The Heston West Big Local area was based in the west London Borough of Hounslow. In 2021 the area had a total population of just over 5000, with nearly half of residents of Asian heritage (ONS, 2022a; 2023a). Three prominent housing estates were located within the area boundary. The community benefitted from well-regarded local schools that actively engaged in networks and supported local activity. However, at the time of Big Local the area lacked some essential facilities, including doctor surgeries, dentists, and banks. While Heston West generally contained a good amount of green and open space for its location within London, residents expressed concern about how new housing developments might negatively impact these spaces.
Heston West’s youth population was a third bigger than the London average in 2021, with 32 per cent of the population aged between 0–19 years (ONS, 2022b). Heathrow Airport was a significant employer in the area, with 18 per cent of the local workforce engaged in the transport industry (ONS, 2023b).
Established in 2017, the Heston West Big Local partnership’s stated vision was to create opportunities for local people to live healthier and happier lives. This informed six core priorities: health and wellbeing, young people, volunteering culture, reducing isolation, cultivating support in the community, and (included from 2019–20 onwards) the collaborative development of a community garden and café.
The Heston West partnership made an effort to represent the community’s diverse population throughout their work. This was particularly true for young people. Ongoing collaboration with Cranford Community College (where the Big Local chair was employed in a senior position) ensured regular youth involvement, and representatives from the partnership’s youth action group regularly contributed to partnership discussions.
Input from residents was prioritised in the partnership’s decision-making processes. They held annual open meetings to engage the community and organised more frequent events intended for everyday feedback. Generally, the partnership held monthly meetings; however, the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic necessitated weekly meetings for a year, facilitating timely responses to urgent community needs. Subgroups were formed as needed to address specific events or projects, with less consistent meetings due to time restraints.
The partnership maintained a collaborative approach to their delivery model, working with over 35 partners throughout the programme. Their day-to-day collaborative work was exemplified by their ‘Prevent Knife Crime’ project, delivered in partnership with Hounslow Council, the Metropolitan Police, and the Mayor of London. The initiative involved conducting workshops, safety sessions, and educational films for young people to raise awareness about the risks and consequences of knife crime.
Volunteers within and external to the partnership played a crucial role in the partnership’s approach to delivery, supporting many of their activities and fundraising efforts. A strong volunteering culture developed in the area over time, cultivated through a transparent approach focused on meaningful engagement, and providing occasional financial support. Volunteer engagement days were a successful element of this work. The partnership worked with over 200 volunteers on these days, delivering activities to tackle isolation and help volunteers into work. Activities included planting trees, building community planters, community clean-ups, and running employment fairs.
In 2022, the partnership established C‑Change West London, a CIO (Charitable Incorporated Organisation) to be their legacy organisation. C‑Change focused on bringing in external funding to continue activities and events beyond the end of the Big Local programme and expand their work to communities beyond the Heston West boundary.
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.
Heston West residents expressed concerns about the younger generation feeling disconnected from community activities, and potential vulnerability to negative influences. The partnership actively engaged young people in decision-making processes by forming the Youth Action Team. Made up of volunteers aged between 10–18 years old, the Youth Action Team played a pivotal role in suggesting and implementing activities and events tailored to the interests of young residents.
Initiatives included litter picks, creating vibrant murals at community centres, and the production of ‘Hard to Reach’ in 2019 – a documentary developed collaboratively with Hounslow Council. The film offered a candid glimpse into the perspectives of young people in Hounslow, addressing critical issues such as safety, the need for enhanced youth services, and the importance of community engagement.
Since its establishment in 2018, the Youth Action Team had consistent involvement from local young people, with approximately 50–60 at any given time actively participating and influencing the direction of projects. Some participants went on to pursue higher education in film studies and secure employment within Heston West Big Local and C‑Change West London.
In 2020, the British Red Cross identified Heston West’s population as having elevated Covid-19 vulnerability levels compared to the London average (British Red Cross, 2020). In this context and collaborating with Cranford Community College, the partnership drew on external funding to establish a volunteer-run foodbank to support communities in and around Heston West.
Over 70 volunteers actively participated in running the pop-up foodbank programme, including packing and distributing food parcels, delivering postcards, and hosting supplementary online activities. The project was a vital part of the partnership’s pandemic response. It provided support to an estimated 550 residents in vulnerable circumstances, addressing immediate needs and, in partnership with the NHS, providing referrals for mental health support. It also contributed to reduced social isolation in the area.
Volunteers raised over £6,000 in support of the project, alongside almost £50,000 from external grants. This substantial external funding led to the partnership choosing to expand the foodbank project to neighbouring communities outside the Heston West Big Local area. This expansion and the visibility of the Big Local partnership in the Heston West area, led to the development of C‑Change West London, which was intended to extend the partnership’s impact and secure funding beyond the Big Local programme.
Responding to feedback from community consultations, the partnership delivered targeted activities to address isolation, enhance residents’ health and wellbeing, and foster connectedness in the Heston West Big Local area. Activities included healthy cooking classes, accessible sports (such as walking football), yoga, over-60s bingo, boxing, a youth film club, a group for local mums, and a youth football team. The healthy cooking class was initially targeted at individual families but grew into an intergenerational event, attracting residents of all ages.
Together, these activities aimed to bolster local confidence, strengthen community bonds, increase youth employment opportunities, and increase resident volunteering. Testimonials from those who took part emphasised the sense of family, camaraderie, and idea-generation that transpired in the inclusive spaces these activities created. Residents saw them as spaces where people could come together, offer encouragement, share advice, and collaboratively develop ideas for projects that could benefit the community.
Towards the end of the programme, C‑Change West London were set to move forward with external funding for these activities and were developing plans to expand their offer.
Towards the end of the programme, the Heston West Big Local partnership, in collaboration with Cranford Community College and Hounslow Council, were establishing a community garden and café. The partnership described their vision of the garden as a ‘unique green oasis’ – an environmentally friendly, sustainable, vibrant creative space where local artists could deliver programmes for the community.
The community garden was intended to enhance the environment, improve community wellbeing, and contribute to reducing pollution and the carbon footprint in Heston West. It was also intended to function as a physical legacy space, where the partnership could continue their activities beyond Big Local.
The garden’s creation in collaboration with the local college and council illustrated the partnership’s wider success in working with local agencies and organisations. This dimension of their approach played a crucial role in maximising Big Local funding, and in terms of the garden itself, was key to establishing a lasting green space for community benefit.
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 Heston West Big Local told Local Trust they used their Big Local funding.
British Red Cross (2020) ‘COVID-19 Vulnerability Index’. (Accessed on 16 December 2024)
Office for National Statistics (ONS) (2022a) ‘UK Census 2021: All persons’. (Accessed 16 December 2024)
Office for National Statistics (ONS) (2022b) ‘UK Census 2021: Age structure of the population: Population aged under 19’. (Accessed 16 December 2024)
Office for National Statistics (ONS) (2023a) ‘UK Census 2021: Ethnic group: Asian, Asian British or Asian Welsh’. (Accessed 16 December 2024)
Office for National Statistics (ONS) (2023b) ‘Business Register and Employment Survey (BRES): Regional level employment by broad industry group’. (Accessed 16 December 2024)
