Castle Vale Neighbourhood Partnership Board

General information

Castle Vale Neighbourhood Partnership Board (originally Castle Vale Neighbourhood Management Board) was established in 2002. It was set up to ensure that the improvements achieved during the life of the HAT are sustained and that the area continues to develop and prosper so that it becomes an even better place to live. This will only be possible if the key partners and players, and most importantly the community, continue to work together and the NPB helps to facilitate this partnership working. To achieve this NPB has brought together local residents and those responsible for providing key services. The Board meets to ensure that the services Castle Vale residents receive fully meet their needs, to make sure that the significant changes made in Castle Vale to date are continued and improved on in the future.

Mission Statement
- To ensure that services and service standards meet the needs and aspirations of all key stakeholders in Castle Vale, principally the residents
- To achieve this through partnership working and sharing of information by key service providers on priorities, resources, performance and standards
- To champion and promote equality, diversity and tolerance within Castle Vale so that a valuable contribution is made to neighbourhood renewal across Birmingham, the West Midlands and the UK

Castle Vale is in many respects a successful neighbourhood. There is now generally good quality housing, a pleasant environment and a good range of facilities and amenities. Crime is low and there is a big demand for CVCHA’s housing with long waiting lists for all housing types. Currently, Castle Vale is an attractive environment inhabited by too many people with low levels of educational attainment, low levels of economic activity, perceived and actual poor health and above all, low expectations and aspirations. Many residents lack the resilience and determination to take hold of the options and opportunities open to them and use them to forge successful lives.

NPB believe that in order to bring about this change, to enable Castle Vale to move onto the next step of its journey, we must work directly with our young people and their families. We need to help them raise their aspirations, to toughen their resilience and to break through the barriers that prevent them taking advantage of available educational opportunities. If necessary, the current educational ‘offers’ available to local young people must be developed and tailored more directly to local needs.

In looking ahead therefore, the NPB has taken on the major challenge of creating a ‘step change’ in the people dimension as has already been visibly achieved for place. This has been summed up in the goal of:
‘Raising aspirations and helping people achieve their full potential’

The ongoing regeneration of Castle Vale will not happen by accident; there needs to be a plan that clearly sets out the direction to be travelled. The NPB have set up a 10 year Neighbourhood Plan with that need in mind. The outcomes set out in the Neighbourhood Plan will be delivered against each of the following themes:

- Theme 1: A well educated and trained neighbourhood that succeeds economically
- Theme 2: A safer, stronger neighbourhood
- Theme 3: A clean and green neighbourhood with good quality housing
- Theme 4: A fit and healthy neighbourhood
- Theme 5: A neighbourhood with strong community leadership and aspiration