Speke: a view of regeneration in a localized third sector setting

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of regeneration on one community – Speke in Liverpool, indexed as the most deprived area in England with a population of 9,000 people. The focus is on the role, activity and capacity of the third sector as part of the regeneration effort. Design/methodology/approach – The study period was 2000‐2009. A “practitioners point of view” was sought. Semi‐structured interviews were conducted and triangulated method followed using NVivo. Findings – There is no evidence to indicate the success of national third sector policy and its intent to improve the capacity of the sector at the local level. Service delivery is largely being led by public sector delivery structures. The local third sector is found to have significantly weakened. Community representation in regeneration is also weak, with no community forums in place. As a model, Social enterprise is underdeveloped. Originality/value – The findings are contribution to theory, policy and practice and provide a practitioners view of third sector delivery at a local level. The evidence is of use to the researchers host organisation to undertake a lead role in developing as a fully representative area development trust.