“How accurately does regeneration target local need?” Targeting deprived communities in the UK

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate to what extent urban regeneration programmes were targeted at the most deprived geographical areas and populations within the boundaries of nine local authorities (LAs) in the North West of England. Design/methodology/approach – For each of the nine LAs, area‐level and individual survey data were used in estimating the proportions of the more deprived neighbourhoods and individuals included in (or excluded from) regeneration target populations after 1995. Findings – The area‐level approach found that, in general, the more deprived neighbourhoods within local authority districts had been included in a main regeneration programme target area. However there was evidence of inconsistent coverage between LA areas, as well as some cases of very deprived local areas having no involvement at all in major regeneration programmes since 1995. Additional analysis of available survey data found that substantial numbers of residents with one or more individual indicators of deprivation (not in full‐time employment, not owning home, in difficult financial situation) had not been included in a regeneration target population. Research limitations/implications – The basic nature of the measures of regeneration and deprivation used in the study reflect its status as the first stage of a wider project investigating the association between regeneration activity, social exclusion and health. Practical implications – The findings of the study highlight the requirement for evaluators of a regeneration programme to consider how successful the intervention has been in targeting those residents for whom it was initially designed. This should precede any measurement of the programme outputs and their impact upon the “well‐being” of the targeted community. Originality/value – The study is original in its use of both aggregated and individual level data in its consideration of how regeneration targets “need”.