The Firs and Bromford Big Local area (known locally as Firs and Bromford Neighbours Together) covered the Firs and Bromford estate to the east of Birmingham city centre, with a long local history of manufacturing. The estate was built in the 1950s and 1960s, along the River Tame, near the M6 motorway (the location of the planned HS2 rail link from London to Birmingham). The Big Local area had a higher percentage of green spaces than the wider West Midlands (OS, 2025), though the partnership reflected that these were often overgrown or unusable. The area included three primary schools, two churches, and two council-run community buildings.
In 2021, the area was home to 7,213 residents, 30 per cent of whom were aged under 16, compared to 19 per cent in the wider West Midlands (ONS, 2022a; 2022b). The Big Local area was in the top 10 per cent most deprived communities in England (MHCLG, 2019). During the Big Local programme there was some increasing diversity in the population, including an increase in people of Black heritage (ONS, 2012; 2023).
Firs and Bromford Neighbours Together (FBNT) had a vision to create a place “where all feel welcome, all feel that they belong, and all feel that they can flourish”. The partnership used different approaches to consult the community, including events (like Big Conversation days, coffee mornings, and advice surgeries), training 18 community researchers, and developing a film (in which residents were asked what was important to them). This engagement shaped priorities around improving the environment, creating opportunities for intergenerational engagement, and providing facilities and activities for children, young people, and families.
The partnership met every other month and had an average of 11 resident members. The Hub (a council-run community building) was the main location for Big Local activity. Early on, the partnership created working groups around each priority, with activities and delivery led by partnership members known as champions. However, within a few years, the partnership recognised that this structure burdened champions and limited the number of projects they could focus on.
Pivoting to take on a more enabling role, FBNT worked with two local grassroots organisations, forming Together We Can! (TWC!), whose steering group met every two months. Some people were involved in both the partnership and the grassroots organisations, and coming together meant they could pool resources while realising their shared visions to support the community.
Towards the end of the programme, after community consultation about their legacy beyond Big Local, FBNT set up the Firs and Bromford Community Development Trust with its TWC! partners. The Trust became the Locally Trusted Organisation for the remainder of Big Local. Reflecting residents’ desire for safe, welcoming, and nurturing spaces that would support good mental health, the Trust’s aims focussed on connectedness, belonging, and participation. As part of their legacy, FBNT invested in an accessible vehicle which would be fitted with a kitchenette, seating, desk space, and wi-fi. The van was intended to serve multiple purposes, including transporting residents to and from mental health sessions, serving as a pop-up pantry, and providing a space to talk to residents at events.
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.
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.
Firs and Bromford Neighbours Together (FBNT), Worth Unlimited, and the Open Door Community Foundation collaborated under the name of Together We Can! (TWC!) to apply for funding from the National Lottery Community Fund (NLCF).
Over the course of nine years, TWC! received £1.1m funding from NLCF and £320,000 in Big Local funding. TWC! delivered many FBNT initiatives, while opening wider collaborative working opportunities. By the end of Big Local they had collaborated with 60 organisations, including Birmingham City Council, Birmingham City University, churches, mosques, and mental health service providers.
TWC! and FBNT felt strongly about the benefits of asset-based community development. Recognising that training opportunities could create long-term benefits among the wider community, TWC! invested in training for residents. Around 100 residents of varied ages participated in courses covering topics like youth work, conflict management, enterprise development, diversity and equity, leadership, and mental health awareness.
Although the Firs and Bromford Big Local area had several green spaces, many were overgrown and difficult to access. As part of a strategy to strengthen communities by providing social spaces, towards the end of Big Local Together We Can! (TWC!) received funding from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund to redevelop an under-used green space outside a community centre (The Hub).
Working with the National Trust, Birmingham City Council, and a local interdisciplinary design studio, TWC! collaborated with residents to co-design the space. Young people, parents and carers, and local groups contributed ideas through an online questionnaire and interactive design sessions, culminating in a shared vision. Residents created a pocket park with seating, planted wildflowers, and painted an archway to celebrate the neighbourhood’s history. The collaborative design process fostered local ownership, while the new social space boosted local interest in nature.
Recognising that deeper connections build stronger communities, a few years into Big Local the partnership launched a street connecting project where local, well-connected volunteers knocked on doors and welcomed residents to the community.
These volunteers, who were passionate about community wellbeing, were supported and guided by a Together We Can! mentor. The volunteers nurtured new friendships and encouraged residents to run hyper-local street events to bring people together. For instance, one resident applied for a small grant to host a street party for the King’s Coronation, with creative activities, games, and a bouncy castle. Over time, street connectors and residents jointly organised larger-scale intergenerational and intercultural events.
After reviewing their progress early in the programme, and efforts to enable residents to realise their own ideas for improving their neighbourhoods, the partnership introduced a small grants initiative. They hosted ‘pie events’, based on SOUP micro-granting events (where participants pay an entry free and eat a meal while listening to project pitches, with the winning pitch being awarded the money raised through entry fees). The Firs and Bromford Neighbours Together events brought residents together over home-cooked pie to make connections and pitch ideas, which each received £200 in Big Local funding. In total, approximately £40,000 was allocated in small grants at the pie events.
The events themselves were also valuable — raising awareness of community projects, prompting residents to offer resources or support, and leading to larger, longer-term projects. One project the partnership felt particularly proud of was The Real Junk Food Kitchen, which received a £200 grant early in the Big Local programme. This grant supported a resident to repurpose unused food from local restaurants and supermarkets into three-course meals people could enjoy on a ‘pay as you feel’ basis. The volunteer-run project was soon welcoming over 100 people each week and within a year received additional funding from Birmingham City Council.
Mid-way through Big Local, Firs and Bromford Neighbours Together (FBNT) provided grant funding of £9,500 for a project with Birmingham City University School of Film Studies and a resident-led theatre group. While creating two short films, the project provided opportunities for acting and developing filmmaking skills.
Four years later, a further grant from FBNT enabled the theatre group to create a film with Reel Access (a Birmingham-based creative media organisation). Growing from six members when it began to 31 members, the theatre group created opportunities for residents to get to know one another and express themselves.
FBNT also supported a resident-led creative writing group, which included neurodivergent writers and writers who had struggled to get published. Thanks to a £2,000 grant the group self-published 10 eBooks, overcoming barriers and improving their members’ confidence. The books (which included romance novels, spy thrillers, autobiographies, and children’s stories) were launched at events attended by residents.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, Firs and Bromford Neighbours Together (FBNT) initiated emergency initiatives to support people in vulnerable circumstances. The partnership built a relationship with a group of older men affected by alcohol and drugs, through previous projects. This enabled them to offer support, dropping off food and engaging in doorstep conversations. FBNT also ensured residents were able to receive emergency food parcels from Birmingham City Council.
Recognising the actions residents themselves took to support each other during the pandemic, FBNT organised the Covid-19 Unsung Heroes event in 2022. This celebrated people who had transformed communal gardens to make them more welcoming, picked up litter, or set up community food tables outside their homes. The partnership received 150 nominations identifying 96 unsung heroes, all of whom received an award.
Supporting children and young people was a consistent priority for Firs and Bromford Neighbours Together and, from mid-way through the programme, a team of youth workers was employed through Together We Can! (TWC!). Based at The Hub, these three workers provided one-to-one support, drop-in sessions, and targeted assistance for young people who were not in education, employment, or training.
The youth workers delivered a young changemakers course, supported volunteer youth connectors, and supported a youth forum (whose eight members met monthly to discuss issues faced by young people). Launched towards the end of Big Local, the young changemakers course encouraged young people to reflect on their skills and abilities, to develop them into leadership strengths. Three young changemakers participated in residential trips (overnight programmes exploring identity, strengths, and passions) and coaching sessions, while one became a paid Youth Connector trainee, who amplified young people’s voices and supported youth groups. Between 2014 and 2025, a total of 896 young people were supported by TWC!.
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 Firs and Bromford Big Local told Local Trust they used their Big Local funding.
Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG) (2019) ‘English indices of deprivation 2019’. (Accessed 5 December 2025)
Office for National Statistics (ONS) (2012) ‘UK Census 2011: Ethnic group: Black, African, Caribbean or Black British’. (Accessed 5 December 2025)
Office for National Statistics (ONS) (2022a) ‘UK Census 2021: All persons’. (Accessed 5 December 2025)
Office for National Statistics (ONS) (2022b) ‘UK Census 2021: Age structure of the population: Population aged under 16’. (Accessed 5 December 2025)
Office for National Statistics (ONS) (2023) ‘UK Census 2021: Ethnic group: Black, Black British, Black Welsh, Caribbean or African’. (Accessed 5 December 2025)
Ordnance Survey (OS) (2025) ‘Open Greenspace’. (Accessed 5 December 2025)
