I began working in community -led regeneration with Hartlepool New Deal for Communities in 2002.  I would have stayed there for life but the project was time limited so I moved on to Neighbourhood Management in Gresham, a very troubled community in Middlesbrough in 2006, and then to Middlesbrough Town Centre Management from 2009 to 2013. I learned a great deal from all of these projects but the biggest lesson was that partnership working with local residents is key to  regeneration.