The report, Everybody Needs Good Neighbourhoods 2, published on 1 July 2025, provides compelling evidence that supporting residents to lead local change strengthens local economies, lowers child poverty and reduces crime.
The research builds on a previous publication, Everybody Needs Good Neighbourhoods, and is the first of its kind study of deprived neighbourhoods using long-term data. It compares the Big Local programme – the largest community-led regeneration initiative in the UK – with 29 similarly deprived areas without any neighbourhood-led initiatives (NBI) over a 15-year period.
The study finds that areas with neighbourhood-led initiatives have delivered statistically significant improvements where it matters most – including business growth, child poverty and crime.
Key findings include:
- Business activity has grown faster
Areas with neighbourhood-led initiatives saw a 41 per cent increase in local business units versus 22 per cent in benchmark areas – boosting economic growth and job opportunities for local residents. - Child poverty has risen less
Between 2014 and 2021, the percentage of children in low-income households increased by 5.5 percentage points in areas with neighbourhood-led initiatives, compared with 8 percentage points in comparable areas indicating that local, place-based action can help mitigate national trends. - Crime reduction is greater
Overall crime rates fell by 19.1 offences per 1,000 people in areas with neighbourhood-led initiatives compared to just 10.5 in benchmark areas, with the largest reductions in overall crime and criminal damage.
The report – produced by Local Trust, 3ni, Shared Intelligence, and OCSI – makes a clear case for sustained, resident-led investment in the most disadvantaged neighbourhoods.
Rachel Rowney, Local Trust chief executive, said:
“This new research by Local Trust and 3ni adds further weight to the growing evidence base in favour of neighbourhood interventions. Big Local has shown that community-led neighbourhood regeneration can be successful when supported by long-term flexible funding and this report confirms it.
Developing community capacity in areas doubly disadvantaged by a combination of material deprivation and low social infrastructure is a necessary prerequisite for policymakers seeking to take action on child poverty, crime and stagnating local economies.”
Dan Crowe, 3ni director, said:
“This research shows that neighbourhood working works. Regeneration led by local people creates stronger economies, safer streets and better futures for local people. Local people have been telling us for years they can and do create lasting change when they are trusted with power and resources. This major new study provides the clearest evidence yet.”
Stephen Aldridge, Director for Analysis and Data, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, said:
“The Spending Review contained important commitments to invest in 25 trailblazer neighbourhoods and a further 350 deprived communities over the longer term. The effective use of such spending depends critically on good research, evidence, and analysis of what works – and crucially, what doesn’t. This paper is an important contribution to our growing evidence base on neighbourhoods. I commend it to everyone involved in neighbourhoods’ policy and programmes”
The study comes at a critical moment as the government’s Plan for Neighbourhoods commits £1.5b to 75 areas, alongside further Spending Review commitments for up to 350 communities – providing evidence that community-led regeneration not only works but offers a viable model of democratic engagement that gives agency to communities that are too often overlooked.
It calls for:
- Continued and expanded investment in neighbourhood-based initiatives, especially in areas with low social capital.
- Policy frameworks that prioritise local leadership, long-term funding and social infrastructure as the foundations for regeneration.
- Better collaboration between local authorities, funders, and community organisations to scale the resident-led model.
Read the full report here.
You can also read the first report, Everybody Needs Good Neighbourhoods, here.
For more information or to arrange interviews, please contact ben.jackson@localtrust.org.uk
