North West Ipswich

Building confidence and skills through distributing grants 

Grant-giving was a key focus for the North West Ipswich Big Local partnership. This helped distribute funding and meet community needs, while supporting residents (including partnership members) to build skills, confidence, and knowledge.

The paid worker helped members build confidence in public speaking, encouraging them to speak up in meetings when discussing their grant decisions. Panel representatives from the local authority also supported residents to engage with external stakeholders, like statutory agencies and community organisations. This helped the partnership to understand community needs and the wider landscape of provision in North West Ipswich, helping to avoid duplication and ensure relevance. 

Partnership members reviewed and scored grant applications privately; scores were then collated by the worker and displayed anonymously to aid partnership discussions. The partnership reflected that while this anonymised approach helped ensure that younger or quieter members were heard, the high number of partnership members sometimes made it challenging to reach decisions through discussion. Between 2012 and 2015, 66 grants were distributed, with a total value of £109,000. Applications for grants over £5,000 had to have match funding of at least 5 per cent, generating an additional £289,000 for the community. 

Towards the end of Big Local, the partnership reviewed their grant application processes, and reflected that they may have been difficult for less-established organisations to navigate. They decided to involve residents in deciding how £50,000 would be distributed, by organising Community Choice – a participatory budgeting event. This event saw grant applicants present ideas to an audience of over 200, who then voted on which projects should receive funding.

The partnership felt the event was a success, enabling groups to network and form longer-term connections. Some grant recipients had never engaged with Big Local before, and seed funding was allocated to new projects. One resident was funded to run a ten-week Windrush quilting course, where attendees could develop quilting and sewing skills, and learn about the Windrush generation in Ipswich and elsewhere.

Investing in green spaces to improve connection, wellbeing, and community pride

Big Local funding was invested in improving community access to green spaces in North West Ipswich, by encouraging greater use and development of allotments. Working with existing allotment holders, the Lottie Shed was installed at the allotments in Whitton. Eco-toilets and space for equipment storage and socialising enabled greater use of the allotment space. A primary school who managed an allotment used the shed as a learning centre, and allotment committee members used it for meetings and other events, including garden shows and Christmas parties.

In the Castle Hill allotments, three volunteers (who later became partnership members) created a community garden, designed to be a welcoming and accessible space, with raised beds for those with limited mobility. The garden was open to the public twice a week, providing opportunities for residents of all ages to get involved, learn about gardening and the environment, and develop connections with others.

A core group of volunteers developed around the community garden, learning about running a community space, community engagement, and fundraising. This led to their involvement in other local projects, supporting the local authority to install planters in a shopping precinct and advising a school on their community garden. At the end of Big Local, rather than winding down the community garden, the volunteers felt confident in their ability to run the space independently. With additional Big Local funding and support from the Big Local worker, they established Grow With Us – a Community Interest Organisation (CIO) aimed at ensuring that the space and skills it helped build would continue.

Investing in existing community venues

Grants supported improvements in existing community spaces in North West Ipswich, as the partnership felt that small amounts of funding could have meaningful impacts. They considered creating a Big Local hub, but this was ultimately not pursued. The partnership instead commissioned research, identifying a range of existing spaces in need of improvement. Grants were distributed to meet these needs, for example, replacing the floor in a church hall, which meant older residents felt more confident using the space.

Inspired by a resident’s suggestion, Big Local funding was allocated to the Friendly Bench at Castle Hill Community Centre. This fully accessible space contained integrated seating and plants, enabling it to accommodate different community events, including Easter egg hunts, seed and plant swaps, and meet-ups for local parents. Volunteers from the community garden in Castle Hill tended to the site, which led to greater community engagement with both spaces.

The partnership set up the Kitchen Grants scheme, following an increase in grant applications from organisations wanting to improve their community spaces or ability to provide food to the community (like food banks using basic or outdated equipment). The scheme funded six groups with up to £3,000 each for equipment and renovations. The community garden received a grant for a pizza oven, for activities where residents cooked pizzas using ingredients they had grown themselves. Partnership members felt that Kitchen Grants was a key example of the significant impact of relatively small amounts of funding.

Collaborating to develop a skate park 

North West Ipswich Big Local Trust (NWIBLT) worked with the local authority to develop what became a busy skate park. Ipswich Borough Council first approached NWIBLT in 2012 about contributing towards a long-discussed skate park in Whitehouse Park. The partnership researched residents’ needs and concerns, and visited other Big Local areas and skate parks, before £100,000 in Big Local funding was allocated to the project.

During development, the partnership worked to ensure the local skating community were involved, residents’ concerns were mitigated, and young people could input into what the space should look like. Some residents were concerned that the skate park could become a site of anti-social behaviour, but the partnership felt that young people would feel a greater sense of ownership of the skate park by being involved in its development. The consultation process also had a longer-term impact on some of the young people involved. Many years later, two former residents set up their own voluntary organisation – Skate Suffolk – because they helped design the skate park as teenagers. Over ten years after the initial consultation, the partnership were proud to commission Skate Suffolk to return to Whitehouse Park to deliver Skate and Skills. This event gave young people the opportunity to build their skateboarding, carpentry, design, and DJ skills.

At the close of Big Local, the partnership reflected that the skate park continued to be well-used, attracting visitors from across Ipswich and Suffolk. The partnership was proud of this early success and hoped the skate park had enabled young residents to engage in healthy outdoor activities and feel more confident. It was arranged that Ipswich Borough Council would be responsible for site management and maintenance going forward.

Strengthening local youth provision 

Consultations with the North West Ipswich Big Local community identified youth provision as an important need. The partnership responded by strengthening support offered by local organisations. Big Local funding was allocated to Whitton Youth Partnership (WYP) – an umbrella organisation working to strengthen and support youth services. This helped extend WYP’s youth work provision, by funding an additional youth worker role for six years and supporting nine volunteers to complete youth work qualifications. 

While WYP worked with over 150 young people per quarter, the partnership felt that young Whitehouse residents may have been less likely to engage, as WYP was based in Whitton. With this in mind, the partnership and worker helped establish Kick Start Wellness – a Community Interest Company (CIC) for existing sports sessions. The CIC was led by a professional footballer (a former captain of Ipswich Town Football Club), who also supported with coaching. Sessions were provided at the secondary school and Whitehouse Park, for families and young people. 

The partnership reflected that Kick Start Wellness became a safe space for growth and learning. Community feedback was encouraging, highlighting how the programme helped young residents to develop skills, manage anger, communicate better, and focus on future life choices. At the close of Big Local, the partnership hoped that the coach’s public profile might increase community engagement and attract further funding to continue this work.

Raising career aspirations by improving access to training 

Early on, the partnership wanted to work with schools to help raise young residents’ career aspirations, supporting them to access training. Working with a school and nearby building firm, the partnership set up a training programme. Ten students participated in weekly sessions, learning constructions skills (like painting, decorating, and electrics). 

The programme ran for two years, eight students were awarded BTEC certificates, and the school reported improved students’ English and Maths grades. The school felt that the course was good at engaging girls and young people who otherwise might have opted out of education, offering experience of different apprenticeship opportunities. While successful, the programme was discontinued due to a lack of match funding.

Encouraging volunteers to support community projects

Supporting volunteering across projects was an important part of North West Ipswich Big Local Trust’s work. Partnership members helped support and develop community groups and worked with specialist local organisations to help teach volunteers how to deliver services. 

Early on, Big Local funding was used for ActivLives to run Friday Friends – a dementia café, where people with dementia and their carers could socialise, take part in activities, and get support. The partnership reflected that it was important to work with an organisation with expertise in supporting people affected by dementia, so partnership members could support sessions when possible. At the close of Big Local, the café (now ActivFriends) was still being delivered by ActivLives, with the support of a volunteer group developed through initial Big Local funding.

The partnership established a litter-picking group, following the success of a similar group in another part of Ipswich. They worked with Rubbish Walks, who provided equipment, supported volunteers to build skills, and connected them with a wider litter-picking network, helping establish the new Whitehouse and Whitton Wombles. The partnership reflected that by bringing skills into the community, the group was more successful than if it had started from scratch. They felt the project contributed to positive community spirit and pride and provided opportunities for residents to connect with one other and boost wellbeing.