Catton Grove
Key points
- Refurbishments to the Catton Grove Community Centre, helped create a more flexible space to better meet the needs of the community.
- The partnership supported the creation of new groups and organisations that were led by residents and volunteers, helping the community to run a local allotment and look after a large public park.
- Through subsidies and small grants, children and adults had access to regular local activities and events that supported their health and wellbeing.
About the Big Local area
Around 6,600 people lived in the Catton Grove Big Local area (ONS, 2022a), a neighbourhood just over a mile north of Norwich city centre. Densely populated, it had a large proportion (over 45 per cent) of social rented housing (ONS, 2022b; 2023). Residents had access to shops, schools, churches, a large park, a community centre and an adjoining green space known as Pointers Field.
Compared to the average for the city of Norwich, the Big Local area had more adults unable to work through long-term illness or disability and more children living in low-income households (ONS, 2022c; DWP, 2024). There were also more adults at risk of digital exclusion than the city (GMCA, 2021). Two local authorities provided services in the area, Norwich City Council and Norfolk County Council.
How the Big Local area approached delivery
In 2013, a group of community representatives, known as the Big Local Bunch, engaged and consulted residents in Catton Grove. From this, working groups – composed of residents, community groups and organisations – formed around six community priorities. These priorities included supporting residents’ health and wellbeing; creating a new community venue and a community allotment; broadening young people’s horizons; and engaging residents. The Catton Grove Big Local partnership was formed the following year, and produced a plan informed by the groups’ recommendations around these key themes.
From the start of Big Local, the partnership paid a co-ordinator to promote voluntary activity and build community capacity. The coordinator also commissioned organisations to deliver local services such as access to information and advice; employment and training opportunities; and activities for young and older residents. In the final years of the programme the partnership focused on funding groups and organisations that were already delivering in the Catton Grove area, following challenges with some of their earlier commissions, where the organisations did not have existing relationships in the community.
Catton Grove Big Local ran an ongoing ‘Community Chest’ small grants programme, supported by a panel of partnership members. This offered an opportunity for local groups and organisations to try ideas out and develop community activities. With grants of up to £1,000 available, the partnership felt the programme was particularly helpful for smaller community groups who might otherwise struggle to access funding. Over the course of the Big Local programme, they distributed over 50 grants.
Supported by three Locally Trusted Organisations (LTOs) over the course of the programme, partnership members felt their most effective relationship was with the third, a local community church, which was appointed in 2018. The Oak Grove Community Church was felt to understand the community and its challenges, and was supportive of a resident-led approach. The partnership also allocated funds to the church to deliver some activities on behalf of the partnership, including a debt and money advice service, introduced in response to the increased cost of living.
Acknowledging the historically low levels of community engagement in the area, the partnership wanted to encourage greater resident participation in community activities. However, engagement was described by the partnership as one of their biggest challenges. In their final plan, they sought to support more residents to take an active role in the community, which included funding two community link roles to help engage residents. However, recruitment and retention for these roles proved difficult and towards the end of Big Local, in 2023, the partnership decided not to re-recruit.
There was a close relationship between the partnership and the Catton Grove Community Centre. The centre was the hub for many Big Local funded activities and having a physical presence helped Catton Grove Big Local to raise its profile. In the final years of the Big Local programme, the partnership saw the centre as part of their legacy, funding major improvements to increase its capacity and supporting the management committee to become a CIO, so they could take on the lease for the building and manage it for years to come.
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.
Many Big Local partnerships funded workers to support the delivery of Big Local. They were paid individuals, as opposed to those who volunteered their time. They were different from Big Local reps and advisors, who were appointed and paid by Local Trust.
A locally trusted organisation (LTO) was the organisation chosen by people in a Big Local area or the partnership to administer and account for funding, and/or deliver activities or services on behalf of a partnership. Areas might have worked with more than one locally trusted organisation depending on the plan and the skills and resources required.
What the Big Local area did
Community assets and spaces
Bringing people together to improve green space
One of Catton Grove Big Local’s most successful projects was the development of Waterloo Park, a Grade II listed public park, owned by the city council. Located in the south of the Big Local area, residents felt that the park wasn’t reaching its full potential. As well as improving park facilities, they also wanted to explore opportunities to change the use and management of the park.
Partnership members held an open meeting in the cafe in Waterloo Park, to see if there was any interest locally in developing a support group for the park. The response from the wider community was positive, and a Friends of Waterloo Park group began to take shape, bringing together residents and park users living further afield. The emerging group carried out a survey of park users, receiving over 700 responses. The findings provided them with an understanding of how people used the park and improvements they wanted to see. It also helped to raise the profile of the new group, allowing them to build a database of supporters and potential volunteers.
With support from Catton Grove Big Local, the Friends of Waterloo Park became an independently constituted group. The group developed a large pool of volunteers, who improved flower beds and borders, created a wildflower meadow from a disused bowling green, hosted events, and were involved in selecting a new tenant for the park café. They also built a relationship with Norwich City Council, working with them to create a 10-year management plan for the park. Waterloo Park secured successive Green Flag Awards and was recognised as a Garden of Sanctuary in 2024. The partnership felt the Friends of Waterloo Park was a key part of their legacy. Towards the end of the Big Local programme, the group managed over 30 flower beds and organised open days, concerts, arts and community events.
Creating a community hub for local services and activities
Residents were keen to create a new, multipurpose community venue in the area, that would be able to support different activities and services, as well as act as a focal point for residents to engage with Big Local. Early on, the partnership rented a disused police station, redecorated it and opened it as “The Box” community hub. The partnership commissioned an organisation to provide information, advice, employment and training support, and develop the building into a viable community facility.
However, the space was underused, and it was unclear to the partnership if it was achieving the outcomes they had wanted. Tensions arose about access to and ownership of the space between Catton Grove Big Local and the delivery partner, due to lack of clarity in the initial agreement. This made it difficult for Big Local to run The Box as intended and the partnership made the decision to close it in 2019 and focus on other projects in their plan.
Afterwards, the partnership turned its attention to the Catton Grove Community Centre, located in the middle of the Big Local area. It was local authority-owned and managed by a voluntary management committee. Many of Catton Grove Big Local activities were already being delivered from the centre, alongside a range of other community activities, so the partnership funded redecoration in the centre.
A few years later, there was an opportunity for the partnership and management committee to bring a vacant part of the centre back into community use. The partnership supported the management committee to become a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO), the Catton Grove Community Centre CIO, so that they could take on the lease for the building. They also engaged architects and builders to create the new multipurpose room. The new room was opened by the Lord Mayor of Norwich, with attendees noting the new light and modern space. This turned the Catton Grove Community Centre into a better equipped local venue with income-generating potential that, along with the new CIO, the partnership felt contributed to the legacy of Big Local in the area.
Creating an outdoor space for residents to come together and learn new skills
During early consultation, residents asked the partnership to set up a community allotment so they could grow fruit and veg. Norwich City Council offered the partnership an overgrown plot on a local allotment site and a small group, led by a resident with a passion for gardening, worked together to establish it as a growing space.
Big Local funding paid for tools, a shed and annual allotment fees, and paid staff supported volunteers to establish a constituted community group to manage the space. Volunteers stressed that the allotment was about much more than growing vegetables — it was an opportunity to socialise, learn new skills and keep active. The community allotment continued with support from the Catton Grove Big Local small grants programme. By the end of Big Local the allotment was still going, and described as flourishing by the partnership.
Place-based pride and connection
Supporting the creation of a successful local football team
For years the Catton Grove partnership delivered a Community Chest Small Grants programme, distributing grants to a range of groups and organisations. As well as funding groups and organisations, the partnership provided funding to residents, supporting their ideas and activities. For example, when restrictions eased during the Covid-19 pandemic, two brothers arranged a kickaround in Waterloo Park.
As the sessions attracted more people, the partnership stepped in to support them, including funding footballs and bibs. These informal sessions became more popular and led to the creation of a new football team — Waterloo United FC. The team played their first game in the Norwich and District Sunday League Division 4 in 2021, mid-way through the programme. Big Local funds continued to fund new kits for the team, and at the end of Big Local, although they no longer trained in Waterloo Park, the team acknowledged Catton Grove Big Local’s support in getting them going.
Investing in young people
Providing new activities to broaden the horizons of children and young people
The Catton Grove partnership heavily invested in children and young people’s activities, aiming to create opportunities which would increase children’s self-esteem, broaden their horizons and raise their aspirations. They allocated funds to youth providers to deliver weekly junior and youth clubs from the community centre.
However, over the years, levels of participation from young residents were generally low, particularly amongst teenagers. Despite re-commissioning and reshaping activities, this remained a challenge, and the partnership explored other ways they could reach young people in the area. They funded community groups and organisations to provide free, holiday activities that enabled young people to try something new. Often organised through open calls for suggestions, activities were delivered across different venues and spaces in the community and included trampolining, circus skills and parkour. In addition, Community Chest grants were awarded to groups and organisations working with children and young people, often funding one-off projects including drama workshops, a community gardening project, a summer playscheme and musical equipment.
Health and wellbeing
Engaging residents in activities to improve physical and mental health
Early consultation in Catton Grove highlighted that health and wellbeing was a significant issue for residents, and this was a priority for the Big Local partnership throughout the programme. They funded projects out in the community, such as community events, coffee mornings, gardening activities, defibrillators, and health walks.
The partnership also worked alongside the Catton Grove Community Centre to sustain and build on existing wellbeing activities, directing funding to a wide range of affordable classes within the centre. For a small fee, regular sessions included gentle exercise, Zumba, arts and crafts, relaxation and yoga, with a ‘Try January’ campaign offering free sessions for the whole month. Weekly activities also included those started by partnership members themselves, such as the Big Local Shuffleboard Club.
Recognising the importance of these sessions to the community, towards the end of the Big Local programme, the partnership worked closely with the community centre to ensure they could continue running through alternative sources of funding.
How the Big Local area spent their funding
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 Catton Grove Big Local told Local Trust they used their Big Local funding.
References
Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) (2024) ‘Children in low income families: local area statistics’. Available at: gov.uk/government/statistics/children-in-low-income-families-local-area-statistics-2014-to-2023/children-in-low-income-families-local-area-statistics-financial-year-ending-2023 (Accessed 9 January 2025)
Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) (2021) ‘Digital Exclusion Risk Index: DERI score’. Available at: gmtableau.nhs.uk/t/GMCA/views/DigitalExclusionRiskIndexv1_6/DERIhomepage (Accessed 9 January 2025)
Office for National Statistics (ONS) (2022a) ‘UK Census 2021: All persons’. Available at: ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/populationestimates/datasets/populationandhouseholdestimatesenglandandwalescensus2021 (Accessed 9 January 2025)
Office for National Statistics (ONS) (2022b) ‘UK Census 2021: Population density’. Available at: ons.gov.uk/datasets/TS006/editions/2021/versions/4 (Accessed 9 January 2025)
Office for National Statistics (ONS) (2022c) ‘UK Census 2021: Economic activity status, England and Wales: Economically inactive: long-term sick or disabled’. Available at: ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/bulletins/economicactivitystatusenglandandwales/census2021#economic-activity-status (Accessed 9 January 2025)
Office for National Statistics (ONS) (2023) ‘UK Census 2021: Social rented housing’. Available at: ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/housing/bulletins/housingenglandandwales/census2021 (Accessed 9 January 2025)