Street crime tackled by social enterprise approach

Reporter: David Barlett (RoFTRA)
Date online: 20/05/2008

A new report from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) examines an approach to street crime and anti-social behaviour adopted through social enterprise by the United Estates of Wythenshawe (UEW).

The report describes UEW as a lively, unconventional social enterprise that was set up in a vandalised Methodist church by local local people who were determined to do something to tackle the culture of violence and anti-social behavior in parts of this large 1920s south Manchester council estate.

Having leased the building in 1996 after it had been 7 years empty, local people developed it gradually in a range of enterprises including a mothers' and toddlers' group, a fully equipped gym, hairdressing and therapeutic massage businesses, a second hand clothes shop and a security company.

In 2006 UEW was invited to become a focus for a JRF research project that involved UEW stimulating a programme of exchange and shared learning visits with similar projects in Nottingham, Sheffield, Liverpool and Moss Side, culminating in a two-day conference - Street Peace 2007 - to share lessons, identify good practice and plan future programmes. Planning is underway for Street Peace 2008.

The report describes the project in detail and identifies a range of lessons key recommendations as a result. Its summary conclusion is that:

the challenge for policy-makers is to ... stop seeing working-class neighbourhoods only in terms of the problems they experience and to support the efforts going on all around the country to develop a positive, creative, culture of mutual support.