Physical regeneration of England's coalfields has been a huge success, according to the Audit Commission's latest report, but the focus on economic and physical regeneration has overlooked people and inequalities persist.
A Mine of Opportunities says the physical environment of former coalfields has been transformed with the area of derelict land halved from 7,300ha to 3,300ha between 1993 and 2004.
New business premises have been constructed and job totals have grown faster than the national rate and the gap between their unemployment levels and the national rate has halved. Local authorities deserve much of the credit.
But while absolute levels of educational attainment, skills, health, income deprivation and crime levels have improved, new jobs are increasingly being taken by incomers.
Many coalfield residents remain jobless and the areas have suffered from a high level of demolition of their homes.
The report recommends shifting the focus to social issues, continued job creation and increasing local economies' resilience to the slump.
