Urban Ministry and Mission
in Preston :
Towards a
Strategic Overview.
Key Points
- Preston as a the newest city in England and aspires to be 3rd city
of North
West
- The population is 130,000 people,
younger than average because of students.
- The urban area is wider, but has two
tier local government with Lancs
C.C.
- Preston is more prosperous than some towns in
the North
West
but still has serious areas of deprivation, and has lost former industrial
base.
- Regeneration is being driven by, docklands,
UCLAN, new
retail (Tithebarn) and industry and channelled
through SRB and other partnership programmes..
- Preston is a multicultural city with around
10% ethnic minorities of whom around 10,000 are Muslim (mostly Gujerati Indian Heritage) and 3000 Hindus.
- Hindus are concentrated in Broadgate and Avenham,
Muslims in Avenham, Fishwick
and Deepdale
- Preston has a long strong Roman Catholic
tradition which has struggled to maintain numbers and sustain buildings.
- Most of the Protestant denominations
are well represented but they too have declined despite persisting
traditional loyalty that is stronger than in most parts of England
- There are a range of new independent
churches which to some extent reflects the tendency of local evangelical
churches to fragment.
- Many churches are involved in
providing some services to the wider community and needy people, although
there has not been a strong or co-ordinated tradition of radical social
action or community development. Much of the social action appears to be
of the “first aid” / “soup kitchen type directed at the most needy.
- There are several active Christian para church agencies among whom the Foxton Centre provides the widest range of services,
and the new St.
Augustine’s
Centre is probably the largest new venture.
- The city centre and Avenham is perhaps too well served with church
buildings, while some of the outer estates appear almost devoid of
Christian presence.
- There is opportunity for a wide and
varied range of new forms of church planting and presence in some of the
poorer neighbourhoods
- Alongside this are plenty of
opportunities for churches to be involved in anti-poverty work and
empowering neighbourhood community development.
- There is a challenge and opportunity
for Christians to become more involved with secular regeneration and
community work
- Although Preston has relatively good community
relations Christians ought to do more to build friendships with Asian
neighbours.
- Nightlife in the City Centre is crying
out for Christian ministry and outreach.
- Christians need to pray and work
together for the Shalom of the city of Preston
Contents
·
Politics and governance
·
Deprivation and
regeneration
·
Multi ethnicity.. multi-faith…
·
Church History background
·
Individual churches
Current Initiatives…
·
Para church agencies and
projects
·
Networks and structures
·
Survey of Christian
social action
- Evangelism
– outreach – church planting and Growth
- Social
care and action on poverty and need
- Community
development
- Partnership
in regeneration
- Inter-faith
and Social Cohesion
- Ministry
to users of the city centre
Urban Ministry and Mission
in Preston :
Towards a
strategic overview.
Greg Smith
October 2004
Aim
This paper is written with several separate purposes in
mind:
1.
It is a briefing paper for the Preston Christian
Action network and in particular for use as a briefing for Steve Chalke and Faith Works as they come to lead our event in Preston
on October 8th
2.
It is background for a local parish profile
requested by the PCC of St. Stephen's Broadgate.
3.
It is a contribution to the work of the Church
of England's Commission on Urban Life and Faith offering a case study of one
relatively small Urban Priority Area / city.
4.
It is a background guide for an emerging process
of learning together for our social Action journey which Shaftesbury has agreed
to carry out with three local churches in the coming months.
5.
It is a personal reflection and analysis of what
I have discovered in my first two and a half years of living in Preston
and the networking, information gathering and church and community involvement I have
tried to do.
6.
It is a discussion starter for Christian leaders
in Preston and the surrounding area to help them think
and pray through a strategic approach to mission and ministry in the city.
Section 1.. Preston.. the context.
Preston is a relatively small city in
the North West of England with a resident population of some 130,000 Residents
(a slight decline since 1991). It became recognised as a city in it's own right in the Queen’s Golden Jubilee year; the
announcement was in fact made in the very week our family moved to Preston.
The City Council has a vision that Preston will become
the 3rd city of the North West
by the year 2010 (presumably after Liverpool and Manchester).
The demographic profile is not very unusual other than that there are more
young adults than average as one would expect in a university town.
2001 Census Preston:
Age/Sex Profile
;
Total number of people 129633
|
Age Range
|
Total
|
Males
|
Females
|
|
0-4
|
7832
|
4059
|
3773
|
|
5-9
|
8557
|
4425
|
4132
|
|
10-14
|
8885
|
4415
|
4470
|
|
15-19
|
9592
|
4544
|
5048
|
|
20-24
|
10061
|
4725
|
5336
|
|
25-29
|
9402
|
4640
|
4762
|
|
30-34
|
9750
|
4822
|
4928
|
|
35-39
|
9753
|
4842
|
4911
|
|
40-44
|
8880
|
4450
|
4430
|
|
45-49
|
7574
|
3839
|
3735
|
|
50-54
|
8154
|
4230
|
3924
|
|
55-59
|
6350
|
3256
|
3094
|
|
60-64
|
5894
|
2867
|
3027
|
|
65-69
|
5487
|
2638
|
2849
|
|
70-74
|
4765
|
2210
|
2555
|
|
75-79
|
4027
|
1655
|
2372
|
|
80-84
|
2595
|
934
|
1661
|
|
85-89
|
1351
|
424
|
927
|
|
90 and over
|
724
|
147
|
577
|
|
Totals
|
129633
|
63122
|
66511
|
This page printed from National Statistics Website.
Crown Copyright applies unless otherwise stated.
Despite being a city, Preston is
still not responsible for the entirety of its own local government. While nearby Blackburn and Blackpool have become unitary authorities, Preston remains a district
within Lancashire County Council, whose County Hall office complex is one of
the largest public buildings, and a major employer in the city.
Education, Social Services and many other strategic services are the remit of
the County Council. Furthermore the natural urban area around Preston
includes the suburbs and villages of Penwortham, Lostock Hall, Bamber
Bridge, Longton
and arguably Leyland, yet the moment one crosses the
River Ribble (less than half a mile from the city
centre), one enters a different Local authority district (South Ribble). Conversely on the north side of Preston
there are several wards of Preston which comprise large
areas of countryside dotted with commuter villages. Various proposals for
reorganising local and regional government are in the air and subject to a
forthcoming referendum. These may end up with some form of a Greater Preston
area operating as a unitary authority.
Lancashire County
is Labour Controlled while Preston City Council operates with no overall
political control with Labour as the largest party… MPs for Preston
and South Ribble are from the
Labour Party, although the Tory held seats based in the rural hinterland
actually take in some of the suburbs of Preston.
Industry and Housing
Historically Preston developed in
Victorian times as an industrial town at the edge of the Lancashire Cotton mill
belt. The docks and key position as a railway junction made it a major
transport interchange, and other manufacturing industry grew around it. Decline in the older industry and closure of the docks brought
unemployment in the last third of the 20th Century. However,
industry remained in the area, especially military aircraft, nuclear fuels and
other engineering. Employment is also significant in retailing and service
industries, and in the public sector such as health and education, with a
current large expansion programme in the university of Central
Lancashire alongside two large FE colleges, a
district hospital and County and district council offices. The census tables
show that Preston is not very different from the national
average in terms of employment, apart from its high student numbers, although
educational qualifications are below average overall. Clearly these figures
vary in the UPA wards..in
Town Centre (Avenham over 37% had no qualifications,
while in Ribbleton Ward the figure was over 47%).
Preston in the 2001 Census
Employment and
qualifications
|
Work Status (all people
aged 16-74)
|
Value
|
E&W avg
|
Eng & Wal
|
|
|
|
|
Rank/376
|
|
Employed
|
56.20%
|
60.60%
|
312
|
|
Unemployed
|
3.40%
|
3.40%
|
120
|
|
Long-term
unemployed
|
1.10%
|
1.00%
|
109
|
|
Student
(economically active)
|
4.20%
|
2.60%
|
7
|
|
Retired
|
13.20%
|
13.60%
|
259
|
|
Student
(economically inactive)
|
6.50%
|
4.70%
|
47
|
|
Looking after
home/family
|
6.10%
|
6.50%
|
240
|
|
Permanently
sick or disabled
|
6.80%
|
5.50%
|
83
|
|
Other inactive
|
3.50%
|
3.10%
|
67
|
|
Qualifications (all people
aged 16-74)
|
Value
|
E&W avg
|
Eng & Wal
|
|
|
|
|
Rank/376
|
|
Qualifications
at degree level or higher
|
18.60%
|
19.80%
|
172
|
|
No
qualifications
|
31.10%
|
29.10%
|
125
|
(Some employment /
skills etc. stats)
Housing in Victorian times was predominantly in terraced
streets of two up two down homes with a small back yard leading on to an alley
or "ginnel", and much of this housing
remains in use in the inner areas. Much
still awaits improvement; for example over 15% of Preston's
homes have no central heating compared with a national average of 8.5%. There
were also several streets of larger more elegant town houses for the wealthy,
in the neighbourhood of Avenham, on a natural terrace
by the park above the river. These remain as buildings of architectural interest,
although the best are mostly in commercial use and the worst are often multiply
occupied as bedsits for students and others. Post war
a number of large council estates were built, mainly on the eastern edge of the
town (Ribbleton, Brookfield,
Moor Nook, Callon) and a
small number of Tower Blocks were erected near the town centre in Avenham and Moor Lane
areas. Most of the high rise buildings have been, or are currently being,
demolished. From the late 1970s onwards the North Western fringe of Cottam and Tanterton, and parts of South
Ribble were developed with a mixed
tenure under a New Town authority scheme. Some of the already run down social
housing in Tanterton is currently being replaced by
new private housing. Patterns of housing tenure can be seen in the maps.
Household patterns in Preston suggests a picture not far
different from the national average overall although there are high numbers of
single person households (31%) and single (never married people) and the 7.5%
of lone parent households with children is higher than the national average by
one percentage point. These figures vary in UPA wards; for example in Town
Centre (covering Avenham) there are 46% single person
households, and only 5%
of lone parents with children, whereas in the outer ward of Ribbleton
the corresponding figures are 29.5% and 14.5%.
Health overall is not good with 19.2% reporting a limiting
long term illness (compared with 18.2% across England
and Wales)
The north west
is one of the poorest regions in England
and although Central Lancashire and Preston
does have some affluent and even wealthy neighbourhoods there is a
concentration of all the indicators of multiple deprivation in the urban core
of Preston and in the outer estates. The map based on
the 2004 ODPM index of multiple deprivation show this clearly.
(dark areas most deprived 10% in England)
The first wave of urban regeneration in Preston
in the mid 1980s addressed the issues around the derelict docks. In a mini
version of what happened in East London the South side of the docks was
developed with waterfront flat and houses targeted at the young professional
sector of the market, and the north side became a retail park with
supermarkets, diy stores, a marina, a couple of pubs
and a cinema complex. Other land was used for new office accommodation while
some warehousing and industrial use remained at the Western end. The latest
development involves a railway museum, with steam trains for the tourists,
together with commercial freight workings to the BR network from the bitumen
refinery at the end of the docks branch.
A second wave of regeneration schemes (SRB3) starting in the
late 1990s attempted to tackle the inner areas and the Deepdale
neighbourhood through the Inner Preston Regeneration Partnership and the
Greater Deepdale Partnership. The main regeneration
thrust at the moment is the 7 year SRB6 programme of the Avencentral
Partnership which is now in year 5 and will finish in 2007. Spending £20m over
its lifetime this covers the town Centre, Avenham, Broadgate, Moor Lane
and Plungington. In the current year a 30% funding
shortfall at the MWDA has led to major delays in capital spending and a cutback
on plans. Full details of the current programme of activities can be found on
the web site. The author has been serving on the partnership board as a
community rep since May 2003.
However as is common in the world of regeneration there is a
complex patchwork of overlapping geographical zones and partnership structures.
Most significant is the fact that the whole of Preston
is covered by the Preston Strategic Partnership, under whom various
neighbourhood renewal initiatives operate.
They have also set up a range of forums such as the Community Network,
Equity Forum and Faith Forum and thematic working groups on issues such as
disability and the environment where the views of various sectors can be
represented. A community forum, originally set up
under the Inner Preston Regeneration Partnership to offer a channel of
consultation to local residents in the deprived wards, continues to operate, is
working towards its own independent organisational status, and runs various
consultation and fun events in collaboration with the regeneration section of
the City Council. Some parts of the city are also eligible for European funding
(ERDF Objective 2???) Surestart (rapidly converting itself into Children's
Centres) is also operating with several partnerships in various sectors of the
city. There is further special statutory funding available through such schemes
as the Lancashire Childrens Fund, Health authority
funding, not to mention Lottery derived funds through Sport England and
Community Fund etc. Preston is also a shadow pathfinder
authority for the government's community cohesion initiative.
A major (somewhat controversial) regeneration scheme at the
planning stage involves the redevelopment of the Tithebarn
area at the Eastern edge of the city centre, with a relocation of the large bus
station site and major new retailing and office building. Meanwhile Preston's
city centre management company is engaged in an image boosting campaign, trying
to attract new business to the area, and running a programme of city centre
cultural festival and fun events with a promotional aim. Like many provincial
town centres everything seems to close at 5.30pm although at the weekend from
8pm to the early hours a huge drinking / clubbing scene is active, with many of
the predictable public order, anti social behaviour and drugs issues apparent.
A Multicultural City
For many years now Preston has been a
multi-cultural city. Early Irish immigration, followed by some post-war Italian
settlement was dwarfed numerically by New
Commonwealth immigration in the
late 1950s and through the 1960s. A Caribbean community
was established, with their descendants numbering over 1000? In
2001. The main migration was of people originating in Gujerat, India,
both Hindus and Muslims, and these communities are now well established and
number…. Hindus are concentrated in the
Broadgate and Avenaham
neighbourhoods, while Muslims are found in most of the inner areas with a
concentration on the East side of the city in Avenham/
Frenchwood, Fishwick and Deepdale. (see maps) There were
among them some who had spent many decades in East Africa.
Smaller numbers of Pakistani Muslims, Sikhs, and
Bangladeshis. As the University expands students from across the world
have also arrived, including many Africans and Chinese, and some have stayed.
Although the white population still accounts for 85% of the whole and diversity
is not on the scale of Inner London, Bradford or Birmingham
it is still a significant feature.
The Caribbean and South Asian
communities play an important part in community life especially in the UPA
areas. There is an annual Caribbean festival and two Caribbean
social clubs. For the South Asian communities much activity is linked to faith
groups. There are two Hindu temples, a Sikh gurdwara, and over half a dozen
local mosques, three of them purpose built all situated in inner urban areas.
There are some other more secular groups working in the Asian communities such
as the CRE, the Unity Centre, the Preston Muslim Forum, Sahara
(women's group). Two faith based groups are particularly significant in terms
of community involvement work. The Gujerat Hindu
Society with a large new temple and community centre in Broadgate,
is very entrepreneurial, successful in attracting statutory funding for it's capital project and providing a range of facilities and
services available to the whole community. The Preston Muslim Society.
Associated with the Jumma Masjid
mosque and Clarendon Community centre in Avenham
provides community and youth facilities alongside its religious and educational
work, and has members who are important players in many of the local community
networks.
Preston: ethnic group by religion, 2001 Census
|
Christian
|
Buddhist
|
Hindu
|
Jewish
|
Muslim
|
Sikh
|
Any other
religion
|
No religion
|
Religion not
stated
|
|
British
|
87976
|
|