Regenerating Blackburn. The Fight Against Child Poverty

This essay forms an accompanying narrative to a two-minute media presentation.

Child poverty in Britain is a growing problem. Successive governments have recognised this and have attempted to tackle it wi th a variety of initiatives and

policies, yet current figures suggest that child poverty levels are still rising.

The causes of child poverty are not confined to one issue, although one particular statistic, released from Rt. Hon. Ian Duncan Smith, Minister for the

Department of Work and Pensions, is rather startling.

‘1.9 million children grow up in the UK in a home where no-one works. Which is roughly 1 in 6.

Higher than almost any other European country, despite the UK being one of the wealthiest.’ Smith, (2011).

Child poverty isn’t just about financial poverty. There are many reasons and arguments as to why children are seen as being in “poverty”.

One such argument is that these children are born into an ‘underclass’ that is welfare reliant, spurning the opportunities of work and education and

preferring, instead, to be kept by the welfare state. This was the view of Charles Murray, an American writer, as cited by Moore (2001). Murray argues that

there are three features that often are used to identify members of the underclass. These are, a high level of illegitimacy and lone parents, a lack of

commitment to work and high crime levels, in particular theft and violent crime.

Many people who study social science strongly reject the ‘underclass’ theory, as it blames the individual for their situation, rather than the circumstances of

poverty itself. The ‘culture of poverty’ approach is preferred instead, as it states that it is learnt behaviour in childhood, which means that individuals can

never escape the poverty of their parents. This was a theory first put by Oscar Lewis, also cited by Moore (2001).

Are any of these arguments valid?

Shadsworth Estate in Blackburn was recently the focus of a BBC TV documentary, which examined a perceived ‘underclass’ mental ity among its residents.

Shadsworth is a large, former local authority estate, which is now operated by Twin Valley Homes. It was built in the 1950’s, on the Eastern edge of

Blackburn. Together with its own schools and shops, it was typical of many similar estates that sprang up nationally around the same time. This was in

response to the implementation of the findings of the Beveridge report, which identified a need for new housing and schools to help alleviate the ‘five

giants’ of Poverty. The documentary highlighted ‘problem families’ on the estate, and showed households that were entirely welfare dependant. It

interviewed several young people who saw paid work as unnecessary and pointless. The documentary also highlighted how drug related crime was an issue

on Shadsworth Estate, with drug dealing appearing to take place relatively freely outside what was left of the shops on Ballentrae Road. Is this an accurate

portrayal of life on this estate, or was this documentary merely sensationalising the problems for the purposes of ‘good’ television?

I grew up on Shadsworth Estate in Blackburn. I spent the first eleven years of my life there, living at 4 Brodick Road, and received my education at the three

estate schools, Shadsworth Infants, juniors and High school until I left full time education at the age of 16. During my time at Shadsworth High School, I was

able to enjoy the benefits of the newly opened Shadsworth Leisure Centre that had been built onto the side of the high school , including the swimming

pool, sports hall and squash courts. Shadsworth High School had the finest facilities of any of the schools in the borough, with the leisure centre operating

as part of the school during school hours. Sadly, despite these fantastic facilities, Shadsworth High School eventually failed, alongside the decline of

Shadsworth Estate. Even the Church of England seemed to turn its back on Shadsworth, with the closure of Church of The Redeemer, the Parish Church

which opened in the mid 1970’s, forging initial strong links with the high school.

My parents both worked, although my mother did take some time off to look after me before I went to school. She then gained part-time employment in

Shadsworth infant school kitchens. My father initially worked as a shuttle maker for the cotton mills, but following the decline of that industry, became a

Postman, eventually working for Royal Mail for over 37 years until his retirement. One of my earliest childhood memories is looking through the front

window of 4 Brodick Road, waiting for my father to return home from work on Christmas day, so that I could open my presents. Back then there was a

postal delivery on December 25TH. This picture of two parents, both in paid employment, is very different to the one portrayed by the BBC TV documentary.

My parents were among the original tenants who moved onto Shadsworth Estate in 1955.

These first residents formed a new community that, for the most part, were house-proud and sociable. Status wise, they were ‘working-class’. Income wise,

they would have equated to living below todays poverty-line income of under £17000.00 per annum. How then, did Shadsworth Estate decline from what it

was in 1955, to the estate that we see today? And, are the problems on Shadsworth Estate unique? Or have they been repeated i n other areas of

Blackburn, and beyond?

In her introduction to her book “Poverty Street” Ruth Lupton paints a very similar picture to the one of Shadsworth Estate in describing the problems of

“Bridgefields” estate, Lupton (2003). Bridgefields is, in fact, Higher Croft Estate, off Roman Road in Blackburn. Ruth changed the name in her book to avoid

further ‘stigmatising’ the area, and its residents. She catalogues a story of decline almost from the estate’s birth in 1974.

From the early 1980’s, estates such as Shadsworth and Higher Croft were experiencing extreme poverty, and there were many social problems. Many of

the “decent” families had decided to move out, juvenile crime and anti-social behaviour were rising, and these estates gained unwanted reputations as

settlements for “extended criminal families” Lupton (2003).

Why did this happen?

It is true to say that there was a decline in the ‘traditional’ cotton mill industry around Blackburn from the mid 1960’s, however, this was partly off set by

the rise of local engineering firms, which sprang up on the edges of these two estates at around the same time. I talked to my parents about it, and their

account is of the council making poor decisions in granting housing to known ‘problem families’ on the estate, in an attempt to ‘educate’ them into

becoming better tenants. All this policy did was to ‘drag down’ the estate and force the decent tenants out. These problem families were ‘socially illiterate’.

They had no interest in keeping their property in good order, and no consideration for other residents on the estate. My parents told me of one family

whom the council had to move out periodically, whilst they fumigated and redecorated the inside of their house, before moving them back in. Another

example is of the council workmen arriving to replace all the internal doors to a property on Portree Crescent, due to the original ones being broken up and

used for fuel for the fire.

Such was the decline on Shadsworth estate, my parents made the decision to move away. In 1977, they transferred to Heys Close on Livesey estate, which,

along with Higher Croft, was the last large council housing development in Blackburn. They subsequently purchased their home, following the ‘right to buy’

scheme brought in with the Conservative government from 1979. Unfortunately, the problems that befell Shadsworth and Higher Croft have, to a certain

extent manifested themselves on Livesey estate, with anti-social behaviour and crime becoming ever more an issue for residents.

Looking at the problems on all of these former council run estates, one can see a familiar pattern emerging. Homes were built and the initial families moved

in, forming a new community. Due to social mobility, and other factors, a few families move on, and a few socially dysfunctional families replace these.

These new families cause more of the original settlers to move away, to be replaced by more socially dysfunctional families, and so the cycle continues. It is

in these families that we find a high proportion of children who are deemed to be living in poverty.

In recent times, Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council (BwD) has sought to address the problems of child poverty by providing funding for several

initiatives. One such scheme is the Shadsworth Children’s Centre, on Shadsworth Road. Here is an extract from the latest Ofsted report that describes the

facility.

Shadsworth Children's Centre Nursery was registered in 2008. It is operated by the local authority

from three rooms in a purpose built designated Children's Centre, situated along the main road in

the Shadsworth area of Blackburn. Children have access to a large landscaped, enclosed outdoor

play area. The nursery is open each weekday from 8am to 6pm for 49 weeks of the year,

excluding bank holidays and additional closure days.

The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and the voluntary and compulsory parts of

the Childcare Register. A maximum of 60 children may attend the nursery at any one time. There

are currently 69 children on roll, some in part- time places. The nursery supports a number of

children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children who speak English as an

additional language. There are 17 members of staff, of whom all hold early years qualifications to

level 3 and above.

(Ofsted report 29.02.2012)

Similar community projects are underway in one form or another on other estates throughout Blackburn, such as Livesey Community Centre and

Greenfields Community Centre, which is adjacent to Green Lane Estate.

All these projects are attempting to give the parents and children in these areas opportunities to combat poverty by providing centres of education, free

nursery places, and a drop in facility where community relations can be forged and built upon. All of this is backed at national level by the government’s

Sure Start programme.

Within a three-mile radius of Blackburn Town centre there are 13 sure start children’s centres, providing free children’s services to families with the

greatest need. The government hope is that child poverty can be targeted at an early age, and that the continuing battle against child poverty can be

addressed.

Child poverty remains a big issue in Blackburn, but with local and national government schemes in place it is now being tackl ed head on. There is clearly still

much to do. Housing regeneration is still on going, with many of the older terraced housing demolished, and being replaced by new housing schemes. Some

of these new housing developments are shared equity schemes, where the houses are part owned by a housing organisation, and the remainder mortgaged

by the tenant. An example of this type of development can be seen at Lock 54, in the Infirmary area of Blackburn. As with the earlier ‘right to buy’ scheme,

it enables lower income families to become homeowners. The theory behind home owning is that it improves an area, due to the residents becoming

stakeholders in it and, thereby, taking more pride in its appearance.

Refurbishment and remodelling is also taking place on the large housing estates now operated and managed by Twin Valley Homes. Some houses have

been demolished to create more open spaces on the estates. New leisure and recreation areas have been developed to help ‘soften’ the previously stark

surroundings. One example of this is the Arran Way, a recreation area and nature trail on the border of Shadsworth estate and its neighbour, Knuzden. A

‘log land’ adventure play area has been created alongside sympathetic landscaping, pathways, fences and gates. The overall re sult is very pleasing on the

eye, and helps to blend Knuzden and Shadsworth in a rural setting.

This kind of urban regeneration can hopefully be another vital measure in helping to combat child poverty, as families are taken out of squalor and placed in

a fresh and safer environment.

Lessons from the past have, hopefully, been learned. As it is clear, new housing alone is not the answer, and this has has been clearly illustrated by

Shadsworth and Higher Croft estates. It is also by investing in children and parents who are deemed to be in poverty, by education and opportunity, which

the government hopes will finally break the cycle of poverty and increase social mobility.

Bibliography Lupton R. (2003) Poverty Street Bodmin. MPG Books

Moore S. (2002) Social Welfare Alive 3rd Edition Cheltenham. Nelson Thomas

Smith I.D. Teather S. (2011) A New Approach to Child Poverty: Tackling the Causes of Disadvantage and Transforming Families’ Lives. Norwich. TSO

www.ofsted.gov.uk Ofsted report 29.02.2012 (URN22671) Online.