In December BNDfC were privileged to host another Ministerial visit. This time it was Liam Byrne the Treasury Minister alongside MP David Blunkett. The visit was part of the Minister’s continuing study into the effect of regeneration projects and what lessons can be learned from the work to date.
The seminar was hosted by BNDfC’s own Chair Ronnie Lewin, who outlined the challenges the area had overcome and what he as a resident saw as the successes’ and failures so far. The Minister was keen to hear about the experiences of people who live and work in the area and it was a very lively and informative debate about how policy should be shaped in the future.
He shared his observations on what had been a success in our area. His key point was that the community has the ability to influence and develop its own agenda to effect change, addressing specific needs rather thatn being park of a general city wide strategy. He believed that initiatives like the NDC’s generally had a positive impact but that as always there were lessons to be learnt.