The One Palfrey Big Local area covered part of the suburb of Palfrey in Walsall, in the West Midlands, and included a range of community organisations, religious institutions, and schools. While bordered by main roads, industrial estates, and a railway line, green spaces (including several parks) spanned the area.
The population of 7,545 residents was relatively young, with 34 per cent of residents under the age of 19 (compared to 27 per cent in Walsall) (ONS, 2022a; 2022b). The community was diverse, with a range of different ethnicities, including 32 per cent of residents identifying as Pakistani, 22 per cent as Bangladeshi, and 16 per cent as Indian (ONS, 2023a; 2023b; 2023c). The population was 11 per cent White British, compared with 67 per cent across wider Walsall (ONS, 2023d). There was also a higher proportion of residents identifying as Muslim (67 per cent compared to 11 per cent across Walsall) (ONS, 2022c).
The area was in the top 20 per cent most deprived communities in England, with 27 per cent of households in social housing and issues of deprivation particularly impacting older residents (MHCLG, 2019a; ONS, 2023e; MHCLG, 2019b).
From the outset, the One Palfrey Big Local (OPBL) partnership consulted residents through community events and a survey. They used their local connections to promote the survey, supported by schools, places of worship, and health services. Partnership members also knocked on residents’ doors to distribute the survey.
Partnership members and their Big Local worker (who coordinated projects) were long-term residents and broadly reflected the wider community in age, ethnicity and, later, gender. This fuelled their commitment to their overarching priorities: improving the environment, life for young people, and access to community activities and services.
The partnership dealt with several challenges, including two of their Locally Trusted Organisations (LTOs) going into administration. Many partnership members came from existing groups and organisations, and, in the early stages, it took time to work through competing priorities and ideas. There were also issues within the partnership around identity and prejudice, which the partnership ultimately grew from following support from an independent co-chair and their Big Local rep. This support helped the partnership set up more robust policies and procedures for the later stages of the programme.
Empowering the local community was a key focus for the partnership. They invested in volunteers, providing them with training, advice on their CVs, and support. There were an estimated 25,000 volunteer hours on activities like litter-picking, events, and trips, although the partnership found it hard to maintain engagement across the lifetime of Big Local. Three partnership members participated in Local Trust’s Community Leadership Academy. This resulted in one member setting up a Community Interest Company (CIC), and a second developing a youth group for Muslim girls.
An OPBL community chest scheme enabled local groups to apply for grants. The partnership fast-tracked this process during the Covid-19 pandemic to meet emerging community needs, such as providing a caseworker for the local Refugee and Migrant Centre. By the end of the programme, over 70 projects had been funded.
The partnership sought to complement rather than duplicate existing work. For example, a relationship with Walsall Council led to the council becoming a second LTO, providing project management and procurement support for the redevelopment of three parks in the Big Local area.
The council also connected the partnership with The Seed Hut, a community building in Palfrey Park, from which they could run community activities. Access was provided rent free, with partnership members being community keyholders for the building. This helped ensure the space was used frequently.
The project coordinator played a vital role in enabling the volunteer and community chest schemes, supporting the partnership to work with local stakeholders, and facilitating a range of projects. By the final years of Big Local, this work had reduced and the partnership phased out the role, with members doing it voluntarily instead.
The partnership saw the improvements to local parks as an important legacy that would continue to be enjoyed by the community. Informal networks of local groups were also a key legacy, and members were committed to continue volunteering beyond the programme, including through groups such as Friends of Palfrey Park or the newly set-up One Palfrey Plus.
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.
Reps were individuals appointed by Local Trust to offer tailored support to Big Local areas, and share successes, challenges and news with the organisation. These roles ended in 2022, replaced by Big Local Area Advisors. Advisors were a specialist pool of people contracted to Local Trust, who delivered specialist and technical assignments to support the partnerships.
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.
Through neighbourhood meetings run jointly by One Palfrey Big Local (OPBL) and Walsall Council, residents raised concerns about local parks. The partnership used their community survey to understand this in more detail, and 93 per cent of respondents who used Palfrey Park, Arena Park, or Bescot Park thought improvements were needed. Residents felt limited maintenance of equipment and lighting led to anti-social behaviour, which discouraged people from using the parks as often as they might.
The partnership looked to build on the experience of the Friends of Palfrey Park, a residents’ group who had supported park maintenance for 25 years. They set up a subgroup to work with the Friends and a landscape architect, together developing a plan to improve all three parks.
Over £450,000 of Big Local funding was committed to the project, for new play equipment, fencing, bins, benches, and planting. The partnership felt it was important and fair to residents to distribute support across all three parks.
In early 2022, Walsall Council agreed the plans, and to take on responsibility for maintaining the improvements in the future. This was set out in a Memorandum of Understanding, and the council became the partnership’s Locally Trusted Organisation (LTO) for the project. Drawing on the local authority’s expertise, they led on procurement and a council officer provided project management support.
As the first step in improving the parks, a trim trail (obstacle course with outdoor exercise equipment) was installed in Palfrey Park in 2023. Despite delays due to challenges with resourcing, all works were completed as the Big Local programme came to an end.
These improvements helped address community concerns, and the partnership saw the work across all three parks as an important legacy, instilling pride in the local area and ensuring the parks could be used for many years to come.
Based on community consultation, the One Palfrey Big Local (OPBL) partnership focused on local littering and fly-tipping. Volunteers did community litter-picks, became ‘street champions’, and distributed leaflets about sustainably disposing household goods. The volunteers were supported by Litterwatch, a local charity which provided staff and equipment.
Following conversations with the partnership, Walsall Council did a litter-pick in Rutter Street Park, trimmed the bushes to help prevent litter accumulation, and agreed to fund the installation and regular clearing of bins purchased through Big Local funding.
Big Local funding also provided new equipment, enabling council staff to identify incidents of fly-tipping and ensure the community knew those incidents were criminal offences. This increased reporting in the area, and the council launched the scheme in other parts of Walsall.
By engaging the community and promoting litter-picks, the partnership felt they helped positively shape local views of volunteering and increase use of the parks.
Through their relationship with the West Midlands Police Delves Neighbourhood Policing Team, the One Palfrey Big Local (OPBL) partnership heard that child sexual exploitation, gang violence, and drug and alcohol abuse were increasingly affecting young residents. In response, Big Local funding was used to set up a new organisation – iMatter – which initially provided drama sessions in schools to help children identify, talk about, and report child sexual exploitation, based on a similar project in Salford.
The initiative was led by a partnership member and delivered collaboratively with local police. The police enabled sessions to be rolled out beyond Palfrey, and a group of officers were trained in supporting victims of child sexual exploitation.
Over the course of the project the focus was expanded to include youth violence and drug and alcohol use. As part of this, Terriers – an award-winning educational play highlighting the consequences of gang involvement – was shown in secondary schools in Palfrey.
iMatter later became a Community Interest Company (CIC) and received a further Big Local grant, enabling them to focus on new and creative ways to increase awareness among young people.
The nature of the project meant that there were sensitivities when delivering this work. Most notably, the chair faced challenges in maintaining community trust while visibly working closely with the police. This was compounded by the hidden nature of some of the issues, especially child sexual exploitation, which meant some residents did not feel they needed to be addressed.
Despite these challenges, iMatter had many successes, including schools reporting increased confidence among pupils to spot the signs of child sexual exploitation. By the end of Big Local, iMatter had involved over 6,000 young people across Walsall in its activities.
The partnership commissioned LionHeart Challenge (a nationwide company) to deliver a social action project in local schools, in response to a lack of investment in young people in the area.
The project aimed to empower young people in school years nine to 11 to develop a project that could help make Palfrey a better place to live. They were encouraged to run surveys in their schools to gather ideas which were then presented to a panel including OPBL partnership members, the local police, and Walsall Council’s youth team. A final presentation was held at Walsall Football Club, with 10 winning teams from different schools presenting their projects.
Following the presentations, schools supported the young people to deliver their ideas, which focused on improving cohesion, helping refugees, supporting food banks, and helping older residents at risk of online scams.
The project proved such a success that it continued for a second year, based on the theme of reducing youth violence in the community. Ideas focused on drug, alcohol, and gambling awareness and developing community pride among young people. The final presentation for the second year was held at Walsall Town Hall.
Across the two LionHeart Challenges, over 2,500 young people were involved from five secondary schools. The project helped young people develop a range of skills and strengthened the partnership’s relationships with local schools.
The partnership wanted to improve access to healthcare across the Palfrey community. From early on, they hosted annual Health and Wellbeing Days to promote information about local health services, incentivising residents to come along with free refreshments.
Members of One Palfrey Big Local (OPBL) ran the events on a voluntary basis, drawing on relationships with local pharmacies, Walsall Council, and the local voluntary sector to host stalls. These stalls promoted local wellbeing activities; provided information and advice (like accessing non-emergency care, preventative diabetes clinics, or vaccination services); and signposted residents to services on infant healthcare.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, the partnership recognised that Palfrey was at greater risk of Covid-19 than the rest of the West Midlands, and so shifted their focus (British Red Cross, 2020). They published a newsletter to challenge misinformation and signpost to vaccination and testing services, and Big Local funding was used for signage and personal protective equipment (PPE) so local businesses could comply with social distancing laws. The partnership also liaised with health services and the council to get a Covid-19 mobile testing centre in the area, which increased resident testing.
Big Local funding also supported food distribution and family activity packs, providing much needed help. The partnership reflected that the trust they had built with the community over the years enabled them to better support residents through this period.
Big Local funding was invested in community activities and services to improve physical activity and wellbeing in the One Palfrey Big Local area. The partnership mapped local organisations to avoid replicating effort, and provided small grants to existing groups (like a sewing group and a youth football team) rather than developing new services.
The partnership also hosted activities at The Seed Hut in Palfrey Park, aimed at bringing people together to increase connection. This included holiday activities for children, a walking group, and several coffee mornings aimed at everyone from men’s groups to older residents.
The partnership felt the central location of The Seed Hut in the community was key to the success of these activities, both drawing attention to events and being easy to reach. By the end of Big Local, over 8,000 holiday activities had been run for children and families, as well as over 500 coffee mornings.
Outside of The Seed Hut, the partnership ran coach trips, which by the end of Big Local had been attended by over 1,000 residents across 20 coach trips.
Another popular project focused on cycling, led by the project co-ordinator, delivered with Walsall Council and supported through additional funding from Sport England. This project taught residents how to cycle, repair and maintain a bike, and built confidence through group rides in Palfrey Park. Bikes could be loaned if residents did not have their own, and separate sessions were held for men, women, and children.
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 Palfrey Big Local told Local Trust they used their Big Local funding.
British Red Cross (2020) ‘Covid-19 Vulnerability Index Score’. Available at: britishredcrosssociety.github.io/covid-19-vulnerability/ (Accessed 11 November 2025)
Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG) (2019a) ‘English indices of deprivation 2019’. Available at: gov.uk/government/statistics/english-indices-of-deprivation-2019 (Accessed 7 November 2025)
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) (2019b) ‘English Indices of Multiple Deprivation 2019 – Income Deprivation Affecting Older People Index (IDACI)’. Available at: gov.uk/government/statistics/english-indices-of-deprivation-2019 (Accessed 7 November 2025)
Office for National Statistics (ONS) (2022a) ‘UK Census 2021: All persons’. Available at: ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/populationestimates/datasets/populationandhouseholdestimatesenglandandwalescensus2021 (Accessed 7 November 2025)
Office for National Statistics (ONS) (2022b) ‘UK Census 2021: Age structure of the population: Population aged under 19’. Available at: ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/populationestimates/datasets/populationandhouseholdestimatesenglandandwalescensus2021 (Accessed 7 November 2025)
Office for National Statistics (ONS) (2022c) ‘UK Census 2021: Religion: Muslim’. Available at: ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/culturalidentity/religion/bulletins/religionenglandandwales/census2021 (Accessed 7 November 2025)
Office for National Statistics (ONS) (2023a) ‘UK Census 2021: Ethnic group: Asian, Asian British or Asian Welsh: Pakistani’. Available at: ons.gov.uk/datasets/TS021/editions/2021/versions/3 (Accessed 7 November 2025)
Office for National Statistics (ONS) (2023b) ‘UK Census 2021: Ethnic group: Asian, Asian British or Asian Welsh: Bangladeshi’. Available at: ons.gov.uk/datasets/TS021/editions/2021/versions/3 (Accessed 7 November 2025)
Office for National Statistics (ONS) (2023c) ‘UK Census 2021: Ethnic group: Asian, Asian British or Asian Welsh: Indian’. Available at: ons.gov.uk/datasets/TS021/editions/2021/versions/3 (Accessed 7 November 2025)
Office for National Statistics (ONS) (2023d) ‘UK Census 2021: Ethnic group: White: English, Welsh, Scottish, Northern Irish or British’. Available at: ons.gov.uk/datasets/TS021/editions/2021/versions/3 (Accessed 7 November 2025)
Office for National Statistics (ONS) (2023e) ‘UK Census 2021: Social rented housing’. Available at: ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/housing/bulletins/housingenglandandwales/census2021 (Accessed 7 November 2025)
