8 Drive to thrive: a place-based approach to tackling poverty in Gateshead
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Mel Steer
Abstract
In the UK, central government implemented public sector funding cuts following the global economic crash in 2008. These cuts were applied from 2010 and local authorities are at the forefront of central government’s austerity measures. This chapter describes Gateshead Council’s approach to place-based working during austerity and an initiative it developed. Austerity measures meant that existing levels of service provision were impossible to maintain, and within the council, there was increasing awareness that many residents were also feeling the effects of austerity and were in precarious financial and socio-economic circumstances. Gateshead’s response endeavours to coordinate stretched resources, working in collaboration with colleagues from other organisations to influence partnership working in order to achieve better outcomes for residents.
The approach, ‘Thriving for All – Tackling Poverty in Gateshead’ (originating from Gateshead Council’s ‘Making Gateshead a place where everyone thrives’ (Gateshead Council, no date) strategy and referred to as Thrive in this chapter), was launched at a conference in February 2018 and brought people together from diverse organisations to tackle key social justice issues around poverty and inequality. The chapter begins by outlining local authority austerity and its effects, and considering the development of partnership and place-based working and the role of the local authority. The development of the Thrive approach is described, reflecting how it might contribute to social renewal and social justice, and the challenges of implementing the approach.
To reduce the public deficit caused by the global financial crash in 2008 and the additional debt that was incurred through the British government’s rescue of UK banks, austerity measures were introduced that resulted in public sector spending cuts (Blyth, 2013).
Abstract
In the UK, central government implemented public sector funding cuts following the global economic crash in 2008. These cuts were applied from 2010 and local authorities are at the forefront of central government’s austerity measures. This chapter describes Gateshead Council’s approach to place-based working during austerity and an initiative it developed. Austerity measures meant that existing levels of service provision were impossible to maintain, and within the council, there was increasing awareness that many residents were also feeling the effects of austerity and were in precarious financial and socio-economic circumstances. Gateshead’s response endeavours to coordinate stretched resources, working in collaboration with colleagues from other organisations to influence partnership working in order to achieve better outcomes for residents.
The approach, ‘Thriving for All – Tackling Poverty in Gateshead’ (originating from Gateshead Council’s ‘Making Gateshead a place where everyone thrives’ (Gateshead Council, no date) strategy and referred to as Thrive in this chapter), was launched at a conference in February 2018 and brought people together from diverse organisations to tackle key social justice issues around poverty and inequality. The chapter begins by outlining local authority austerity and its effects, and considering the development of partnership and place-based working and the role of the local authority. The development of the Thrive approach is described, reflecting how it might contribute to social renewal and social justice, and the challenges of implementing the approach.
To reduce the public deficit caused by the global financial crash in 2008 and the additional debt that was incurred through the British government’s rescue of UK banks, austerity measures were introduced that resulted in public sector spending cuts (Blyth, 2013).
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents iii
- List of tables, figures and boxes v
- Notes on contributors vi
- Acknowledgements xii
- Foreword xv
- Islands of hope in a sea of despair: civil society in an age of austerity 1
- The North East of England: place, economy and people 19
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The public sector and civil society
- The public sector and civil society: introduction 37
- Innovation outside the state: the Glendale Gateway Trust 43
- The Byker Community Trust and the ‘Byker Approach’ 57
- Cafe society: transforming community through quiet activism and reciprocity 73
- ‘Computer Says No’: exploring social justice in digital services 89
- Drive to thrive: a place-based approach to tackling poverty in Gateshead 105
- City of Dreams: enabling children and young people’s cultural participation and civic voice in Newcastle and Gateshead 121
- Are we ‘all in this together’? Reflecting on the continuities between austerity and the COVID-19 crisis 137
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The civic university
- The civic university: introduction 147
- Reinventing a civic role for the 21st century: the cathedral and the university 153
- Realising the potential of universities for inclusive, innovation-led development: the case of the Newcastle City Futures Urban Living Partnership pilot 169
- Future Homes: developing new responses through new organisations 187
- The good, the bad and the disconcerting: a week in the life of university project-based learning for schools 203
- The containment of democratic innovation: reflections from two university collaborations 221
- Citizen power, the university and the North East 235
- So what is a university in any case? A grass-roots perspective on the university and urban social justice 251
- Conclusion: hope in an age of austerity and a time of anxiety 257
- Index 275
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents iii
- List of tables, figures and boxes v
- Notes on contributors vi
- Acknowledgements xii
- Foreword xv
- Islands of hope in a sea of despair: civil society in an age of austerity 1
- The North East of England: place, economy and people 19
-
The public sector and civil society
- The public sector and civil society: introduction 37
- Innovation outside the state: the Glendale Gateway Trust 43
- The Byker Community Trust and the ‘Byker Approach’ 57
- Cafe society: transforming community through quiet activism and reciprocity 73
- ‘Computer Says No’: exploring social justice in digital services 89
- Drive to thrive: a place-based approach to tackling poverty in Gateshead 105
- City of Dreams: enabling children and young people’s cultural participation and civic voice in Newcastle and Gateshead 121
- Are we ‘all in this together’? Reflecting on the continuities between austerity and the COVID-19 crisis 137
-
The civic university
- The civic university: introduction 147
- Reinventing a civic role for the 21st century: the cathedral and the university 153
- Realising the potential of universities for inclusive, innovation-led development: the case of the Newcastle City Futures Urban Living Partnership pilot 169
- Future Homes: developing new responses through new organisations 187
- The good, the bad and the disconcerting: a week in the life of university project-based learning for schools 203
- The containment of democratic innovation: reflections from two university collaborations 221
- Citizen power, the university and the North East 235
- So what is a university in any case? A grass-roots perspective on the university and urban social justice 251
- Conclusion: hope in an age of austerity and a time of anxiety 257
- Index 275
