TOO many people living on Oxford’s Blackbird Leys estate are trapped in poverty and have an inferiority complex, according to a new report examining the social impact of community projects in the area.

A £33,000 study said decades of investment in the area had failed to wipe out problems including drug-dealing, antisocial behaviour and young people with low aspirations and poor self-esteem.

The report was commissioned by the Wates Foundation, a charitable trust which has put £146,000 into projects on the estate this year.

It found regeneration and community projects had had “little lasting impact” on some social problems.

It also suggested the long-standing problems could not be solved by “throwing money at them”, and said a neighbourhood leader position or a new management organisation should be created to help re-organise services on the estate.

Oxford City Council said it was aware of the report’s conclusions and admitted “much more needs to be done”. A spokesman said an action plan had been drawn up to tackle deprivation on the estate.

Community leaders insisted Blackbird Leys had improved vastly since it was built more than 50 years ago, but acknowledged poverty was still a factor.

The report, the result of reaserch carried out between May and July, said community groups set up with regeneration money had helped create a sense of identity and belonging among residents, but added: “However, there has been seemingly little lasting impact on the underlying problems that keep the most disadvantaged individuals on the estate trapped in poverty.”

The study also said some young people had an inferiority complex, which was made more acute by the presence of Oxford University.

Laura Wilson, deputy manager of the Agnes Smith Advice Centre, in Blackbird Leys Road, which helps people with financial concerns, said: “A lot of young people don’t have a lot of hope, because there aren’t enough jobs for them at the moment.

“There need to be more opportunities.

“Poverty does still exist here, because a lot of people are on benefits and it’s projects like us which keep people going.”

Blackbird Leys Parish Council chairman Gerry Webb, the chairman of Blackbird Leys Parish Council, said: “I don’t think the kids have a low opinion of themselves but people have a low opinion of you if you live here.”

Blackbird Leys city councillor Val Smith said: “Some families are still trapped in poverty, but it means we have to do things better.”

Wates Foundation director Brian Wheelwright said creating a feeling that community groups were working together and not in isolation could lead to more assistance.He said: “If more community organisations work together, you can actually level a lot of change.”

The report advised the foundation not to spend large amounts of money on the estate before Oxford City Council and Oxfordshire County Council had taken action.

However, Mr Wheelwright said smaller donations would be funded if there was a genuine need.

City council spokesman Louisa Dean said: “Much work has been done in the past six months to move forward plans for greater emphasis on regeneration of the social, economic and physical infrastructure in the city, and although we accept that much more needs to be done, the report is a snapshot of the situation at a particular time.”

A spokesman for Oxfordshire County Council said the Oxfordshire Partnership, of which it is a part, was working to tackle inequalities in areas like Blackbird Leys.