Community-led regeneration in deprived neighbourhoods can improve the mental health of residents, concludes research by Cardiff University.

The study - one of the first worldwide to measure changes in mental health during neighbourhood regeneration – found a small but measurable improvement in the mental health of residents in areas of Caerphilly County Borough that underwent community-led regeneration compared to those that didn’t. This was equivalent to one in every three residents in regeneration areas reporting improved symptoms.

There was also a significant trend between length of residence and mental health, suggesting that the longer people resided in areas experiencing regeneration the more their mental health improved.

The neighbourhood regeneration project evaluated was the Communities First programme - a Welsh government initiative to reduce poverty in the 100 most deprived of the 881 electoral wards in Wales. Using anonymously linked data from Caerphilly County Borough Council, general practices and existing studies, 10,892 residents from areas that did and didn’t receive Communities First funding for regeneration were tracked over a seven-year period (2001 to 2008).

Narrowing the gap

According to study lead, Dr James White, Senior Lecturer in Public Health at the Centre for Trials Research and DECIPHer Centre: “The significance of this research should not be overstated. Billions of dollars are spent worldwide on regeneration projects, and very few have been evaluated...