Located on the north-west fringe of Bristol, around a 25 minute drive from the city centre, Lawrence Weston Big Local area had a population of around 7,500 people in 2021 (ONS, 2022). The Big Local area covered the Lawrence Weston housing estate, a post-war project initially developed as dormitory housing for the industrial area of Avonmouth. It was somewhat cut off from neighbouring communities by stretches of open and industrial space, major roads, and poor transport links.
Despite its proximity to the city centre, the area had fewer civic assets and active charities (OCSI, 2019) and residents felt that there were fewer businesses and jobs in the Big Local area than other areas of Bristol.
Before Big Local, a group of organisations local to the area commissioned a community plan. This developed out of dissatisfaction in the community over changes to the area that residents felt they had no say in. The priorities identified as part of this work were broad, including jobs, skills, business and financial inclusion, planning, the public realm, parks, young people, families, and education.
Following the community plan, a hyperlocal organisation, Ambition Lawrence Weston, was set up. When the Lawrence Weston partnership was established, they took on Ambition Lawrence Weston as their Locally Trusted Organisation (LTO) and main delivery organisation, given their alignment of priorities and local focus. As residents, the partnership played a directive role and made spending decisions, guided by the community plan, while Ambition Lawrence Weston focused on delivering their joint aims and ambitions. Big Local funding allowed the partnership to work flexibly to meet the priorities of the community plan (for example, adding community energy as a priority as this began to inform more of their work).
The choice to deliver through Ambition Lawrence Weston provided funding for three staff roles, filled by largely the same individuals throughout. Not only was this continuity beneficial for project delivery, but their local knowledge and skillsets were useful in creating the networks and relationships required to meet the community’s ambitions.
The partnership recognised that they would not be able to deliver everything themselves, and that they needed to work with the support of public agencies and statutory services (such as the NHS, social services, and police force) where possible. A large portion of their work required the involvement of Bristol City Council, and the partnership reflected that having paid staff was vital to this, as they had the capacity necessary to maintain and rebuild relationships as personnel and priorities changed over time.
Beyond this, the partnership also recognised that, where volunteers or existing partner organisations could not deliver a project, it was efficient to bring in people with the right skills and experience. This enabled Lawrence Weston Big Local to be part of a broader range of local networks, and bring in additional funding for larger projects, which in turn were set up to generate income for the community. Alongside a significant physical and financial legacy, the partnership reflected that Big Local has enabled residents to feel they have a greater voice and more power over decisions that take place in their area. As Big Local came to an end, Ambition Lawrence Weston was well-placed to continue the work of the partnership into 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.
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.
In 2018, Lawrence Weston Big Local integrated a new priority – community energy – into their plan. The addition was part of a broader ‘climate action plan’, which aimed to use what the partnership referred to as climate-positive actions to improve general wellbeing in the area.
The partnership’s climate focus developed out of their broader work to improve local living conditions, in which they assessed domestic energy efficiency and helped residents reduce their energy bills. It also included their allotment-based initiative ‘Grow, Cook, Eat’. This produced food for community meals, helped stock a community fridge and enabled residents to learn how to grow and cook food in a low-carbon way.
The partnership felt the success of this work was down to how they presented it to the community; framing climate issues in the context of broader challenges faced more directly by residents. Through this they were able to build community support for other projects, such as the creation of a Neighbourhood Plan ensuring the provision of high-quality, well-insulated homes built in the area. This contributed to the development of 36 new homes in the area, with most available at affordable rent or shared ownership, with six owned by Ambition Lawrence Weston, providing an additional income for the charity. The partnership commissioned an eco-focused architecture firm, who led a co-design approach to decide what the housing site should look like, with planning permission secured towards the end of Big Local.
This approach helped garner community support for large-scale projects, such as a solar farm and community-owned wind turbine, which provided ongoing financial gain for Lawrence Weston.
Lawrence Weston Big Local built community support for large-scale climate projects by emphasising the long-term financial investments they could generate for the community. As their work on their community energy priority grew, the partnership and Ambition Lawrence Weston created a new organisation to lead and manage these projects.
Set up with £2,000 of initial funding, Ambition Community Energy CIC (ACE) was soon able to fund a member of staff with expertise in energy projects and connections with the local Bristol Energy Network. Their first major project involved working with the Bristol Energy Co-operative to develop a solar farm on land near the Big Local area. ACE’s shares generate a small income, in turn fed back into community projects.
Recognising the Big Local area’s sizeable amounts of brownfield land, the partnership supported ACE to explore building a wind turbine that would generate revenue for the community and contribute towards a transition to net zero. Big Local funding was used to bring in further experts to ACE’s board of directors, who together were able to source an additional £4 million in funding, bring in pro bono support and manage the project.
Opening in 2023, the 4.3‑kilowatt community-owned wind turbine generates enough power for 3,500 homes, with all profits going to Ambition Lawrence Weston to support the wider community. This lengthy, complex project took seven years to deliver from the initial idea to the launch of the turbine. The partnership felt that bringing in specialists to lead the project had been key to maintaining momentum and were proud of how the Ambition Community Energy team had shared their learning, supporting the West of England Combined Authority to launch a £5 million fund for similar community-owned wind turbine projects across the region.
From the start of Big Local, the Lawrence Weston partnership was keen to have a base in the community. The impending closure of the Lawrence Weston Youth Centre created an opportunity for the partnership to fund the purchase of the building through a community asset transfer from Bristol City Council. This ensured a vital community space could remain open and combined with some further Big Local funding for staffing, allowed youth work to continue in the area.
While the youth centre became the focal point for a lot of Big Local activity in Lawrence Weston throughout Big Local, the original community plan developed by Ambition Lawrence Weston had highlighted the need for a purpose-built space. The delivery of a range of community activity enabled Ambition Lawrence Weston to further evidence the need and impact of a community hub in the area. Over twelve years after the initial community plan — with further funding from Bristol City Council and the National Lottery Community Fund – Ambition House opened to the public.
Residents were involved in designing the space and service provision of Ambition House, resulting in a series of meetings rooms, a sports hall, library, kitchen and community workshop. A range of activities were established, including soft play for children, a mental health peer support group, Zumba and Jiu Jitsu. Sessions were also held to provide residents with specific needs access to informal support or information, such as those with caring responsibilities.
Residents expressed feeling proud of the modern space, built to a high standard of energy efficiency (meaning it will be more cost-efficient to run). Wanting to share their knowledge with others, towards the end of the programme, resident volunteers and Ambition Lawrence Weston planned to work with educational institutions in Bristol to deliver a renewable energy and skills academy in Ambition House, focused on vocational training and building skills in modern construction methods.
The work of the Lawrence Weston Big Local partnership often required collaboration with Bristol City Council. They found that prioritising an open, welcoming approach and identifying shared goals and priorities was key to building strong relationships with departments within the local authority. They felt this enabled them to develop asset transfers and nominal rents for community spaces, such as the Lawrence Weston Youth Centre.
However, as with their climate projects, the partnership realised that sometimes the expertise required to progress their plans lay outside of the community. In what was felt to be one of their most impactful projects, the partnership negotiated with the council for a supermarket to be built in an area earmarked for more housing. They did so by bringing in external knowledge from a retail expert, alongside presenting resident views from consultation. New bus routes were also implemented to enable better access to the new supermarket.
As the Big Local programme came to an end, the partnership felt they had given a voice to Lawrence Weston residents. They felt that community involvement in understanding, designing and planning later projects, such as Ambition House, was evidence of a more empowered community.
The community consultation that informed the priorities of Lawrence Weston Big Local was the first of its kind in the area, and a significant moment for residents. The partnership was aware of the importance of maintaining the community’s trust after the consultation, which was challenging given the realities of project delivery. This was particularly true for large-scale projects involving construction, where the partnership needed to carefully manage expectations to maintain positive relationships with residents. For example, delays in the development of Ambition House led to some disillusionment within the community.
The partnership felt that funding a range of activities and services helped to maintain positive relationships with residents. This included commissioning Citizens Advice to provide debt advice, creating volunteering opportunities (including litter-picking and Grow, Cook, Eat), and funding holiday activities for local young people.
A key example was the Men in Sheds project. Set up and run by volunteers, the group met three times a week to support residents experiencing isolation while they developed creative and practical skills such as woodworking. The partnership reflected on the success of the project, with the local GP practice making frequent referrals. By repairing broken benches or building new planters for the local area, the Men in Sheds project also played an important role in enabling residents to see the impact of Big Local funding in the area, and it became an important strand of the partnership’s climate work as it promoted fixing and reusing items, rather than replacing. At the end of Big Local, Men in Sheds was a core feature of the programme of activities at Ambition House.
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 Lawrence Weston Big Local told Local Trust they used their Big Local funding.
Office for National Statistics (ONS) (2022) ‘UK Census 2021: All persons’. (Accessed 9 October 2024)
Oxford Consultants for Social Inclusion (OCSI) (2019) ‘Left behind neighbourhoods’. (Accessed 9 October 2024)
