Big Local Plan and initial spend proposals for August 2013 to March 2015

Transcription

1 GROWING TOGETHER - the Lottery funded Big Local programme for Blackthorn, Cherry Lodge, Goldings, Lings, Lumbertubs and Overstone Lodge estates in east Northampton Big Local Plan and initial spend proposals for August 2013 to March 2015 Adopted by the Community Partnership on 20 June

2 Our Pathway to this Plan Establishment of Steering Group consisting of Councillors, local voluntary and community groups, Police and other interested organisations Initial consultation at initial stakeholder meeting and at Children s Initial Centre consultation and community events to identify major issues Full community consultation door-to-door, shopping centres, Development Survey Monkey, of community community profile events and through local groups Development of Community Profile to ensure that key issues are addressed and that consultation is a cross-section of our community Recruitment and induction of Community Partnership all resident membership with Youth Forum and Advisory Group (formerly Steering Group) supporting Agreement upon a vision statement based on community priorities identified through consultation Generation and assessment of project ideas from consultation, Community Partnership suggestions and bids from partner organisations Big Local Plan prepared, circulated for consultation and adopted by Community Partnership 2

3 A. Establishment of Steering Group Blackthorn Good Neighbours and (BGN) and Brookside Residents Council (BRC), as the two principal Voluntary and Community organisations (VCO) providing resident representation across the designated programme area, initially set up a multi-agency Steering Group to guide and oversee progress. The Group still meets, though has re-named itself the Advisory Group to reflect the leading role of the Community Partnership. Its membership consists of: BGN and BRC representatives Northampton Association of Youth Clubs Age UK Indian Hindu Welfare Organisation Northamptonshire Wildlife Trust (owner and manager of Lings Wood, at the centre of the programme area) Borough and County Councillors representing the programme area Borough Council environmental and regeneration officers Northamptonshire Police The University of Northampton was initially involved but has since stepped down. Other than one BRC officer who did not wish to do so, all resident members have now transferred to the Community Partnership. B. Initial consultation The Steering Group began by collating baseline data and initiating a programme of consultation, inviting the ideas of people living and working in the area. This programme of community engagement consisted of a major stakeholder meeting for people already active in working for the community, establishment of the Surrounding Lings Wood website as part of the Neighbourhood Networks programme and specific events related to the passage of the Olympic flame through Northampton, the Big Lunch (to celebrate the Jubilee) and a community picnic in Lings Wood. Specific consultation events were run for young people, the residents of the Arlbury Road sheltered housing scheme and BRC members. Blackthorn Children s Centre also maintained and promoted a suggestions board from July 2011 to January

4 C. Full community consultation The ideas expressed through the initial consultation programme were then summarised into eight themes to be used as the basis for wider public consultation. 500 questionnaires were completed through door-to-door interviewing, interviewing in the Weston Favell shopping centre in the week before Christmas, attendance at events organised by Children s Centres and schools, and two major half-term events (February 2013), also making use of map-based techniques to allow residents to pinpoint problem hot-spots and opportunity sites. Residents were asked to rank the eight priorities, invited to add any others, invited to suggest any important priorities for immediate attention and asked whether they would like to be kept informed about future developments and volunteering opportunities. All preferences were recorded in a spreadsheet, with a top choice scoring 1 and a bottom choice scoring 8. Residents placed the eight themes in the following order, with the accompanying scores and a percentage equivalent. 1 Tackling crime and making the area feel safer % Providing better opportunities for teenagers % Improved facilities and activities for pre-teen children % Improving and tidying up the local environment % Helping people into employment % Advice and support for people on low incomes % Activities and facilities to bring the community together % Local electricity generation to reduce bills and provide jobs and training % As can be seen, crime and engaging teenagers came close together at the top, followed by a sizeable gap and then activities for children and improving the living environment, quite close together. Other priorities were some way behind. Furthermore, many respondents linked priorities such as crime, environmental degradation and job search support to young people and believed that the way to tackle these other issues was by re-engaging young people and encouraging them to care for their community and their environment. In short, young people were seen by many as both the problem and the solution. Although community activities were 1 Percentages were calculated through a process of reciprocation. Each score was divided into the total of and the resultant score, rounded to two decimal places, expressed as a percentage of the combined score of Rounding accounts for the fact that given percentages total 99.98%. 4

5 rated low, a large number of respondents supported community approaches to tackling other issues. This score may therefore reflect the low priority given to community activities with no specific purpose other than entertainment. A significant number of respondents, quite unprompted, pointed out that facilities and activities for older and disabled people should also be added to the list. Monitoring data was recorded to ensure that a representative cross-section of the community was being consulted. With the exception of a strong gender bias towards women, the community and consultation profiles do match quite closely. Details of the comparison are included in the tables in the Community Profile (next section). The gender bias reflects the fact that women were more likely to be in during the daytime, using shopping centres or involved in activities related to children, which were the main vehicles for the survey. There were smaller under-representations of Asian and Mixed Heritage individuals. The second major element of the consultation was a targeted consultation with young people conducted through Survey Monkey and youth organisations operating in the area, principally Free 2 Talk and Change of Scene. 16 completed forms were received, via Survey Monkey and hard copy responses completed at the Blackthorn youth club run by Free 2 Talk, though two were from outside the programme area. 15 respondents provided monitoring data. Of these, 6 were male and 9 female; 7 were under 12, 7 were and one was 16 18; 9 were from Blackthorn, 3 from Goldings, 3 from Lings and 1 from Rectory Farm. The responses to the three questions asked were as follows: Q1. How big a problem for young people are the following on your estate? Not a problem A bit of a problem Definitely a problem A serious problem A massive problem Crime and anti-social behaviour Litter and rubbish Not enough things for young people to do Tensions between young people and older people Finding a job while studying

6 Q. 2 How good do you think the following ideas are to meet the needs of young people? Really good Good OK Not very good Not interested Youth clubs and other local activities Chances to try out new things away from your estate Projects that give you qualifications you couldn t get in school Projects that enable you to help your community Opportunities to help you earn some money while studying Q.3 Would you be interested in getting involved with the following: Yes No Youth clubs 16 0 Sports activities with other young people from the area 14 2 Music, art or other creative activities with other young people 12 4 Environmental projects to help you improve the area and earn some money 10 6 Environmental projects that would give you some training and help you earn a qualification 11 5 Being a member of the Youth Forum that helps decide how the money is actually spent 9 7 The small number of respondents, the limited and very young age range and the fact that most came via a youth club mean that the results must be interpreted with caution. However, they do suggest a widespread desire for more opportunities and a willingness to try a wide range of activities. Finally, the opportunity to express views was advertised through the surroundinglingswood website, on Facebook, through media releases and an article in the Brookside Banner (distributed throughout Lings and Lumbertubs by BRC) and by leaflets distributed through primary school book bags and delivered to every household in the area. Numerically, the return on these was weak, though some very high quality ideas and contacts resulted (including a number of volunteers to serve on the Community Partnership). 6

7 D. Community Profile The physical environment Location The Growing Together operational area is located in the north-east of Northampton. It consists of four estates making up the former Lumbertubs electoral Ward. These are Blackthorn/Cherry Lodge, Goldings/Overstone Lodge, Lings and Lumbertubs. The Ward has since been broken up by the Boundaries Commission and the four estates fall between Brookside, Talavera and Rectory Farm Wards. Like the rest of Northampton East, the estates were originally developed on greenfield sites in the late 1960s/early 1970s to house a London overspill population. This recent history does mean that there is often a sense of belonging that is unusual an urban area. Older local residents from across the area are able to refer to a shared past of migration in the way that only BME and Irish communities might do elsewhere. The reverse side to this strong community identity is that Northampton East is still stigmatised by some as run-down and crime-ridden, not really an integral part of the town. The area has also become home to a sizeable number of BME residents and migrants from eastern and middle Europe. The estates were developed as Council housing and Northampton Borough Council remains by far the largest landlord. The Right to Buy policies introduced in the 1980s, however, mean that well over half of the housing is now in owner-occupation or the private rented sector. Much of the area was developed according to now discredited Radburn principles and the estates suffer from high permeability, limited vehicular access and a lack of defensible space around houses, all of which are now regarded as being helpful to criminal activity. The original housing stock is coming to the end of its projected life and is in need of major capital investment. The estates consist of a mixture of flats and three to five bedroomed houses. Most of the flats are in low rise blocks of six flats, though there are three high rise blocks in Lumbertubs. Newer private or mixed tenure estates are interspersed with the original stock. The countryside is never far away and many of the street names provide a direct link to the rural past: Old Barn Court, Great Meadow, the Paddocks etc. Some original farm buildings still stand. The area remains blessed with abundant open natural space. At the centre are the 22 hectares of Lings Wood. The Wood is managed on behalf of Northampton Borough Council by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire. The Trust has a base at the 1940s built Lings House in the middle 7

8 of the woods, from which a variety of conservation and educational activities are run. Even so, Northampton Borough Council s Open Space, Sport and Recreation Needs Assessment and Audit (2009) found that the programme area falls below national planning guidelines for the area devoted to children s and young people s facilities and allotments. Facilities and developments Generally speaking, facilities are provided on an estate by estate basis, with having its own school and local shopping centre (shared in the case of Lings and Lumbertubs). Usually this is restricted to a general store and newsagent and some fast food outlets. There is, however, a major district retail centre at Weston Favell with a Tesco supermarket and branches of many other high street chain retailers, together with banking and library facilities. A pub once also formed a part of each estate s hub, but two of the three have since been closed down due to poor commercial viability and the focus they were providing for criminal activity. The Millwheel at the Lings/Lumbertubs centre is now a community centre with a fast food outlet and a hairdresser, while the decaying Silver Horse building on Goldings has recently been sold to a local entrepreneur for redevelopment as a child care centre with flats above. Only the Pig and Whistle at Blackthorn continues to trade as a pub. There is also a major leisure centre at Weston Favell, a multi-practice health centre, and the main church and other facilities offered by the Emmanuel Group of Churches. There is a District Police Station and a Catholic Church only a couple of minutes walk from Weston Favell. In addition to the four GP practices in the centre at Weston Favell centre, there is also a Medical Centre on Tonmead Road, next to Lumbertubs Primary School. Arlbury Road in Blackthorn consists of single storey housing dedicated to the needs of older and disabled people and has its own social centre. There is further worship provision for the Bah ai faith in Lumbertubs, the Muslim community at The Brookside Hall, the Hindu community at Lodge Farm Community Centre, and two additional churches: Storehouse Church on Lings and the Church Of Christ at Shadowfax Drive, Overstone Lodge. A number of new developments are in progress at the time of writing. Planning permission has been granted for the building of a Hindu temple on land off Lings Way; the temple will serve the needs of the Hindu community from across and beyond Northampton. There is a new development of 11 shared ownership houses on the site of the former Robinson House hostel. Sure Start Children s Centres at Thorplands and Blackthorn provide a wide variety of facilities and support services to families with pre-school children, including play and child care, health and financial advice. Roughly speaking, Lings and Lumbertubs are in the 8

9 catchment area for the Thorplands Centre, while Blackthorn and Goldings (plus the eastern part of Lings) are served by Blackthorn. Although a number of pre-school facilities exist, a shortage of child care capacity is a widely recognised issue. Four primary schools, principally, cover the area: Lumbertubs, Lings, Wood Vale and Blackthorn, with the majority of pupils continuing into secondary education at either Northampton Academy or Weston Favell. Others will go on to Northampton School for Girls, Northampton School for Boys or Thomas Becket RC School or further afield still. The only functioning Residents Association in the area is Brookside Residents Council, which covers the Lings and Lumbertubs estates. Blackthorn Good Neighbours (BGN) run the Blackthorn Children s and Community Centre as well as being the Locally Trusted Organisation for Growing Together. The former Millwheel pub building is now Brookside Hall, a community centre hosting a wide variety of activities. The rent paid by a fast food outlet and a hairdresser contribute to the Hall s overheads, while the programme of voluntary and educational activities run there is self-funding. Population The total population of the former electoral Ward was 9,067 people in June There are 4,751 households, as follows. For comparison, the numbers of households by estate consulted for this Plan are also detailed and their percentage equivalent Estate Households Percentage Responses Consultation Blackthorn/Cherry Lodge % % Lings % % Goldings/Overstone Lodge % % Lumbertubs % 90 18%% The principal source of population profiling data is, of course, the 2011 Census. However, Census data is no longer collated or published by electoral ward, but by Middle layer Super Output Areas (MSOAs), subdivided into Lower layer Super Output Areas (LSOAs). The Growing Together area falls with eight SOAs. The majority of the area is covered by the Northampton 007 MSOA. This MSOA falls entirely within the Growing Together Area and comprises 5,901 residents (i.e. 65% approx. of the total population). It does not include Goldings or Lumbertubs. 9

10 SOA 004A covers Lumbertubs, again falling entirely within the Growing Together area. It has a population of 1,575 (17.37 of the total). Goldings falls within LSOA 005E, which also includes a significant part of Southfields. LSOA 005E has 1,854 residents. Shadowfax Drive and the streets running off it are included in Rectory Farm. They are not considered here as they form so small a part of that SOA. The following table shows the Census information for gender, disability, age, ethnicity and language from these SOAs. All numbers are percentages. The table also shows the profile of first stage consultees for this Community Plan. It should be noted that the data for age only include people from 13 upwards as younger children were not included in the consultation at this stage. Numbers will not add up to 100% due to rounding; within the languages data, only information about selected major language is given. Blackthorn & Lings (MSOA 007) Goldings (LSOA 005E) Lumbertubs (LSOA 004A) Northampton Consultation Sex Male Female Reporting a disability Age Teens s s s s s s s

11 Ethnicity White (British) White (Other) Mixed Asian (Indian sub-continent) Black/Black British Other A number of consultation respondents did not provide ethnicity information. Main language spoken English Not asked Other European language Not asked of which, Polish Not asked Russian Not asked South Asian languages Not asked African languages Not asked of which, Somali Not asked Not able to speak English well or at all Not asked Observations on the Census data The census data suggest that, by comparison with Northampton as a whole, the population of the Growing Together area: has more teenagers has fewer people in their 70s and 80s is more ethnically diverse, especially with regard to the Black/African populations None of these differences are especially marked. 11

12 Quality of Life issues The principal source of quality of life data for the area is the most recent Index of Multiple Deprivation, compiled in 2010 (IMD2007). IMD is updated every three years. This nationwide data-set divides the country into over 33,000 neighbourhoods, known as Super Output Areas (or SOAs) and combines eight sub-sets ( domains ) to produce a top to bottom ranking of all 33,000 plus SOAs. The eight domains are also ranked separately. These are as follows: Income Employment Health and disability Education, Training and skills Crime and disorder Quality of living environment Barriers to housing and services The area consists of 6 Super Output Areas (SOAs). The percentage rankings for these according to IMD 2010 are as follows (the lower the percentage score, the more deprived the neighbourhood). The location descriptions are only an indication of the area covered by each SOA and it should be noted that some of them take in streets that are not in the Growing Together project area. SOA location Overall Income Employment Health & disability 12 Educ n, training and skills Crime & disorder Env. quality Barriers to housing/ services Lumbertubs estate East Lings Cherry Lodge West Lings Blackthorn Goldings Other than pockets of relative affluence in Cherry Lodge and the eastern part of Lings (predominantly the privately owned Paddocks and Priors Courts), the general picture is of an overall deprivation position ranging from 13.84% in the case Goldings to to 8.17% for Blackthorn. Lumbertubs, west Lings, Blackthorn and Golding are all in the bottom 15% nationally, with Blackthorn in

13 the bottom 10%. Some of these overall scores mask considerable differences. Cherry Lodge includes the relatively deprived Maidencastle area as well as much more affluent streets on the other side of Cherry Lodge Road, while Goldings includes a number of recent private housing developments as well as the highly deprived areas around Dryley s, Crestline and Prentice Courts and the Treetops flats. Looking at the specific domains, a different picture emerges: the very low scores under the crime domain, common across most of Northampton East, stand out. Lumbertubs estate falls in the bottom 1% nationally income deprivation in Blackthorn and the level of skills and qualifications in Blackthorn and Goldings are of real concern generally low scores for educational attainment across the area do not bode well for the social mobility of future generations environmental quality is fairly high, reflecting the green spaces and proximity to open countryside barriers to services and housing (a measure of homelessness, access to housing, housing conditions and distance from essential services) is likewise reasonably good health and disability scores are good, other than on Lumbertubs and part of the Lings estate, perhaps reflecting the relatively young age profile of the area. It is also of concern that the very large majority of scores have declined since the previous (2007) Indices. Some of these declines, especially in Goldings (Health & Disability and Employment) have been quite dramatic. These statistical findings are reflected in the high priority given by residents to tackling crime and making the area feels safer and the need to invest in opportunities for children and teenagers. Employment and barriers to employment The IMD data quote above suggest that unemployment is a serious issue, especially on Blackthorn and Lumbertubs estates and the western part of Lings (i.e. other than the Priors and Paddock Courts and Old Barn Court). The most recent data on household unemployment at this level is from the Census and it confirms much higher levels of unemployment than in Northampton as a whole. The data is for households where the person completing the census form was unemployed A number of barriers to employment other than qualification levels are also evidenced by Census data on car ownership, lone parent households and households with a full-time carer (i.e. providing 20 hours or more of unpaid care) in the following table. 13

14 Blackthorn and Lings (MSOA 007) Goldings (LSOA 005E) Lumbertubs (LSOA 004A) Northampton Unemployed households 6.3% 8.2% 8.07% 3.51% Households without a car 34.8% 30.6% 36.7% 24.4% Households with one car 41.9% 47.2% 42.7% 43.1% Households with 2 cars 18.9% 17.3% 16.8% 25.7% Lone parent households 14.9% 18.9% 12.9% 8.5% Households with a carer providing 20 hours or more of unpaid care per week 4.3% 3.7% 3.0% 3.3% The poor availability of child care has already been noted. The estates also suffer from poor public transport links, which hamper job opportunities for those without access to a car. Bus links to the Weston Favell centre and on into Northampton town centre are adequate. However, links between the estates and to other centres of employment are much more problematic, involving long journeys and multiple changes. In many cases, a fairly short on-the-ground journey can only be completed by travelling into Northampton town centre and then travelling back out again. Other than the Weston Favell District centre and public sector provision, there are very few employment opportunities available within or close to the programme area. Next closest are Round Spinney and Moulton Park. Quality of housing Northampton Borough Council s own Stock Condition Survey (2010) found that Council housing in the programme area is in poor condition and, without investment, will not meet nationally recognised Decent Home Standards : Blackthorn: 427 of the 495 homes were expected to become non-decent by 2013 (86%) Lings: 283 of the 303 homes were expected to become non-decent by 2013 (93%) Lumbertubs: 163 of the 244 homes were becoming non-decent by 2013 (67%) Overstone Lodge: 114 of the 117 homes were expected to become non-decent by 2013 (97%) Goldings: 246 of the 284 homes were expected to become non-decent by 2013 (87%) 14

15 The two most common reason for properties failing to meet the Decent Homes Standard are poor repair (76%) and poor heating (20%). E. Recruitment and induction of the Community Partnership The Community Partnership is an all-resident group, currently of 13 members. A Youth Forum is being established and two of its members will attend each Partnership meeting in a voting capacity, accompanied by the youth worker supporting the Forum. The Steering Group has re-named itself the Advisory Group and will continue to be available to support the Partnership, on request. Of the Forum s members, 7 are female and five male; 10 are White British and 3 Black British/Black African; 3 report a disability; ages range from 30s to 70s. Members have come to the Partnership through a variety of routes. Most, however, have learned of the programme through the consultation exercise; only four had had significant experience of community engagement within the area. The Community Partnership undertook three induction sessions of two and half hours each. These included: team-building exercises understanding of the Big Local and Growing Together programmes the outcomes and priorities from the consultation exercises an understanding of the area and its underlying profile and priorities constitution and code of conduct generation of ideas to address the issues arising from consultation and group discussions The culmination of the induction programme was the adoption of a vision for the Growing Together programme and a ranking/participatory budgeting exercise to shape the programme to run between August/September 2013 and March The Community Partnership will also be the principal contributor to a Neighbourhood Forum for the programme area, currently being established under the provisions of the Localism Act Other places on the Forum will be filled by local Councillors and nominees of the Advisory Group. 15

16 At the conclusion of the induction programme, the Community Partnership requested BGN (Blackthorn Good Neighbours) to act as its Locally Trusted Organisation and Peter Strachan to continue as its Programme Co-ordinator. F. Vision Statement The Community Partnership has adopted the following as its statement of what it hopes to do and to achieve: Growing Together will invest in the people and the environment of Blackthorn, Goldings, Lings and Lumbertubs in order to make them great places in which to live and to grow up, in which residents care for each other, the community and their environment. G. Generation and assessment of project ideas As the priorities and Vision Statement have emerged, Growing Together has developed a range of possible practical project activities that will contribute to making the vision a reality. These have emerged from a number of sources: ideas suggested by local residents during the period of community consultation acknowledged examples of best practice from elsewhere in the country that address issues raised by the consultation ideas developed at thematic workshops held as part of the Community Partnership recruitment process and subsequently by members of the Community Partnership project proposals submitted by potential partner organisations, either upon request to meet an identified need, or in response to publicity through Northampton Volunteering Centre The Community Partnership has decided that it wishes to commence with a launch programme starting soon as funding becomes available and running until March This will consist of high profile ready-to-run projects with a significant community input that will get the programme better known in the wider community. The main programme will commence in April 2014, allowing time for more complex projects be developed, negotiated and assessed and for the main programme to commence at the best time of year, in the spring. Although the first 18 months of operation would appear to consume over 43% of the ten year Big Local funding, the following should be borne in mind: 16

17 200,000 is for one-off projects, including 100,000 for the playground programme the launch programme is intended as a high profile splash to capture the community s imagination the first 18 months start a number of major projects that can be expected to define the programme these projects may continue over a longer period of time with little additional funding requirement the illustrative costs are on the high side for the work currently envisaged we would hope to bring additional funding in to support the Year One programme, either reducing costs or enhancing project delivery commitments to the Year One programme will not be made until early 2014, after a full project development and negotiation period. The following proposals only commit the Community Partnership to the further investigation of these projects Activity proposals and outline budget until March 2015 Activity 9/13 3/14 4/14 9/14 10/14 3/15 Launch programme (and continuation of launch programme activities into 2014/5) Notes Drop-in music, arts and sports programmes for young people from 8 11 (run by Free 2 Talk) Drop-in music, arts and sports programmes for young people from 12 to 18 (run by Free 2 Talk) Outdoor activity programmes for teenagers, with opportunities to earn qualifications (run by Change of Scene) A drive to encourage local people to volunteer on Growing Together community projects (run by BGN) 6,000 6,000 6,000 To be run at a variety of venues around the area 4,250 4,250 4,250 To be run at a variety of venues around the area 14,000 7,000 3,000 Higher first year costs because of significant investment in community volunteers 10,000 Salary and support 7,000; 3,000 for initial volunteering projects with training/ assessment component 17

18 Junior Wardens programme expansion to all local primary schools (led by Borough Council/schools) Support for summer holiday community fun days in schools 4,000 2,000 2,000 Tried and tested project encouraging Year Five pupils to look after their local environment 1,000 1,000 Small grant fund for community projects 25,000 15,000 10,000 Main programme: Year One New play areas 50,000 50,000 In response to strong demand during consultation programme figure is illustrative and to be carried forward after March Major upgrade of the area and paths around Billing Brook, including Cygnet Lake and Dragonfly Lake Adventure play and other facilities in Foxcovert Wood to make it better used and looked after 50,000 A potential flagship project, still at feasibility stage. Figure is illustrative we would seek to bring in external funding to reduce it or enhance delivery. 30,000 Figure is illustrative; project at feasibility stage Summer music festival in Lings Wood 10,000 Illustrative figure Street Champions 20,000 20,000 Tried and tested project that has worked well in many other places, using supported local volunteers to keep the streets clean and tidy. Budget includes project worker, volunteer expenses and activities budget Community support and activities for older people (led by Age UK) 17,500 17,500 Annual cost of the Get Set Go programme, piloted in Corby. Other possible health related work has also been proposed. 18

19 Programme support Programme Co-ordinator 10,000 10,000 10,000 Publicity and other support costs 5,000 5,000 5,000 Youth Forum support 3,000 3,000 3,000 BGN management costs 2,500 2,500 2,500 TOTALS 84, , ,250 Note on Years Three to Five The Partnership has not undertaken any detailed consideration of plans for April 2015 to March The following table, for illustrative purposes only, assumes continuation of ongoing activities and support work at current costings. It also assumes that no new projects are started and that all one-off environmental activities have been completed by March Finally, it assumes zero success in attracting additional funding. Activity 2015/6 2016/7 2017/8 Drop-in activities for young people 20,500 20,500 20,500 Outdoor activity programmes for young people 10,000 10,000 10,000 Junior Wardens project 4,000 4,000 4,000 Summer fun days 1,000 1,000 1,000 Street Champions 40,000 40,000 40,000 Community support for older people 35,000 35,000 35,000 Small grants programme 25,000 25,000 25,000 Programme support 41,000 41,000 41,000 TOTALS

20 H. Consultation on the draft Big Local Plan The draft Big Local Plan was circulated for comments prior to a final review and decision to adopt at the Community Partnership s meeting of 20 June. Consultation included: circulation of the full draft to the Community Partnership, the Advisory Group and other stakeholders and partners summaries of the main proposals being posted on the surroundinglingswood.org website and the programme s Facebook page 500 copies of a printed summary being distributed to all consultation respondents who had requested to be kept informed and made available through local community groups, neighbourhood shops, Sure Start and community centres, churches and the Weston Favell Library. an article in The Brookside Banner (community newspaper distributed free to all households in Lings and Lumbertubs by BRC) other media releases A number of changes have been made to the Plan as a result of this consultation exercise. The amended Big Local Plan was presented to the Partnership on 20 June and approved for finalisation and submission. At the same meeting, the Community Partnership also elected Andrea McAuliffe as its Chair and agreed that she should sign the papers to apply for endorsement of the Partnership by Local Trust. Dianne Finnie was elected as Deputy Chair. I. Implementation of the Plan Pathways funded quick wins programme The way the timetable for preparing and submitting this Big Local Plan has worked out means that we can expect to be launching our programme during September/October. Clearly this is not the ideal time of year for a programme launch. We have therefore applied for 18,000 of Pathways funding to launch our youth activities, community events and small grants programme over the summer period. As with the rest of the launch programme, there will be a strong emphasis on encouraging grantees to raise the profile of Growing Together through their publicity. We will also use this programme to start identifying possible sites for community play facilities and other environmental enhancements. 20

21 Communications and other working groups A number of working groups are to be established by the Community Partnership in the immediate future. Six Partnership members have volunteered for the Communications Sub-Group. The task of this group will be to identify appropriate ways to establish two-way communication with the wider community about programme development and implementation. We know that we are working in an area where the written word (leaflets, newsletters etc) has very little power and the emphasis will be on social media, merchandise and public space advertising. The budget proposed above includes 10,000 per annum for publicity and other programme running costs. Five Partnership members have volunteered for the community grants panel. The role of this group will be to recommend operating parameters for our small grants fund to the Community Partnership (e.g. minimum and maximum limits, criteria, application process etc) and then to take decisions/make recommendations on small grant applications on behalf of the Partnership. Six partnership members have volunteered for the Billing Brook linear park working group. The purpose of this group is to develop recommendations for the enhancement of the brook that runs through a number of the programme estates, including two small lakes along its course. The group will also look at ways to enhance paths towards the brook as these are also key walking routes to the main shopping centre and location of the majority of local job opportunities. This group will also include key partners such as the Environment Agency, Police Crime Prevention officers and the Borough Council s Environmental Protection team. A further group will be formed to consider bringing the heavily fly-tipped Foxcovert Wood into use to meet the widespread demand of residents on the Overstone Lodge estate (part of Goldings area) for local play space for their young people. This group will include Partnership members, overlooking residents, the Scouts (who own the land), the Borough Council (who manage it) and the Probation Service who may be able to provide unpaid workers to clear the Wood out. Grant SLAs and monitoring Release of funds to any project, whether through a grant or a project directly managed by the Partnership, will be subject to a Service Level Agreement specifying the expected timescales, roles of partners, outputs, outcomes and monitoring information 21

22 requirements. For all but the smallest of projects, this will include a presentation on progress and impact to a full meeting of the Community Partnership. No continuation grants will be confirmed until the Partnership has heard and discussed such a presentation. Additional fundraising After the initial launch programme, most projects will be expected to offer an element of cash or in-kind match funding. The Partnership will undertake its own efforts to secure additional funding. Preparation of bids, support to other organisations and the development of fundraising capacity through training sessions are all part of the Programme Co-ordinator s role. We will also be undertaking an assessment of the opportunities for social investment in the area over the next six months. Finalising the 2014/5 programme Although projections are included in this Big Local Plan for the content and cost of the 2014/5 programme, the Community Partnership has made no firm commitments to any project at this stage. Final decisions will be made during February 2014, taking into account the impact achieved by projects and the findings of feasibility and development work towards potential new projects. 22