Changing Neighbourhoods

The Knowsley Partnership wants to get closer to neighbourhoods and communities, and work with local people to tackle issues within their area.

A new approach was started in Halewood in January 2006, with the other five areas within Knowsley now following.

Following consultation with local people in late 2005 and early 2006 from across the borough, new arrangements have come into force to bring about change and improvements.

Knowsley is split into six areas; North and South Huyton, North and South Kirkby, Halewood and Prescot/Whiston/Cronton and Knowsley Village.

Each of these areas has an Area Partnership Board, consisting of different agencies as well as community representatives, which takes the main high level decisions for the particular area, and decides the direction of change and future developments.

This Board feeds into an officer working group – the Neighbourhood Pride Team, also made up of different organisations, including police, council, wardens, Knowsley Housing Trust, youth services - who carry out or commission work. These teams tackle a range of issues in response to information from councillors and local residents, and work very closely with each other at neighbourhood level.

They direct the Pride Environmental teams – six area-based teams on the ground carrying out the work decided by the Neighbourhood Pride Teams. They have a wide-ranging role, including environmental work such as cutting back overgrown shrubbery to the removal of graffiti and fly tipping.

This new approach is based on a commitment to ensure services are directed where they are most needed.

Big issues, important to the community, will be discussed at Area Public Forums. These are open meetings for local people and those with an interest in that particular area.

All these arrangements are complemented by the appointment of Area Relationship Directors for each of the six areas, who has overall responsibility for management of an area.