How We Did It: Rebuilding disadvantaged communities through locality working
Confronting inequality and disadvantage head-on by directing resources to the most deprived areas is a bold and ambitious move. But how far can this approach go in driving long-term, systemic change?
In partnership with 3ni we invited Liz Jarmin into the hot seat to explore how Leeds City Council has been rising to this challenge over the past nine years. She offers insights into forging resilient partnerships, maintaining momentum without additional funding, and navigating the political landscape and local leadership dynamics.
Her reflections revealed the impact this initiative has had across different wards, and how it’s evolved into a model of success that benefits the whole community.
Interview highlights
On the origins of the work
In 2016, Leeds City Council made a strategic shift away from traditional service delivery towards a model of integrated locality service delivery, to address profound inequality and deprivation in its most disadvantaged wards.
Their central idea was to break down organisational silos and encourage all partners to “pull in the same direction”, with an initial focus on the six electoral Wards where the city’s 12 most deprived neighbourhoods resided.
Early steps included:
- Analysing Indices of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) data and local intelligence to understand prevailing issues.
- Engaging directly with residents and local partners to identify problems and co-design solutions.
- Forming six multidisciplinary ‘core teams’ composed of council services, third-sector organisations, health partners, and police.
This approach broke down silos, fostered joint working, and focused on prevention rather than crisis management.
By 2019, the number of Leeds neighbourhoods in the UK’s most deprived 1% fell from 16 to 12 – these neighbourhoods included those in the pilot.
Based on this success, the council’s Executive Board approved an expansion of the initiative. The model was broadened from working in specific neighbourhoods to operating across the full footprint of six priority wards, formalised through the creation of Local Partnership Plans.
Over nine years, this collaborative method has become the standard operating procedure in these areas, characterised by exceptionally strong relationships between organisations and a central role for residents in shaping local action.
On how the work has developed
In 2022, Leeds City Council developed Local Partnership Plans to help coordinate efforts between services and organisations.
These are overseen by a Neighbourhood Improvement Board (NIB) that holds meetings in priority wards to connect senior decision-makers, operational delivery partners and residents, identifies and addresses how council policies and procedures can unintentionally hinder community action, and look at ways to scale success.
Through dialogue at local level, senior officers coming out of the civic hall or the city centre and into the places where it’s very real so that we can start to think about making things easier on the ground.
Early on, Leeds City Council discovered some of its own policies were unintentionally making it harder for communities to take the initiative. For example, when residents want to improve local parks.
Successful local projects, such as those on improving health and wellbeing, are now being shared with strategic boards to explore how they can be scaled across other areas of the city facing similar issues.
On monitoring impact
With the IMD updated infrequently, Leeds adopted the international Social Progress Index(SPI) to monitor the impact of its work more dynamically.
SPI Framework: The index uses national and local data across three core dimensions:
- Basic Human Needs
- Foundations of Wellbeing
- Opportunity
Unlike the IMD, the council can update the SPI annually with its own local data. This allows for a near real-time understanding of progress, enabling the council to see where wards are improving and, crucially, where they are declining. The SPI functions as an early-warning system.
In April 2024, SPI data showed that the Little London and Woodhouse ward had fallen from 25th to 31st (out of 33) in the city’s ward rankings. This evidence prompted the council to include it as the seventh priority ward, allowing them to deploy their collaborative approach to address emerging issues.
On the difference being made
Leeds City Council’s community-led approach is creating real change in areas like Seacroft and Killingbeck.
Once a fragmented estate, Seacroft is now a place where local organisations collaborate, and residents lead their own initiatives. The council has shifted its role from directing to supporting the “We Are Seacroft” movement is a key example of this transformation, with residents sharing resources, avoiding competition for funding, and maintaining a strong, united identity – even through challenges.
In Holbeck, one of the city’s most deprived wards, the council has aligned major regeneration funding with local priorities. Through collaboration with economic development teams and the Holbeck Together Network, the area is receiving £18 million via the Levelling Up Fund to improve infrastructure and community spaces. Plans for a new town in South Bank aim to further boost opportunities for residents.
On sustaining and developing work with no extra internal resource
A defining feature of the initiative is that it operates with little to no additional, internal council funding.
Instead, the council has been highly effective at leveraging the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) and other external funding. Despite being an economically focused fund, it has been used to deliver a wide range of community-based work, including:
Community Asset Transfers (CATs): UKSPF funding has advanced 9 CATs, which transfer the management of community buildings to local organisations. This is a key strategy for protecting prized community assets during a period of council estate rationalisation. The funding helps improve buildings to a standard where a lease can be initiated.
Resident-Led Social Action: Funding has been used to support programmes that put communities “front and centre” in leading local change.
On managing the politics and local leadership
Leeds City Council works with 99 councillors who are deeply committed to their communities. As successful outcomes emerge in the six priority wards, councillors from other areas have expressed interest in adopting similar approaches. Managing these expectations has been challenging, but the Neighbourhood Improvement Board plays a key role in supporting wider engagement.
The city also benefits from a community committee structure, made up of eight area-based committees, these bring councillors together to collaborate across wards. Liz’s team distributes approximately 500 local grants, and committees can choose to support and scale initiatives proven effective in priority areas.
To ensure transparency and learning, the council reports annually to its Executive Board and Scrutiny Panel. While some perceive that priority wards receive more support, the council emphasises that the difference lies in the way services are delivered. There are ongoing discussions about applying these principles more broadly across the city, which may lead to organisational changes currently being explored by the new Chief Executive.
On what’s next
Leeds City Council is entering a new phase of its community-led work under the leadership of its recently appointed Chief Executive, Ed Whiting, who aims to visit every ward by the end of the financial year. With significant budget pressures ahead, the council is reviewing how it organises itself to better support communities while managing resources.
A refreshed set of priorities, known as the Leeds Ambitions, now includes a new focus on “thriving communities,” reflecting a commitment to empowering residents to shape their own futures. This aligns closely with the government’s Pride in Place strategy, which emphasises local delivery and access to services.
The council is developing local neighbourhood boards in four Pride In Place priority neighbourhoods. These boards will help drive bottom-up change, ensuring that economic growth is seen and felt by all residents.
The council is focused on building trust, strengthening partnerships, and working collaboratively across sectors. While challenges remain—particularly in navigating the constantly changing landscape of health partners – the council is confident that strong local relationships will continue to deliver better outcomes for communities.
Photo Photo by Tim Lumley on Unsplash
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