Formed in 1997 by local residents, Paddington Development Trust is an independent, community-based organisation that aims to deliver sustainable social and economic regeneration in the Paddington area of London.
Paddington is an area with high levels of deprivation and by the late 1990s it was in urgent need of regeneration and development. In the wake of the ‘homes for votes’ scandal of the previous decade, there was also a need to rebuild relationships between the community and Westminster Council.
Paddington Development Trust was set up to create social, cultural and economic opportunities by forming strong partnerships across the community and public sectors. Its work focuses on four areas of Paddington that are among the most deprived wards in the UK: Queens Park, Harrow Road, Westbourne and Church Street. A major part of the Trust’s work has been to establish an infrastructure of Neighbourhood Management centres, which put local governance into the hands of local people.
In 1998 the Trust secured £13.5 million of funding for the New Life for Paddington initiative, through the government’s Single Regeneration Budget programme, which ran from 1994 to 2001. It was one of only a few independent, community-based organisations that held an accountable body role for this funding programme. Projects delivered through New Life for Paddington included: building a creative business centre, Westbourne Studios; creating two modern youth centres; refurbishing local community facilities; creating employment and business opportunities for residents; and building leadership skills among local communities.
Topics associated with this project
Employment, Governance, Housing, Neighbourhood, Partnership working, Planning, Stakeholder management, Training