Located on the east side of Southampton, the Big Local area covered parts of Harefield, Midanbury and Townhill Park. Being in the SO18 postcode, the Harefield, Midanbury and Townhill Park Big Local area was known as SO18 Big Local. The area was made up of neighbourhoods built as council estates on the east side of Southampton, which were not physically connected and included a lot of green space. With a population of 6,231 (ONS, 2022), it was within the 20 per cent most deprived areas of the country (MHCLG, 2019). Local employment was mainly through schools or small shops.
Throughout the period of the Big Local programme, all five local pubs shut, a community centre closed and entered a state of disrepair, and a church hall was demolished. The Townhill Park neighbourhood was subject to the biggest redevelopment programme in Southampton in a generation, with 450 homes in walk-up blocks planned for demolition to be replaced by 650 new properties. This was planned to happen over 10 years from 2012, at the same time as SO18 Big Local. However, by 2023, only 56 new homes had been built, while more than 300 were demolished or emptied, and the neighbourhood had large empty plots surrounded by hoardings (Southampton City Council, 2024).
From the start of the programme, the partnership consulted residents, who felt they were divided from other neighbourhoods and that there were few community groups locally. With so many changes planned for the area, the SO18 Big Local partnership aimed to provide practical support to empower residents, promote kindness, reduce isolation, improve the local environment, and engage and connect residents through community activities.
At the outset, the partnership decided to use a range of delivery methods, including procurement, small grants, and relying on partnership members to lead projects. They became more strategic over time. For example, after funding existing local groups, they decided to end the small grants programme, and focus on procuring a few organisations that were effective in delivery.
Membership of the partnership changed over time but was mostly formed of residents and volunteers. Two residents were employed part-time as Big Local workers from the start and were joined by local youth workers for a few years. Towards the end of the programme, a community gardener also joined the team. This support alongside consistent chairing (with two chairs), enabled the partnership to be creative, and to become more confident in decision-making.
The Big Local workers fostered good communication across the neighbourhoods with physical and digital newsletters, and regular social media posts. SO18 Big Local became an important point of contact in the community as the Big Local workers and partnership members built their knowledge of community needs.
Halfway through the programme the partnership explored setting up as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO), but decided against it for several reasons, including that the area was not a single community. Towards the end of the Big Local funding, the partnership affirmed this decision. They worked to sustain their achievements and legacy by supporting and forming new small community groups to carry on their work, and by partnering with organisations well placed for delivery. For example, a residents’ group Townhill Regeneration is Leaving Legacy (THRILL) took on the running of the Townhill Park Regeneration Forum and a community organisation (Oasis) took on the Harefield Hub. The partnership’s approach ensured that their work joined efforts up and forged new collaborations between organisations.
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.
Flexible and long-term funding allowed the partnership to contract different organisations and back initiatives that worked, supporting residents in a variety of ways. For example, Southampton Advice and Representation Centre (SARC) brought in over £500,000 for residents of the SO18 Big Local area through benefit and employment claims, while Learning Through Sport offered subsidised access to their courses.
Southampton Children’s Play Association provided holiday playschemes, and 140 parents were supported to rebuild relationships with children and young people through New Vision on Relationships courses. As access to food became a growing priority, over 1,900 good quality, free packed lunches were distributed through playschemes and family activities. By monitoring project impact, the partnership was able to make informed decisions about additional funding for projects with limited impact.
The partnership wanted to help more residents in the SO18 Big Local area to get online to improve their access to services and combat isolation. They evolved their approach to digital inclusion as needs changed. They first set up a weekly ‘tea and tech’ drop-in session for residents, and later partnered with other organisations to set up SO:Let’s Connect – a project focused on digital inclusion across Southampton. They ran a pilot across Harefield, Midanbury and Townhill Park which supported ten people to access services online, five of whom had no prior access to the internet. Using this learning, they were able to provide IT equipment, internet connectivity, and support from volunteer Digital Connectors to residents during Covid-19 and beyond, including those with less digital confidence.
After six years of demolition, half the residents being moved out of their homes, and very few new homes being built on the council-run Townhill Park development, SO18 set up Townhill Park Regeneration Forum. Residents and local organisations were able to bring concerns directly to Southampton City Council, and invited councillors to tour the estate to see the lack of progress. The council came to value the group for community consultation.
The Forum submitted resident-informed proposals to a Boundary Commission review so that Townhill Park would not be split into two electoral wards and would remain well-represented by one set of councillors.
The SO18 Big Local partnership produced information packs about the development for people who had moved into the new buildings. They also made a short film interviewing residents and a local headteacher about the impact of the drawn-out regeneration on the community. The partnership set up THRILL (Townhill Regeneration is Leaving Legacy), a group to continue advocating for resident involvement in the development, including to facilitate the Townhill Park Regeneration Forum.
In the first few years of the programme, the SO18 Big Local partnership supported residents to advocate for improved bus services in their area. An existing bus service ran hourly, stopped in the early evening, and didn’t run on weekends. The partnership surveyed residents and found that this service frequently left residents stranded or unable to attend medical appointments. This resulted in residents having to pay for taxis, and limited job, social and leisure opportunities outside of the estate. A group of residents used this feedback to successfully make the case for funding from the Council to provide more frequent bus services.
Through their small grants fund, the SO18 Big Local partnership helped develop funding application skills among local groups. The fund ran for five years providing £73,000 to local projects, with £28,000 in matched funding from developers. When a grant was successful, a member of each applicant group was required to sit on a grant making panel, helping build their understanding of what makes a good application and develop grant writing skills.
Other opportunities were taken to use Big Local funding to support the sustainability of local organisations. Big Local funding was used for an expert in organisational structure to help three local organisations improve their governance and business strategies. This helped local groups to build their confidence and submit strong applications together for other sources of funding beyond Big Local.
In the Harefield neighbourhood, there was a lack of space that could be used by the community. Early on, the SO18 partnership recognised the value of having premises to engage with the community, so they worked with the council to let a shop unit for £1. This became the base for drop-ins, events, meetings, and youth activities and inviting residents to get involved:
Once Harefield Hub became established, the lease was transferred to another organisation on the same terms, ensuring it could continue operating after the Big Local programme ended.
The SO18 Big Local partnership felt that many local green spaces and play areas were underused or unknown by residents. The partnership lobbied the council to maintain and develop parks, and worked with them to improve play areas, including a new community green in the heart of Townhill Park’s redevelopment.
They helped residents reconnect with nature by organising family nature hunts, sharing a guide to local walks, running sessions to enhance habitats and biodiversity, and by creating a community garden in a concrete wilderness. Through these initiatives the partnership created spaces to bring residents together to connect with each other and their environment.
The Mosaic Way was a project funded by Big Local and the SO18 partnership’s Locally Trusted Organisation (TWICS), with a grant from the People’s Health Trust. Thirty residents met to create nature-themed mosaics, supported by experienced community artists. When the Covid-19 lockdowns stopped them meeting in person, the group kept in touch over WhatsApp and continued working on their own mosaics. Over 60 mosaic tiles were installed across the area, plus two larger mosaics, made by different people working on separate pieces which were brought together.
The partnership considered the project to have had a positive impact on people’s health as walking trail routes and ‘spotter sheets’ for families and local schools were created around the mosaics.
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.
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 SO18 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 17 October 2024)
Office for National Statistics (ONS) (2022) ‘UK Census 2021: All persons’. (Accessed 17 October 2024)
Southampton City Council (2024) ‘Townhill Park Estate Regeneration’. (Accessed 17 October 2024).
