Fix it
We’ve identified a focused set of left behind places where we are an anchor institution and can best target our resources to bring about positive change
We are calling these places Karbon Impact Areas.
We've identified a small, manageable number of these areas and each will have clear geographic boundaries. Within these boundaries we will consider programmes and projects against different criteria and develop focused programmes of investment to bring about change.
In each Karbon Impact Area we’ll work in partnership with local government, health, education and community organisations, and major employers to develop a sophisticated understanding of the community and how we can contribute in a constructive way. Only rarely and where others can’t, will we act alone. At first, our efforts will focus on supporting the local community to embrace a place-based approach – developing networks and consulting as widely as we can. Then we will help design and shape the big interventions that will make a difference and agree a robust action plan for delivery.
Byker
Byker is a community of around 12,000 people, located a couple of miles to the east of Newcastle city centre and with the River Tyne at its southern border.
It benefits from great links to the key employment centre of Newcastle with Metro light rail, bus, road, cycling and walking options. Demographically, Byker is more diverse than other parts of the North East, with more than 11% of the population describing themselves as something other than White British. Housing in Byker is dominated by the Byker Estate, owned by Karbon Homes, which accounts for around one-third of all homes in the area. Designed and built in the 1970s and replacing the low-quality, tightly packed terraced homes built to house shipyard and factory workers and their families, the estate is now a Grade II listed development of almost exclusively social housing. Within Byker there are three well-regarded primary schools and a local high street that - while being down-at-heel - offers a diverse retail mix including a major supermarket.
England’s Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) ranks Byker among the better half of all neighbourhoods for access to services and quality of the living environment. Nevertheless, Byker faces considerable challenges: the IMD ranks Byker in the lower 3% of neighbourhoods with more than 96% of other neighbourhoods ranking better for income, employment, health and education, and more than 75% better for crime. Perhaps starkest of all, the healthy life expectancy for a 55-year-old man in Byker is just 63.8, the lowest of any community in Newcastle and more than 11 years lower than that those who live in the north-west of the city.
Stanley
In the north of County Durham, Stanley is a former coal mining town situated at the top of the Derwent Valley midway between its neighbouring towns of Consett and Chester-le-Street, each around six miles away. It has a population of around 34,000 people and we own and manage one in four homes in the town.
Before undertaking a renewed placeshaping approach here, we commissioned detailed research by the economic development consultancy Metro Dynamics. They identified some challenges the town faces, including limited local employment and public transport options, a declining high street, an older-than-average population and around a quarter of the people in Stanley living with a limiting long-term illness or disability. They also looked at some of its strengths, such as good and outstanding schools and relatively good, and growing, retail offer, and some potential interventions we could make.
In early 2022, we undertook a consultation exercise with Stanley residents – both Karbon Homes customers and others – to understand the community’s needs and how Karbon can best support the area’s growth and prosperity. These insights, and the feedback from colleagues working day-to-day in Stanley, will form a placeshaping action plan that, with ongoing input from the community and wider stakeholders, will guide our future investment in the town. At the same time, Durham County Council has worked with the Stanley Area Action Partnership to develop a new masterplan for the town, which our work will seek to complement and strengthen.
Since the publication of the report, we have been progressing work on the Stanley Action Plan, and we have also purchased the Old Board School on the Front Street in Stanley. We will provide more information on both the action plan and the Old Board School project at the end of 2023.
