the local press on side

In a few areas the role of community monitors hasbeen misrepresented in the local press, with localnewspapers referring to them as nosy neighboursand neighbourhood snitches. However, local journalists who are briefed about the agreementand the role of community monitors tend to besupportive and have even helped with publicity.


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4.Monitoringt

heagreement

36

UNIOR WARDENS IN OVENDEN

In Ovenden, Calderdale, 36 junior wardens

were enlisted to report on the tidiness of the

neighbourhood after various inspections reported high

levels of litter, y-tipping and grafti in the area. The

information they provide is used by the Street Scene

department to target activities where they are needed

most.

The team worked with a young person to produce

a booklet which they could use as a template for

reporting issues to the council. The book is ten pages

and shows how streets should be classed depending

on the standard of cleanliness; focusing on grafti, y-

tipping, leaves, mud and grit, and y-posting.

The team running the project included several local

organisations including the Ovenden and Mixenden

neighbourhood management initiative, local

primary schools, West Yorkshire Fire Service and the

neighbourhood policing team.

Recruited from two local primary schools, the junior

wardens met rst to learn about the importance of

environmental cleanliness, and plan activities. They

also produced a yer to distribute to households in the

area, giving advice on recycling and disposal of waste.

Meanwhile Pennine Housing 2000, a local registered

social landlord, went door to door around the area

offering advice face to face. Eight skips were provided

to dispose of bulky waste.

Howcleanisyourarea?SchoolsNI195InformationPack

CalderdaleParks&Streetscene

with

AnnTLitter

andin

partnershipwith

Author:CalderdaleParks&Streetscenewith

helpandadvicefromElizaGlanville Aged14

SchoolName;

RecordingwhatwefindinourareaName Map

Number

StreetorRoadLitterScale(circle) A B C D

DetritusScale(circle) A B C D

GraffitiScale(circle) A B C D

FlypostingScale(circle) A B C D

Otherthingstolookoutfor ticktheboxes Yes No1 Canyouseealitterbinclosetowhereyouare2 Aretherealotofparkedcarsonthestreet3 Canyouseeanybrokenglass4 Canyouseeanydogdirt5 Flytipping6 CanyouseeanythingthatcouldcatchonfireAnythingElse?

AnyComments?


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An example of report form completed by theOldham resident monitors

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37

Reference War Memorial

Service contacted

And number rang

Rang reception at Oldham Council for

advice on who to contact for repairs to the

wall that had been vandalised over the

weekend. Referred to buildings, who then

passed me on to parks

What was the nature of the

problem?

Bricks removed from the wall on the war

memorial.Time /date of the complaint/

enquiry?

16/06/2008 9.40am

Who did you speak to? First Karl buildings second Stacey from

Parks

Nural from Utility Partnership who rang me

later with a job number at 12.10pm

How long does the

agreement say the service

should respond in?

N/A

What was the result of your

complaint / enquiry?

The result was that they all worked together

to help me resolve the problem as soon as

possible, and I am to be contacted by the

surveyor to show him the problem.

Any other additional

comments

Very impressed so far even though the

problem i

National Association of Neighbourhood Management - Neighbourhood Agreements: Practioners guidance

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