Located on the south coast of Cornwall, the Par Bay Big Local area comprised two villages, Par and Tywardreath, and a small town, St Blazey. While geographically close, the three areas had distinct identities. Around 10,000 people lived in the area (ONS, 2022), bordered by Par Beach to the south, rural land to the north and east, and the town of St Austell to the west. Par Bay was famous for its China clay industry. The partnership reflected that the decline of the industry and closure of the Par docks in 2007 saw the loss of local jobs. When the Big Local programme was announced in 2010, one clay factory remained in the area.
The partnership felt this had contributed to an increase in deprivation in the community, with the average house price in the Par Bay Big Local area nearly £100,000 less than in Cornwall as a whole (Land Registry, 2025). There were also higher levels of children aged 0–19 living in low-income households, and pensioners receiving Pension Credit, compared to the wider county (DWP, 2025; 2024).
For their initial consultation, the partnership toured the three rural communities on a ‘Big Ideas’ bus, where residents shared what they would like Big Local funding to be spent on. They also did ‘Meet the Funder’ events, where representatives from 90 local organisations had a chance to feed in. This led to six priorities: creativity and heritage; environment; health and wellbeing; jobs and income; recreation and culture; and young people and families. The partnership focused on one priority a year so their efforts wouldn’t be spread thin. This allowed them to be flexible with responding to community needs. For example, supporting young people and families became of great importance when Kernow Youth, a local youth centre, lost their funding in 2015.
From the outset, the partnership identified like-minded community groups to share ideas, resources and local contacts. This helped them avoid duplicating existing services. Many partnership members were already board members or on committees of other local groups, so this made it easy to link residents with local services and activities. Collaboration took different forms with the partnership both allocating funds to other organisations to deliver activities and working more collaboratively to deliver shared projects. By the end of the Big Local programme, the partnership felt they had successfully brought together a range of different stakeholders that previously were unaware of each other despite being only a few miles apart.
The partnership felt they had the most impact through providing seed funding and early support to a range of groups, organisations and projects. In the early years of Big Local, this took the form of participatory budgeting events – called Community Awards — where those applying for funding were asked to present to the residents, who made decisions on who received funds. The partnership felt this was a valuable way of building strong connections between groups, who were able to network at events. However, over time the partnership moved away from their community awards grant scheme towards what they referred to as an ‘investment approach’ – contributing seed funding to larger projects and offering tailored support through their knowledge of the area and connections with other stakeholders. Through this they were able to support projects such as a new pump track at Par Track. This involved working with the existing Par Track committee, and providing £40,000 towards the project, as well as providing funding for a dedicated community consultation event. The new track replaced an old skate park, providing a new space for young people and families to enjoy.
As well as allocating funding to others, the partnership shaped and delivered projects. However, despite a team of enthusiastic resident volunteers providing valuable support, a few partnership members were often heavily relied upon to drive projects forward. Towards the end of the programme, the partnership reflected on the unsustainability of over-relying on volunteers, and the importance of having defined roles in resident-led work to avoid people overextending themselves.
Early in the Big Local programme, the partnership set up Par Bay Community Trust (PBCT) to manage the newly purchased Cornubia building. Over time, PBCT came to be an important delivery organisation for Par Bay Big Local’s work and as the programme came to an end, was their Locally Trusted Organisation (LTO). The partnership considered PBCT to be key for the legacy of Par Bay Big Local, carrying on the work they had initiated. This included continuing what the partnership felt was a renewed sense of pride in the area, with Par Bay now seen as a “destination” due to the community assets established in the area through Big Local.
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.
Local people wanted a space for community services, recreational activities, training and employment support. So, early on, Big Local funding was used to purchase a building in Par, which was developed into Cornubia: a community, creativity and enterprise hub.
The development of the space was done in stages, and drew on additional funding and pro bono support, particularly to make the space fully accessible to wheelchair users. Improvements were also made to the efficiency of the building, such as better heating systems and insulation. Maintaining community support and interest in the early stages of the project was challenging, as the space remained unusable for a period. The partnership recognised the need for communication and accountability, so held community and business engagement events. They also opened the ground floor to the community while other works were still ongoing, to encourage groups to start using the space.
The hub provided opportunities to bring residents together and overcome geographical divides. The partnership allocated funds and co-delivered a Job Club, which provided access to employment and benefit support and services, including IT facilities, without having to travel. Statutory services – including the County Council, police surgeries, and health services – held regular sessions there, making it easier for people to access them. This helped link up services in the area and gave residents opportunities to have more of a voice in local decision-making.
Improving employment and income was one of the partnership’s priorities, and Cornubia provided an opportunity to incubate local entrepreneurs, artisans and artists through its various rooms. Many of them outgrew the space and had to seek out larger premises. As the Big Local programme came to an end, enterprises hosted at Cornubia included a shop showcasing and selling the work of over 40 local artisans; and a community pottery studio connecting residents and visitors to the history of China clay works that shaped the area.
The hub also opened 3 days a week, hosting activities such as martial arts, dance, knitting, and poetry, forming a cornerstone of Par Bay Big Local’s support for residents. Purposefully set up to be part of Par Bay Big Local’s legacy, the hub was set up to continue beyond the Big Local funding and remain rooted in and run by the community through Par Bay Community Trust.
Inspired by a successful collaboration between councillors and community groups to clear underused corners of the community and use them for planting projects, the Par Bay Big Local partnership decided to create a community garden across the road from Cornubia. The aim was for the Glencliffe Community Garden to bring the community together and boost local wellbeing.
The garden provided a central place for residents to meet, volunteer, share plants, pick vegetables and socialise. It was well-used as a space for local events and activities and became particularly valuable during the Covid-19 pandemic by providing a site where people could socialise outside. The partnership also used it as a way to encourage healthy eating in the community, with produce grown in the garden available to residents and used in meals provided at Cornubia. The partnership made the space more inclusive over time, with additional funding allocated to raised beds, multi-height planters and making the space accessible to those using wheelchairs or prams.
By the end of Big Local, it was financially self-sustaining. It was also designated a green space in the local Neighbourhood Plan, protecting it from future development. This ensured continued access for the community and created a sense of community ownership.
Over time, Cornubia and Glencliffe Community Garden became key sites for wellbeing activities for the community. Many of these were developed based on requests from residents, such as a Memory Café and a Knit and Natter group. A weekly roster of activities, aimed primarily at older residents or those with additional needs, provided opportunities for people to come together, socialise and access advice from key services.
Food and transport formed key parts of the offer to residents. The partnership identified that some residents attending the hub didn’t cook at home and so providing freshly cooked meals was a priority. Additional meals were prepared so people could take a meal home for the days when the hub wasn’t open. The partnership also sourced volunteers to provide transport for residents on an ad hoc basis, with a small fee to cover the cost of DBS checks and petrol.
The development of wellbeing activities at Cornubia led to a relationship between Par Bay Community Trust and local NHS services, with the NHS hosting clinics at the hub and referring residents to Cornubia activities as part of their social prescribing programme. The partnership reflected on the time and commitment required to build a relationship with the social prescribing team. They felt that encouraging the team to attend Cornubia and see what was on offer was important and led to social prescribers regularly attending sessions alongside residents requiring further support.
The partnership received feedback from a core group of residents that regularly attended activities at Cornubia, who spoke of feeling a greater sense of purpose in life, and improved physical and mental health.
Following resident feedback, Big Local funding was used in different ways to support young people’s aspirations, skills and opportunities. When Kernow Youth (a local youth organisation) lost core funding, investment from Big Local allowed the organisation to continue delivering services (like drop-in advice sessions for teenagers) and responding to the needs of young people. The partnership continued to support the organisation over the years of Big Local, allocating further resource to provide ‘welfare packs’ – containing food and hygiene items – to families identified by Kernow Youth, as well as supporting the setup of Kernow Youth Café, which provided free hot meals and activities throughout the school holidays. 25 young people involved in Kernow Youth later went on to volunteer for the project.
Alongside this, the partnership seed funded MPower Kernow CIC (a local social enterprise) to restore a railway turntable (a device used to reverse the direction of a train) in St Blazey. This initial support enabled the CIC to get match funding and develop the site as a venue for mentoring and skill development through a new science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) programme. Young people went on to do engineering courses and complete their work experience on the turntable site. Partnership members felt this was a vital service in a rural community where STEM training opportunities were previously limited.
From the early years of the programme, the Par Bay Big Local partnership was keen to increase awareness of the heritage of the area and bring people together. When Cornubia opened, it housed a community pottery space – Under the Sun Studio — which drew on the history of China clay works in the area, as well as a local organisation selling the work of over 40 artisans. Grants were also distributed for local quilting groups, textile workshops and turning an unused phone box into an art gallery to host local artists’ work.
Working with Par Bay Community Trust (PBCT), the partnership also brought in additional funding through the Creative Civic Change programme , which championed community-led creativity and the arts. Together, and with support from other funders such as Arts Council England, they ran The Emergent Ensemble project which contracted and trained five early career artists to upskill them. The Emergent Ensemble, the Big Local partnership, PBCT and a range of other community groups, freelancers and arts organisations played a key role in running The PAR-teee — a free festival of outdoor performances showcasing local artists, encouraging the community to come together and get involved in creative projects. The festival ran twice, in 2021 and 2022, attracting over 4,000 people. Five new pieces of artwork were generated for the community, which remained in the area after the festivals.
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 Par Bay Big Local told Local Trust they used their Big Local funding.
Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) (2024) ‘Pension credit claimants (% of all pensioners)’. (Accessed 19 September 2025)
Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) (2025) ‘Children in low income families: local area statistics’. (Accessed 19 September 2025)
Land Registry (2025) ‘Average house price’. (Accessed 19 September 2025)
Office for National Statistics (ONS) (2022) ‘UK Census 2021: All persons’. (Accessed 8 October 2024)
