THEY got it half right. The regeneration of run-down housing estates is about more than money.

But the authors of an investigation into the issue are misguided to suggest that good PR is the key to refloating sink estates.

Today's report, published by York's Joseph Rowntree Foundation, is based on a study of three failing estates in Birmingham, Tyneside and Edinburgh. All have received substantial investment. Residents' standard of living has improved and the crime rate has fallen.

Yet they are still stigmatised. Banks, never great supporters of the underprivileged, refuse to open cashpoints on the estates. More worryingly, residents struggle to find work because of their address.

The homes have been transformed but the bad name remains.

The report's authors are not suggesting that the regeneration money has been wasted. Troubled estates can never improve if they are left to rot. Creating decent living conditions is the first step to enhancing residents' self-esteem and dissipating their anger.

But the recommendation that revitalised estates appoint "image managers" is spin doctoring gone mad.

Our society is already too much in thrall to Max Clifford and his disciples. The last thing Britain's poorest housing estates need are amateur public relations officers alienating residents and media alike.

It is a shame the report's authors did not consider the example of Bell Farm, in Joseph Rowntree's home city. This had a reputation as one of York's most troubled estates. The housing stock was given a much-needed and expensive renovation. But that was not enough to rid Bell Farm of its bad name.

This came about through an active and imaginative residents' committee. Working with the council and police, they turned the estate around from a crime-ridden blackspot to a place where people bought their own homes.

They restored a sense of both community and pride. And the Evening Press was delighted to report the transformation - not because a spin doctor asked us to, but because it was a good news story in every sense.