One of the privileges of working with community groups and organisations is that we get the opportunity to visit different parts of the country and learn about the amazing projects that residents, local communities and organisations have been involved in.
Local Trust has commissioned WSA Consultants to create ‘Big Local learning profiles’ of some of the 150 areas across the country that were awarded Big Local Funding to deliver a programme for at least 10 years in their communities. The uniqueness of this funding is that it is community-led, long-term (to allow for realistic change to occur), non-prescriptive (because residents are the experts in their own areas), and patient/non-judgemental (so that everyone can learn and grow). Communities have been empowered to use this money to improve their local areas, based on their own local needs.
Earlier this week Rozia from our team visited Arches Local, a ward in Chatham (Kent). She was blown away by the enthusiasm and commitment of the resident partnership group, which of course was built upon a core, underlying determination to make long-lasting changes. Some of the key successes for this Big Local area have been the creation of a neighbourhood plan (which in itself required a separate governance structure), large murals painted on the sides of resident homes which have been a focal talking point and a way of neighbours getting to know each other, and an extremely successful ‘fit and fed’ programme which was a fitness club run in school holidays where local children could come to have a wholesome meal, and take part in fitness activities.
Projects such as these serve as excellent reminders to us of the longer-term impact that is generated from empowering people…. If you want to find out more about Arches Local please visit their website, https://archeslocal.org.uk/
For more about the Big Local programme visit https://localtrust.org.uk/big-local/