Divided by the Westway, Westbourne falls between Westbourne Park to the south and the area around Westbourne Green and Harrow Road to the north. The ward’s population in 2001 was just over 10,000, 51% of whom lived in social housing. The area is extremely diverse - just over 60% of residents are of origins other than white British. Of seven ‘super output areas’ within Westbourne, three are in the top 5% most deprived in England. No ward in London has a higher proportion of children living in workless households.
Westbourne Neighbourhood Forum is the Local Area Renewal Partnership (LARP) for Westbourne. Since 2004 Paddington Development Trust has been funded by Westminster City Partnership (WCP) to support the Forum’s development. In October 2005 14 community members were elected to sit alongside seven representatives from local service providers on the Forum board. The board is accountable to the wider community through regular public meetings as well as biannual elections.
The Forum’s central purposes are to:
· provide a voice for the local community
· strengthen partnership between the community and service delivery agencies
· influence service delivery and galvanise responses to unmet needs in the neighbourhood.
Recent activities include:
· Research project to establish how to improve opportunities for English language learning.
· Work with Queens Park and Harrow Road LARPs, the voluntary sector and the PCT to develop health and fitness opportunities for over 50s.
· Highlight the need for better co-ordination between housing and health services in supporting vulnerable tenants.