About Us

Making a difference by being there

Intact provides support, advice and a signposting service, as well as a drop in service. A venue for community meetings, education and learning, and a range of facilities for recreation and leisure for residents of all ages. Intact’s primary purpose is to serve the Ingol and Tanterton neighbourhoods and we are now able to offer more services and activities to more people in the City of Preston and surrounding areas.

Intact operate at the Intact Community Centre on Whitby Avenue situated between two schools, Ingol School and Holy Family School. Intact have a team of Staff, Volunteers, and a Board of Directors, many who live locally, and whose dedication and commitment to serve our local people is second to none.

Our History and Background

Introduction

INTAG (Ingol and Tanterton Action Group) was formed in December 1993 and received charitable status in 1995. It was a community based action group with a community centre in the heart of Ingol and Tanterton, which are situated approximately four miles from Preston town centre. There was a mix of tenure with a substantial amount of houses own by North British Housing Association and the Local Authority. Both Ingol and Tanterton are two very distinct communities each with their own needs.  The total number of houses in Ingol and Tanterton is 3087.  The total number of rented properties in Ingol is approximately 900, which were owned by the Preston City Council. However, the area was a priority site for housing renewal with the local authority stock transfer to Community Gateway Association in 2005/2006. The total number of rented properties in Tanterton is approximately 1,100 which are owned by North British Housing, now Places for People. There was a major development in the area with a series of 2, 3, and 4 bed-roomed properties that was built for sale/rent, which resulted in the old INTAG Centre, having to be relocated to another part of the ward. There are also a number of properties that are shared ownership and owner occupied.

Tanterton

The Tanterton estate was developed in the late 70’s as part of the central Lancashire New Towns Development. The development of the Tanterton community was seen as an opportunity by families living in deprived area of Preston to step up the social ladder and leave their existing housing problems behind.  The long term effects of this move are the families brought the problems from other estates with them, which resulted in pockets of families that now suffer from the effects of social and economic depravation.  There is a small pocket of affluence boarding onto the golf course, which has diluted the social economic need of the community. The ward, as a whole, was overlooked for development monies, which means services going to other wards within Preston, clearly identified as ‘deprived’. The centre of Tanterton has a shopping area with a primary school, and a Nisa shop, and the Tanterton Village Centre at Tanterton, which has a small team of volunteers and a paid employee to work with young people.

Ingol

The old village of Ingol, originally the heart of the area, suffers from a severe lack of resources. There is two local primary schools, a library and a number of shops. In 2001 The Ingol Youth and Community Centre, which had been previously funded by the National Lottery Charities Board, had been vandalised and abandoned.  INTAG acquired the building in October 2002, as part of their development plan, which has now been completely renovated and refurbished. The Ingol Youth Centre, erected in the 1980’s was run by a Board of Trustees. Over the years they struggled to continue to obtain funding.  In 2001 INTAG acquired the building and in 2002, completely renovated and refurbished it. In 2009 INTAG rebranded and became Intact, the Ingol and Tanterton Community Trust, and the ‘Intact Centre’ for which is it known by now, has become the heart of the local community with a variety of activities, services and resources available for local people. The Intact Centre is now at the heart of the community.

Multi-Agency Partnership Working

Over the years several initiatives have been developed to address social exclusion in the area. In 2002 Ingol and Tanterton were designated Sure Start areas and local primary schools were given priority status by the Lancashire Children’s Fund. Ingol has also been involved in the Home Office Project i.e. the National Reassurance Policing Project, resulting in the introduction of PACT Meetings. Which led to the ward being recognised as a Neighbourhood Management area. Extensive survey work were been carried out to assess local needs, services were mapped and gaps were identified to form the basis of a strategy that underpinned future developments in Ingol and Tanterton.

The strategic multi agency approach has been successful which was, and probably still is, largely facilitated by INTAG, who hosted forums, disseminated information and coordinated the delivery of services. Without the coordination and administrative work of INTAG, early in 2001, it is doubtful that the current effective multi agency approach would have continued. The role of a coordinating body is widely recognized as essential to this approach and INTAG was seen as the logical choice for this role being local, neutral and representative of the community who use the services.

UNITE Community Partnership

In 2001, INTAG formed the Ingol and Tanterton Crime Prevention Partnership shortly after, and in some way in response to, the burning down of the local Spar shop, which was set on fire in 1998, causing damage estimated at £50,000. INTAG was approached by the Police to identify persistent problems and tackle concerns over community safety, arson, criminal damage, juvenile nuisance and to improve the environment in the local area.  Agencies and residents began to meet together on a regular basis to identify concerns and problems, talk about a way forward in terms of resolving issues and inform other members of planned initiatives occurring in the locality.

Arson was a major problem in the area and the Falklands Heroes Pub was burned down in December 2002 and then the Tanterton Community Centre was ravaged by flames in February 2003. Michael Jack, MP for the area, (a member of the UNITE partnership) called on the residents in Ingol and Tanterton to work together to root out this criminal behaviour. His first reaction when he heard about the incident was one of great sadness for the communities of Ingol and Tanterton because such progress had been made in counteracting the problems which existed in the area. These incidents drove the people who were working together to further strive for a more positive Ingol to resolve and tackle these problems.

Towards the end of 2002 it was decided that it was a poignant time to reflect on the past and to plan for the next three-year stage of the Partnership. Over the years the Partnership developed significantly and achieved much in terms of improvements in the area, new initiatives, the reduction in crime, fire and anti-social behaviour and the fostering of a greater respect, understanding and communication between Partner members. A Mission Statement, Terms of Reference and a written document containing the initiatives and objectives for each contributing member/organisation was agreed and collated into a final document which acted as a working document for the different partners. The aim of producing this document was to provide more focussed objectives that the Partnership can target and provide measured outcomes from.

The name of the Partnership changed from Ingol and Tanterton Crime Prevention Meeting to the UNITE Ingol and Tanterton Community Partnership.  This was a deliberate move to more fully encompass the Tanterton and Ingol localities and to emphasize the positive effect of community and partnership rather than the negative connotations of crime prevention.  The partnership continued until 2012 – 2013 when it ceased to operate, as other local initiatives were established, such as the Restoring Reassurance Policing Project (2003-2006), IMPACT Neighbourhood Management and then the Ingol and Tanterton Neighbourhood Council.

Proposed Re-establishment the Ingol and Tanterton Community Partnership

During 2019, Intact was approached by several representatives of local agencies to explore the possibility of re-establishing the Ingol and Tanterton Community partnership, to help improve communication in the area, enabling us to work better together.  As we entered into 2020 Intact believed it was now time to explore this further which was welcomed by many local agencies and partner agencies in Preston and on the 28^th February 2020 we held our ‘first meeting’ and a ‘new’ UNITE Community partnership was formed.