Devonshire West
Key points
- The Devonshire West partnership worked with existing groups to address acute community needs by providing access to food, advice and activities for local people.
- They invested in heritage buildings to create community spaces where people could meet and access support.
- By sharing their skills and experience developed through their involvement in Big Local, volunteers helped new and existing organisations in their area to access wider funding and become more established in the community.
About the Big Local area
The Devonshire West Big Local area was based in the ward of Devonshire in the coastal town of Eastbourne. It bordered Eastbourne town centre and extended to the area east of the pier. The area featured several heritage buildings that had become neglected but were still iconic landmarks.
In 2021, Devonshire West was home to over 10,000 residents (ONS, 2022). Overcrowded housing was a common issue (ONS, 2023), and the partnership noted that many period properties in the area had been turned into houses of multiple occupancy for students, refugees and new migrants waiting for permanent housing.
How the Big Local area approached delivery
When the Devonshire West partnership was established in 2014, its members recognised that they couldn’t address complex local issues — such as isolation, cultural integration and lack of employment — themselves. Instead, they aimed to develop the capacity and skills of residents to support the community to be a healthy and safe place to bring up a family and enjoy retirement; welcome newcomers; and have a collective sense of pride in the place where they live.
Partnership members were involved in existing groups around the area which gave them a good understanding of community needs and opportunities. This enabled them to seek out organisations to work with that had similar ambitions, or to support new groups to form.
A subgroup was established who met on a more frequent basis than the whole partnership. This group enabled quicker decision-making about Devonshire West Big Local funding, and facilitated communication across the partnership and key stakeholders. Over time, this small but effective sub-group became the partnership, as the wider group lessened in numbers, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic. The partnership found it challenging to recruit residents that were not already active in local groups, but found that working with organisations they knew or were connected to enabled quick allocation of resources. During meetings, partnership members strove to be conscious of this, wearing ‘different hats’ at different points in decision-making processes.
The partnership used grant-funding as the main vehicle for change and improvement in the community. The partnership adjusted their granting priorities frequently but mainly funded local events and activities, improved community facilities and supported local groups. Community grants were available up to £3,000 and microgrants up to £300. Larger scale grants, such as those provided to refurbish the Royal Hippodrome Theatre and Leaf Hall Community Arts Centre, required match funding, with the partnership estimating over £2 million of additional funding being brought into the community following initial grants from Devonshire West Big Local.
Towards the end of Big Local, the partnership continued awarding micro-grants, but used Service Level Agreements to award larger amounts of funding to organisations previously supported. The aim of these agreements was to support organisations to become more sustainable and be better able to meet community needs after the Big Local funding was spent.
Towards the end of the programme, some partnership members became trustees of Leaf Hall Community Arts Centre, a venue that had received Devonshire West Big Local support and funding for many years. As a reinvigorated community asset, the partnership felt Leaf Hall was a key legacy of the Big Local programme. They also felt that collectively, partnership members had developed a better understanding of community need and gained a range of fundraising skills through being involved in applying for and distributing grants over the years. They felt this knowledge would also be valuable for groups and organisations operating in Devonshire in the future.
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.
What the Big Local area did
Community assets and spaces
Refurbishing and protecting heritage buildings and assets
Like many coastal areas, Eastbourne’s public buildings were built during the late 19th and early 20th century when seaside towns were developed for tourism and became desirable places of residence. By investing in the refurbishment of heritage buildings and spaces, the Devonshire West Big Local partnership provided community spaces for present and future generations to run community activities. Big Local funding was used to refurbish the Royal Hippodrome Theatre and improve the look of the buildings around Seaside Rec, the only green space in the area.
In 1861, Leaf Hall was built as a working men’s institute. By the 2000s, it had become a Grade II listed community arts centre. Big Local funding contributed towards repairs, accessibility improvements, and a new programme of community activities. Partnership members supported Leaf Hall’s board to broaden the appeal of the venue in the community and raise its public profile. This involved funding a range of opportunities where residents could receive practical support or engage in creative expression at Leaf Hall, such as activities for young people, dance classes, and cinema evenings. It also operated as a warm space and hosted Big Local-funded cookery classes and food provision for the community.
As Big Local came to a close, some partnership members became trustees of Leaf Hall. Keen to ensure the space remained available as a place where new groups could try new activities, they planned to bring in additional funding to improve the accessibility of the historic building.
Supporting a new group to improve a local green space
Alongside working with existing groups in the area, the Devonshire West Big Local partnership was keen to develop new groups through providing grants and additional support. At the start of the programme, the partnership encouraged a group of residents to form Friends of Seaside Rec, to improve the only green space in the community.
A grant was provided to the group to fund an improved play area with new equipment, which was match-funded by the local borough council. Further funding was also provided to improve pathways around the 2.19-hectare green space, add a disabled access toilet and provide benches and Wi-Fi access for the on-site Paws Awhile café.
The partnership reflected that Seaside Rec went on to be a source of community pride for residents. It was awarded a Queen’s Covenant as part of the Diamond Jubilee, ensuring the green space can never be built on. As Big Local came to an end, the Friends of group were continuing to host family fun days on Seaside Rec and had received local awards recognising their efforts in improving the community space.
Working collaboratively
Providing early funding for a creative hub in the community
The Devonshire West partnership decided they would have more impact by working with existing organisations and projects to improve the area. Partnership members were often involved in other steering groups and management boards to share their skills and knowledge of local needs. For example, the partnership contributed to the vision for the Devonshire Collective, a consortium that aimed to provide a creative hub in the area. It was important to the partnership that both local artists and the wider community could benefit from the project.
With partnership member involvement and Big Local funding, two former shops were turned into the VOLT art gallery and a studio/maker space running events and workshops for the public. Eastbourne Studio Pottery became a long-term tenant and received additional grants from Devonshire West Big Local to support their ceramics workshops for varied abilities and ages.
Towards the end of the Big Local programme, Devonshire Collective was able to play a key role in the development of Eastbourne as a new cultural hub. It became one of the main partners in Eastbourne ALIVE, a series of art installations coinciding with the Turner Prize being hosted at the Eastbourne Towner gallery, located just outside the Big Local area. Devonshire Collective were also awarded £70,000 over a 3‑year period from Arts Council England to deliver a range of exhibitions, training programmes and workshops for young people.
Responding to crisis and urgent need
Funding food provision to build community connections
Food poverty was another need identified in the Devonshire West Big Local area. Early food provision projects led by partnership members expanded dramatically during the Covid-19 pandemic. Alongside this, Big Local grants were allocated to Matthew 25 Mission. Operating outside of a local church, the organisation had seen a huge uptake in demand for their free food provision during the pandemic. While Matthew 25 Mission primarily aimed to support those experiencing or at risk of homelessness, the partnership noted that they were keen to fund the organisation due to the increase in demand from families, particularly those in insecure housing or who had recently arrived in the country.
Over time, a partnership-led ‘soup and a roll’ scheme developed into Our Neighbourhood CIC and began to be delivered from Leaf Hall. Expanding their offer, each week a group of volunteers would cook 150 dinners for residents to take away. It would include a portion of soup, plus two dinners to be eaten over the weekend. Referrals came from local agencies, but residents could also self-refer. The decision to provide additional meals (known as Friday Night Takeaways) ensured access to food over the weekend, when Matthew 25 Mission was shut.
The partnership realised providing free food was also an opportunity to provide an additional way of accessing support for other needs — such as healthcare, or advice about benefits or housing — and funded local organisations to provide this. Alongside this, they accessed funding to set up a Ukrainian Support Hub in Leaf Hall, distributing clothing, homewares and advice. Additionally, it was important to the Devonshire West Big Local partnership to bring people together and help them build new connections. So, Our Neighbourhood CIC ran cookery classes from Leaf Hall, aiming to provide opportunities for people from different backgrounds and cultures to learn new skills together and make new friends in the community.
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 Devonshire West Big Local told Local Trust they used their Big Local funding.
References
Office for National Statistics (ONS) (2022) ‘UK Census 2021: All persons’. (Accessed 11 October 2024)
Office for National Statistics (ONS) (2023) ‘UK Census 2021: Overcrowded housing’. (Accessed 31 October 2024)