Radstock and Westfield
Key points
- Twelve participatory community events were held, enabling residents to choose which projects to support. These events distributed over £70,000 to more than 100 projects.
- The Big Local Wellbeing Space was created in a new GP surgery, to support residents’ long-term health and wellbeing.
- Several community assets and outdoor spaces received funding, including a purpose-built running track and gym equipment, and turning a former church into a community hub.
About the Big Local area
The Radstock and Westfield Big Local area lay on the southern edge of the Bath and North East Somerset council area, within commuting distance of Bristol and Bath. It was centred on the town of Radstock (with shops and community facilities), but also covered the neighbouring villages of Westfield, Haydon, Clandown, Tyning, and Writhlington. Historically, the area was the centre of the North Somerset coalfield, with the last pits and railway closing in 1973. At the time of Big Local, light manufacturing and printing remained, but most employment was outside the area.
The Big Local area had a population of 12,697 in 2021 (ONS, 2022a). Compared to the wider South West, it had a relatively young population, with more residents aged under 16 and fewer aged 65 or more (ONS, 2022b; 2022c). House prices were generally 20–25 per cent lower than in the wider South West (Land Registry, 2025), but the Big Local partnership noted new housing developments and rising prices, reflecting the area’s proximity to Bath and Bristol. Deprivation related to health and disability varied across the area, with Writhlington and the north-west of Westfield showing significantly poorer health outcomes compared to the wider area and regional average (MHCLG, 2019).
How the Big Local area approached delivery
A steering group was established in 2012 to consult with residents, which informed emerging plans. Two years later, the steering group became the Radstock and Westfield Big Local partnership, from which a core management committee was formed to drive the programme forward. The partnership adopted a more informal approach to community engagement, through monthly ‘meet and mingle’ sessions. Initially, two part-time, freelance community workers supported delivery; one stayed in post throughout the programme, becoming the sole worker on a full-time basis. Activity was mostly coordinated and undertaken by the workers and partnership members, rather than through a wider group of volunteers.
In 2017, the partnership decided to set up a dedicated Community Interest Company (CIC) to employ the workers and enable generation of further resources.
The CIC managed the delivery of Big Local, while the partnership remained in place to oversee the process. The CIC became the Locally Trusted Organisation (LTO) towards the end of the Big Local programme. This was intended to help it build resources and a track record, to become a sustainable legacy organisation for Radstock and Westfield Big Local.
The partnership’s vision was of “a community that is creating its own future and working together to make good things happen”. In working towards this, the partnership distributed grants to local organisations, rather than delivering or commissioning significant projects themselves. This approach was used because the partnership felt the area already had strong community infrastructure, with more than 100 voluntary and community groups, 13 community venues, and active local authorities. In their plans, the partnership focused on investment, access, and sustaining community activities, across the themes of health and wellbeing, and skills and development for young people.
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 Big Local Plan set out what changes the partnership planned to make, how they planned to deliver on this and how funds were to be allocated. It was written for themselves, their community and Local Trust, as a guide and action plan.
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.
What the Big Local area did
Health and wellbeing
Investing in a community wellbeing space
Health and wellbeing became a key focus for the Radstock and Westfield partnership when developing their second Big Local plan in 2018, as they had noted concern amongst residents about health outcomes. In addition to Big Local funding being invested in a community orchard, the partnership developed a food strategy with the local authority and engaged the national Sugar Smart campaign to help reduce sugar consumption locally.
Broader plans to move the local GP surgery created an opportunity for Big Local funding to be invested in a long-term facility that could support healthier lifestyles in the community. An initial suggestion for a Big Local training kitchen proved unfeasible, so the partnership pivoted to create a space for health and wellbeing activities and training, complementing the main work of the surgery. Planned activities include a cooking programme for parents, seated exercise, postnatal exercise classes, mental health drop-in sessions, and health education for people living with long-term conditions. The Big Local Wellbeing Space, as it was eventually called, was funded by a £250,000 grant (Radstock and Westfield Big Local’s largest single investment). It formed part of the Hope House Centre – the new GP surgery and Children and Families Centre.
Community engagement
Distributing grants through community votes
At the start of Big Local, the partnership organised a community event, inviting residents to vote on projects pitched by local community groups. The event was so successful that it became a mainstay of the Big Local programme in Radstock and Westfield. Overall, 12 such events were held, attracting over 100 residents on average. Each time 10 winning projects were awarded £500 each, with around £70,000 distributed in total. Funded projects included a new floor in the Norton Radstock Amateur Boxing Club gym and a rebrand and relaunch of a ladies’ choir as Westfield Voices. Another funded project collected plastics from a local river and used them to make a large fish sculpture to tour town centers, aiming to raise awareness of waste pollution.
As well as a participatory process for deciding which projects and priorities would be supported, the events were a lively and fun way of bringing people together, engaging the community, and highlighting local activities.
The events helped raise the profile of Big Local and became a route for the partnership to share information and consult on plans. The benefits of the process and support for small-scale community activities were significant. Partnership members considered it the most successful of their projects, with plans for the Community Interest Company to continue it after the Big Local programme came to an end.
Responding to crisis and urgent need
Strengthening relationships between the partnership and the community
At the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown, the partnership moved quickly to support residents, by reallocating funds to meet urgent needs seen in the Radstock and Westfield Big Local community. This included working with a local café to support people in vulnerable circumstances – volunteers delivered over 800 hot meals, and Big Local funding helped the café continue despite lockdown. The partnership also supported a project distributing family food parcels and a community group providing baby supplies for families with children aged 0–5.
Although other Big Local projects were paused or delayed, the pandemic had an important side-effect. Through their energetic response to the crisis the partnership became more well-known and strengthened their relationships with other organisations.
Community assets and spaces
Investing in community facilities for long-term impact
As well as supporting existing activities and projects, the Radstock and Westfield partnership took a long-term view, with Big Local funding being invested in community assets and spaces. This involved smaller, one-off grants to upgrade or refurbish community venues. For example, repairs to Radstock Museum tower clock, new seating at Victoria Hall, and a resurfaced car park at Writhlington Village Hall (so it could be used safely by parents of the neighbouring primary school to ease congestion).
Big Local funding was allocated to a couple of sizeable strategic investments in local facilities, both with local authorities. A project developed by Westfield Parish Council to create a new outdoor running track and gym equipment at Westhill Recreation Ground was part-funded by a £48,000 Big Local grant and match-funded with other sources. The partnership saw the new facilities as a success, providing a legacy of long-term community benefits, like supporting healthier and more active lifestyles.
Radstock and Westfield Big Local, supported by Key Fund, also awarded a £127,000 loan to Radstock Town Council to help with the purchase, repair, and refurbishment of the former Methodist Church building. For several years the partnership had been researching investment options that could lead to a financial return, exploring local renewable energy creation and community housing. With the investment of Big Local funding in a loan to Radstock Town Council, the partnership was able to support and secure a mixed-use facility for the community. Plus, income generated from the loan was returned to the partnership to support work beyond Big Local.
Investing in young people
Empowering young people to lead
An early priority for the partnership was support and activities for young people in Radstock and Westfield, underpinned by extensive consultation before the programme started. The partnership supported outdoor learning in primary schools, and Big Local funding was invested in equipment (like a gazebo and climbing frame) and several forest school sessions.
The partnership explored the possibility of setting up a dedicated youth panel, before deciding to commission a youth empowerment agency – Learn to Lead – to provide training for local secondary school learners. Over two days young people and teaching staff engaged in sessions on health and wellbeing, environmental sustainability, and inclusivity, with a plan to roll out the sessions throughout the school. The approach taught them and the school how to form learning groups to continue after the agency had left. The process helped young people gain confidence in their own voice and develop skills to have more control over their lives.
How the Big Local area spent their funding
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 Radstock and Westfield Big Local told Local Trust they used their Big Local funding.
References
Land Registry (2025) ‘Average house price’. (Accessed 23 May 2025)
Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG) (2019) ‘English indices of deprivation 2019: Health deprivation and disability domain’. (Accessed 31 March 2025)
Office for National Statistics (ONS) (2022a) ‘UK Census 2021: All persons’. (Accessed 31 March 2025)
Office for National Statistics (ONS) (2022b) ‘UK Census 2021: Age structure of the population: Population aged under 16’. (Accessed 31 March 2025)
Office for National Statistics (ONS) (2022c) ‘UK Census 2021: Age structure of the population: Aged 65 years and over’. (Accessed 31 March 2025)