neighbourhood profile
...ional statistics) East Manchester encompasses a large segment of the city, and is characterised by severe deprivation. It is one of the cities poorest and most disadvantaged areas and is ranked 4th in the Index of Deprivation. These neighbourhoods have many characteristics but all suffer from high levels of unemployment and poverty. Due to the decline in this neighbourhood the resident population has few life chances and depend upon support from the local government. (Manchester city council) East Manchester which encompasses Clayton, was once the one most important industrial areas of Manchester, with a large number of factories, a steel works, a coal mine and a power station which over the last 30 years most have disappeared leaving large areas of open space, which in turn has lead to high levels of deprivation. Deprivation in Manchester is widespread, with 27 of its 33 wards classed as within the 107 most deprived wards in England and Wales. (Manchester city council) However many opportunities are developing in this area, such as the Eastland’s sport site which is of National significant, with the Manchester City football ground as the centre piece. 0353904 Sport city also includes the National Cycling Centre, the North West Sports Institute, an indoor Tennis Centre and major retail and leisure opportunities. Clayton is part of regeneration work which is transforming the whole of East Manchester, bringing comprehensive regeneration programmes and a range of public and private sector funding. The regeneration of East Manchester includes a massive Wal-Mart superstore where fresh produce can be obtained at reasonable prices, with their own range of organic foods as well. Everything which is needed for children aged 0-4 can be purchased here, anything ranging from baby formula milk to push chairs and prams, also clothes and household items can be purchased here. The added bonus to this store selling all these items is that mothers who find it difficult getting into the city centre, can do all their clothes shopping and their grocery shopping at the same time and at reasonable prices. There are facilities for breastfeeding and baby changing rooms, plus the shopping trolleys have been adjusted to fit a baby car seat onto them. This store promotes healthy eating for young children and has its own range of fruit and dried bagged fruit which is named “the garden gang” which is pacifically aimed at young children, plus this Wal-Mart generated hundreds of jobs for local residents. There are smaller shops, banks, a post office, a lively market, plus a hotel with conference facilities, and a good quality newsagent, butchers and greengrocers there are adequate facilities within this area due to the regeneration which is happening here. The north of Clayton backs onto a vale which has a network of paths, for walking, cycling and horse riding plus there are picnic areas, fishing ponds, and a visitor’s centre. 0353904 Nearby is Phillips Park this has its own bowling green, playgrounds, and pools. On the opposite side is Clayton Park which has a 15th century hall, formal gardens, and the best known Bowling Green in the city, with playgrounds and centres here to. On Folkestone road there is a memorial park, which has multi-courts, playgrounds, and football pitches, which Hewlett playing fields also has. In Clayton there are three primary schools, but unfortunately there is no higher school for children to attend, so they have to travel to different areas for their education. Travelling to and from Clayton has no problems, there are regular buses that go into the city centre and also up to Ashton. Which most are low rise buses, making access easier for mothers with pushchairs and prams who depend on public transport, also 0.9 miles away is the local train station, plus the new metro-link system is underway. The metro-link will improve linkages to the city centre and increase job and social opportunities for the local people. This multi-million pound investment is bringing massive improvements to housing, education, environment, and health. In September 2003 all council homes in Clayton transferred to a non-for-profit landlord who is known as Eastland’s, which has the spending power to massively improve the housing and the environment. Through improvements already made in Clayton, nearly every dwelling is occupied, there are very few boarded up properties, and this seems to be making Clayton an increasingly popular place to live. Clayton has a mix of public rented, owner occupied, and private rented homes and in total there are around 1,100 of these being owned by Eastlands and are mainly 2-3 bedrooms with the exception of few small blocks of flats. (Manchester city council 2003) 0353904 With this massive investment from Eastland homes, the quality of housing will be of high standards, although the average price of a terraced house is only £25.586 compared to the rest of England which is £126.867, (upmystreet 2003) but there a very few detached or semi-detached houses for sale in Clayton. In order to secure sustainable regeneration in East Manchester, an initiative was formed, which is known as Beacons for a Brighter Future which is to ensure a holistic approach. This initiative relies on involvement from the community and residents, and stresses the importance that mainstream service providers deliver better quality local services. Its key themes are to tackle crime, fear of crime, improvement to housing and neighbourhood management. Beacons for a Brighter Future are just one of the many initiatives that have been formed due to the regeneration of east Manchester. Other initiatives are New Deal for Communities, an Education Action Zone, and also a successful bid to Sure-Start Clayton. Sure-Start which is based in Clayton is there for families with children who are aged between 0-4 years old. With working in partnership with local people this programme will provide a well co-ordinated multi-agency response, and put into place high quality support services and resources to improve the health, security, and life chances for all of the children who access it. To meet the needs of the children, Sure-Start has developed both new and existing services; parents can drop in, have home visits or have an outreach basis. Play provision is essential to Sure-Start Clayton, and is provided by a mobile play bus which travels around the area and provides a place where parents can take their children to play without having to travel some distance. 0353904 The play bus also provides a tot drop in, playgroups for children with additional needs, sessional crèche facilities, and a toy library so parents can loan good quality play equipment. A book worker is employed to encourage under 4 year olds and their parents to make use of the library facilities. A lot of these policies have been put into place to help our children gain a healthier lifestyle, as their future health could be at risk, in 1999 there were around 28,200 deaths related to coronary heart disease, and 481 of these were in the north of Manchester. The standard mortality rate in the north of Manchester for CHD is 180, and one of the main ways of reducing these numbers is by promoting health and educating our future, thus maximising our children’s health by early prevention and changing their attitudes towards lifestyles. Overall, the health of people in the North West is poor when compared to other regions and the national average. Manchester has the lowest life expectancy at birth, of any local authority in England. Life expectancy at birth is just under 70 years for men and 76.5 for women. Clayton ward North West region Deaths of men Deaths of women Deaths of men Deaths of women Circulatory Disease 28 21 14388 16062 Cancer 21 11 10000 9281 Total Deaths 69 51 35531 39730 0353904 There are 5 key challenges set out for public health which are; Tackling the wider determinant of health, such as housing and education. Tackling lifestyle factors such as, smoking, diet and exercise. Developing the corporate citizen role of the N.H.S. Mainstreaming action to reduce inequalities within the N.H.S. Strengthening primary care, particularly in deprived areas. The department of health recognises that there are inequalities in health and that the poorer the individual the more likely they are of becoming ill and dying young. (Saving lives 1999). They also go on to say that factors such as, social, economics and environmental are all contributory to poor health. People can make informed choices about there lives and that of their families which can make a difference. In order to make these informed choices, society must be educated in areas of health promotion. Diet plays an important part when it comes to maximising the health of children, as it can reduce the incidence of illness. A well balanced diet could rapidly reduce the problem of obesity in children as a staggering, 27% girls and 20% of boys in the UK ( ) suffer from obesity. A well bal...