Residents clean up estate's image

by Anna Lindsay
BBC iCan reporter, Oxford

For years, the future of Barton - a run-down housing estate in Oxford - has looked bleak.

The project puts residents in charge of their own future

Always the poor relation of a city best known for its charming beauty, the estate built in 1948 is among England's 10% most deprived areas for crime and child poverty.

Only 1% of communities in England have a worse lack of education and skills.

But many residents have had enough of the area's anti-social behaviour and shabby image, and have volunteered to change its infamous reputation.

Funding has been found from several organisations, including Oxford City Council and the European Social Fund, to pay for three workers to run what is called the Barton Residents Research Project.

Their purpose is to find out the community's needs - and the cash to fund it.

It's intimidating sometimes when you come over here Henry Harris

Surveys are carried out with the help of volunteers from across the estate, before well-planned bids are made to various grant-giving bodies.

During a survey on how to improve the shopping area, residents told the BBC that youths loitering on the estate were a real cause for concern.

Henry Harris, 83, who has lived on the estate for 50 years, told the BBC: "The boys and girls, they congregate in this area and I know they don't like being seen, so I think a good idea would be security cameras.

"It's intimidating sometimes when you come over here."

Melanie Jewell volunteers with the project while her children are in nursery school.

While carrying out surveys on the shopping parade, she told the BBC: "We're just tallying up ideas and then which ever gets the most - maybe we can do something about it."

The project, which is based in the local neighbourhood centre, has already found the cash for a junior youth club for children aged nine to 13.

More beat officers also tour the estate on bikes, after the group worked in partnership with Thames Valley Police.

Project's future under threat

The group has worked with other agencies to turn part of the shopping parade into an IT centre and has published an A-Z guide to the estate.

But with a long list of goals to go, the project is under threat.

Funding runs out in March for the key workers, who fear the project will collapse with much of the work still unfinished.

Vikki Gledhill, the project co-ordinator, told the BBC: "This is a grassroots community project - it's not about bringing lots of professionals to the area, it's about using the skills of the community.

"It'll be catastrophic if the money isn't found because ultimately, if we don't implement the action plan, who will?"