Central Chatham and Luton Arches, known locally as ‘Arches Local’, just north-west of Chatham town centre in Medway, Kent, was home to 8,777 people in 2021 (ONS, 2022). The area was culturally diverse with nearly 20% of the population being of Asian, Black African or Black Caribbean heritage and 14% of residents born in Eastern European countries (ONS, 2023a; 2023b; 2023c; 2023d). Sitting alongside two busy A‑roads, the area was split by a three-arched Victorian bridge carrying trains on the 40-minute journey from London to Chatham.
The partnership felt that following the closure of Chatham’s bustling dockyard in 1984 unemployment in the town rose, homes and streets fell into disrepair, and planning and land management decisions negatively affected the community. By 2019 the area was among the most deprived in England (MHCLG, 2019). Though open, green spaces were limited and residents complained about fly tipping, some residents voiced they were proud of where they lived.
The Big Local partnership made decisions by reaching broad consensus within meetings or voting on issues in a private WhatsApp group. This enabled them to be proactive, without having to wait for another meeting. The dozen partnership members were residents, many of whom were long-serving. At one point, Arches Local had the youngest Chair of any Big Local area. They sat on the neighbourhood planning forum and later became a director of the legacy organisation. Throughout the programme a small team of paid workers helped support and develop the partnership’s ambitious plans.
A Big Local partnership was a group made up of at least eight people that guided the overall direction of delivery in a Big Local area.
In 2012 Arches Local ran a range of consultation events, including a mobile farm day, theatre visits and an exhibition. They held meetings to gather residents’ views and organised training so a small team of residents could become community researchers, collating more than 800 responses. Five themes were then identified as priorities: social investment, urban greening, neighbourhood planning, getting more active, and community engagement.
The partnership continued to engage the community, including in developing a Neighbourhood Plan. For example, attending weekly coffee mornings at an over-55s residence, and setting up and participating in ‘Better Together’ Facebook hangouts.
As the programme became established, partnership members grew in confidence and built their capacity to work collaboratively. They navigated stakeholder relationships that created new opportunities, attracted external funding, and helped overcome barriers. Most significantly, they embarked on a learning journey to successfully create the Neighbourhood Plan, developing new research and negotiation skills along the way.
In November 2022, Arches Local became a community interest company, with some partnership members taking on director roles. This legacy organisation aimed to build on the partnership’s success in improving outdoor spaces, fostering physical and mental wellbeing, and creating opportunities for community engagement. Providing better access to jobs and learning was identified as an additional legacy focus.
Residents voiced concerns that development was done ‘to’ them rather than ‘with’ them at a community event in Town Hall Gardens in 2017. This eventually led to a comprehensive Neighbourhood Plan for the Arches Local area, addressing housing, the natural environment, sustainable transport, the local economy and community spaces.
In 2019, the Arches Local partnership set up the Arches Chatham Neighbourhood Forum (ANCF), which included residents, business owners, community organisations and elected members. Partnership members led the Forum throughout the Plan development process. They held events to raise awareness of the Forum and gather views, liaised with Medway Council, navigated complex statutory requirements and learned about legalities and governance structures. To ensure consistency, the partnership extended the Big Local area boundary to align with the area covered by the Neighbourhood Plan (with approval from the National Community Lottery Fund).
The final Neighbourhood Plan aimed to transform the area into a “beautiful, green and prosperous place in which people wish to stay, live and work” (ACNF, 2022, p.8). Following a referendum in which hundreds of residents voted seven to one in its favour, the Plan was formally adopted by Medway Council in May 2024. From this date on, investors and developers were required to show how new developments aligned with the community’s vision for the area, while the community had a statutory right to respond. This Plan is expected to continue to influence local planning decisions until 2040.
Early in the programme, residents noted the arched Victorian railway bridge that gave Arches Local its name had been in a severe state of disrepair for many years. The partnership contacted several relevant public bodies and facilitated site visits, but these early efforts were unsuccessful.
Four years later, in 2019, the partnership decided to try again, and reached out to Network Rail, inviting them to a site visit. After extensive engagement, their efforts paid off and Network Rail agreed to clean up the bridge and fund the painting of a small mural. Work was completed on this central town feature in 2021, two years after initial contact with Network Rail.
From early on, the partnership wanted to improve the area by blocking unsightly views, providing shade, and creating natural windbreaks. Big Local funding was invested in purchasing a scanner to identify safe planting sites and training partnership members on how to use it. The partnership went on to gain funding from the People’s Postcode Trust and began planting.
To mark National Tree Week in 2020, dozens of trees were planted on streets in areas known for poor air quality. Two years later, the partnership also reintroduced trees onto a busy main road. This new ‘Urban Forest’ numbered around 70 trees, including some in movable containers, which were placed in the playground of a local primary school. When asked to describe the forest on postcards to be sent into the future, one resident wrote an inspirational poem:
This initiative benefitted from strong partnerships. For instance, Arches Local worked with the estates team of a social housing provider to plant trees on their land, and with the local highways manager, whose team dug holes where trees could be planted. Residents were encouraged to participate in community tree maintenance days too, where residents of all ages learned about planting together.
In 2015, Luton Millennium Green on the north side of the Arches Local area was blanketed in brambles, littered with glass, and the children’s play area was unusable. The partnership, a local charity, gardening club, and Medway Council, won £15,000 from the then Department for Communities and Local Government (now the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government) to create a ‘pocket park’ on the site. Big Local funding contributed a further £10,000 of match-funding.
Local gardeners (the Magpie Growers) and other volunteers cleared the park and created a wildflower meadow, while schoolchildren planted trees and distributed seed-bombs. A local carver created a bench inspired by residents’ drawings and designs, the amphitheatre was restored, and a natural play space was installed.
The transformed park soon became home to Arches Local’s annual summer party and, in 2020, a Friends group was established to coordinate volunteer activity and promote the park among the wider community. The group was still going strong towards the end of the Big Local programme.
In 2017 the partnership launched the Fit and Fed club at Luton Primary School. This provided healthy meals for children, along with activities like arts and crafts, kayaking and paddleboarding, foraging, and street dancing. The Arches Local partnership worked with partners (including Medway Sport, Olympia Boxing, Sport on your Doorstep, Streetgames, and Fareshare) to provide coaches, sports equipment, and food. Participant numbers increased year on year, and Fit and Fed became so popular that it opened its doors to older children too. By 2024, more than 1,600 children had taken part.
In order to tackle social isolation and loneliness during the Covid-19 lockdowns, the partnership set up the Better Together Hangout on Facebook to regularly engage with the Arches Local community. Residents enjoyed connecting with others and asking the partnership about local developments, and it was still going strong four years later. With between 50 and 80 active participants in 2024, the Hangout was expected to continue as a legacy of Big Local.
Towards the end of the programme, a conversation within the partnership about their desire to see more public art in the area led to a major mural project. After initial quotes proved too costly, the partnership chose to manage the initiative themselves. They learned how to close pavements, sourced specialist equipment, and commissioned and managed artists.
The first mural featured a giant cabbage secured behind security tape. This striking image reflected the agricultural history of the area and prompted neighbours to stop in the street and discuss it. A later mural celebrated the Windrush Generation and featured a local man who had been the first Black railway guard at Euston station. As more murals launched, residents came together to celebrate them. The partnership felt that the excitement generated by each new arrival improved perceptions of the area.
Each Big Local area received approximately £1.2 million (ranging from £1.199 mil to 1.209 mil) to spend over 10–15 years, depending on how much additional funding they accessed from Local Trust to address specific needs. For example, to bring people together at the start of the programme or to access training and support. This has been categorised for areas and at the programme level based on reports received from areas.
Partnerships chose their own priorities and categories for reporting, and were encouraged to use broad categories so they could use the funding flexibly. All areas spent a significant amount of money on ‘Big Local delivery costs’ such as workers’ salaries, stationery and IT equipment. You can find out more about programme level spend in this article. This is how Arches Local Big Local told Local Trust they used their Big Local funding.
Arches Chatham Neighbourhood Forum (ACNF) (2022) ‘Arches Chatham Neighbourhood Plan 2022–2040’. (Accessed 7 January 2025)
Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG) (2019) ‘English indices of deprivation 2019’. (Accessed 7 January 2025)
Office for National Statistics (ONS) (2022) ‘UK Census 2021: All persons’. (Accessed 7 January 2025)
Office for National Statistics (ONS) (2023a) ‘UK Census 2021: Ethnic group: Asian, Asian British or Asian Welsh’. (Accessed 7 January 2025)
Office for National Statistics (ONS) (2023b) ‘UK Census 2021: Ethnic group: Black, Black British, Black Welsh, Caribbean or African’. (Accessed 7 January 2025)
Office for National Statistics (ONS) (2023c) ‘UK Census 2021: Country of birth: Europe: EU countries: European Union: EU8’. (Accessed 22 January 2025)
Office for National Statistics (ONS) (2023d) ‘UK Census 2021: Country of birth: Europe: EU countries: European Union: EU2’. (Accessed 22 January 2025)
