A CHURCHMAN has praised people in some of the borough's most needy communities for working together to improve their neighbourhoods.
Earlier this month the Pioneer highlighted a council report about problems in Ellesmere Port & Neston's eight most deprived wards. They are among the 25% most deprived areas in the UK, with three in the top 5%, according to the national Index of Multiple Deprivation.
Figures from 2000, show the most deprived is Stanlow (which has since merged with Wolverham), then Westminster, Grange, Central, Rivacre, Pooltown, Neston and Ross-more.
They have the highest rates of long-term illness and unemployment, lack of qualifications and lone parents in the borough, and the lowest rates of home and car ownership.
But the Rev Gordon McGuinness, of St Thomas and All Saints Church in Ellesmere Port, who also chairs the Local Strategic Partnership for the borough, said: 'Though we know issues like crime, housing, health, unemployment and education are still problems for some of our communities, massive improvements have been made over recent years.
'The tremendous efforts of the people living in these areas, of community groups, organisations and agencies in our borough have made an enormous difference to the quality of life in our most needy wards.
'This is a trend we intend to continue by pulling together to tackle the report's findings.'
A Neighbourhood Regeneration and Renewal Strategy has been adopted by the Partnership. It outlines the problems affecting the eight wards and recommends steps to address them.
Mr McGuinness added: 'Our strength lies in our ability to identify specific issues in specific areas and work with communities to address them. The strategy will help us keep this work moving forward.'
Improvements have included:
Pupils of primary schools making greater gains in English, maths and science at Key Stage 2 between 1996 and 2002 than pupils in Cheshire as a whole.
Gross weekly earnings for jobs in the wards rising by 39% between 1999 and 2002, compared to 13% in the county as a whole.
Unemployment levels falling by 9.3% between 1991 and 2001, compared to 4.1% in the rest of Britain.
Borough council chief executive Stephen Ewbank said: 'During the last nine years much has changed for the better in these wards.
'Despite funding for the Partnership ending in March, many successor programmes, such as Sure Start, Neighbourhood Renewal, New Deal for Communities and the Education Action Zone, are in place.
'We are confident they will continue to improve the quality of life.'
