Ramsey is a rural market town in Cambridgeshire. The Ramsey Million Big Local area covered the main town centre in the south and five small surrounding villages, and had an overall population of 8,593 in 2021 (ONS, 2022).
The area was surrounded by open countryside, with several heritage sites. Within the town centre, there were shops, schools, play areas, GP surgeries, churches, a library, and a community centre. However, it lacked public transport, and 40 per cent of households owned one car or van (ONS, 2023).
Ramsey was in the top 50 per cent most deprived areas in England in 2019, with a pocket of higher deprivation to the east of the town centre (MHCLG, 2019). A new housing development and retail park at the edge of the area was in progress during the period of the Big Local programme, this was expected to greatly increase the number of households in the area when completed.
At the start of the Big Local programme, supported by community development workers, the Ramsey Million partnership consulted with residents and representatives from local community groups, organisations, and businesses to establish priorities. These priorities included young people; accessible, affordable public transport; business, heritage, and tourism; and families and young children.
From the beginning, it was important to the partnership that any impact they made should last beyond the Big Local funding. They therefore worked to build strong relationships, connections and capacity within the community. Funding was also invested in project-delivery staff to be able to increase the amount of time they could dedicate to this work.
They worked collaboratively with groups, residents, and organisations. As well as encouraging the exchange of local knowledge, expertise and resources, they found that collaboration was an effective means of bringing in additional resources and avoiding duplicating work.
Activity was often funded through community grants and commissioning local groups and organisations. Big Local funding was invested in over 60 organisations and community grants in total. This helped the partnership to build valuable skills around funding while increasing local services, activities, and support to meet local needs.
The Ramsey Million Big Local partnership also worked closely with their locally trusted organisation (LTO) , the Ramsey Neighbourhood Trust – initially a small local community development charity with no staff of their own. Through collaboration with the partnership, the Trust grew in capacity, resources and local influence, bringing in over £400k for local activities and projects and significantly contributing to Big Local delivery. As the programme came to an end, partnership members had the option to become trustees of the Ramsey Neighbourhood Trust.
Together with the LTO, the partnership developed stronger working relationships with all four councils operating in the area, in particular improving the relationship with the town council. Each acknowledged the value of working collaboratively toward shared goals, with the town council’s mayor describing Big Local and the Ramsey Neighbourhood Trust as valuable local assets that had changed how the council worked. This relationship resulted in ongoing collaboration and crisis preparedness that was particularly important during the Covid-19 pandemic. The election of partnership members, and one of their workers, to positions within the council (including town mayor, councillors and deputy mayor) further strengthened this relationship.
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 response to the closure of the local youth club, the Ramsey Million Big Local partnership supported a range of new, affordable youth activities and clubs.
The clubs included a summer play scheme, ‘BOSH – Bring on the Summer’, launched at the start of Big Local as a pilot project for children aged 5–10. Its success and eventual expansion attracted over 100 children each summer, being delivered by a paid youth worker with support from volunteers. Three years later, the partnership established a similar model for older children and teenagers through the ‘CRUNCH’ club. Big Local funding was invested in youth workers to deliver the club, before Ramsey Neighbourhood Trust took over the management and delivery.
The partnership further extended their reach by supporting ‘Toddler Time’ – a soft-play session for children under five, delivered voluntarily by parents. Together, the clubs offered spaces that local young people could take part in from their early childhood through to their mid-teens.
Through CRUNCH, young people aged 11–16 were encouraged to lead activities and projects, and volunteer with younger children.
Participants were funded to undergo youth worker training and qualification. This helped them in building confidence and leadership skills; and some were recognised with awards from the police and town council, which is believed to have positively impacted residents’ perceptions of young people. The partnership saw this support and accreditation as an investment in young people and in the next generation of local youth workers.
The Ramsey Million partnership wanted to reduce residents’ need to leave the area for essential services. In 2018, they commissioned a review which highlighted the poor quality of local transport (compared to similar areas in the region) and submitted it to the Combined Authority in support of improvements to infrastructure.
Alongside this, the partnership collaborated with residents, community groups, local councillors and the town mayor to protect an important local bus route. They brought together a broad coalition of stakeholders committed to improving transport in the area by underscoring the service’s important role in facilitating access to crucial services and employment opportunities.
Building on insights from their review, the partnership commissioned Campaign for Better Transport to develop a plan for influencing policy to improve transport in the region. After the Big Local programme, Ramsey Neighbourhood Trust continued to advocate for improvements to rural transport policies.
Ramsey Million Big Local partnership members worked to promote the town as a vibrant tourist destination. Big Local funding was invested in a two-year project – ‘Promoting Ramsey’ – showcasing the rich heritage of the area and elevating its visibility. As part of this, a staff role was funded, to collaborate closely with local heritage groups and businesses, and forge connections with tourism partners. The project resulted in the delivery of a diverse programme of local heritage events, the development of new tourism materials and infrastructure, and creation of a new tourism brand and website for the town – ‘Discover Ramsey’.
The partnership’s heritage-focused work not only successfully raised Ramsey’s profile and increased visitor numbers to local historical sites and businesses, but led to greater awareness in the community of their own area’s rich history.
At the start of the programme, the partnership convened local groups responsible for historical sites to introduce them to Ramsey Million Big Local, which led to a new heritage forum. As a collective, they designed and delivered numerous activities and annual heritage days which would collectively draw between 300–500 attendees. During the events, attractions were free, dedicated volunteers tended to the sites, and complimentary bus services transported visitors to various locations.
The heritage days succeeded in increasing foot traffic and resident engagement while helping solidify bonds between heritage groups. Years later, they formed a new organisation – the Ramsey Heritage Partnership CIO – to carry forward heritage work in the area, with individuals from local heritage charities, the Big Local partnership and Ramsey Neighbourhood Trust amongst the trustees.
Responding to demand for accessible indoor communal space, the Ramsey Million Big Local partnership worked with multiple stakeholders to create a multipurpose community sports hub in 2016. After reviewing existing spaces in the area, the local cricket pavilion was chosen. This was due to its central location and unique offer of both indoor and outdoor space, as well as an existing good relationship between the partnership and Ramsey Cricket Club.
Together the partnership, Ramsey Neighbourhood Trust, and the cricket club embarked on an extensive redevelopment project. An architect was enlisted, and the group sought support for essential business planning. Approximately £230,000 of Big Local funding was invested, and the partnership worked with the Trust to secure a further £350,000 in capital funding from Cambridgeshire County Council. Management of the revamped building was entrusted to a new entity, Ramsey Pavilion Hub, which featured equal representation from both the cricket club and the Ramsey Neighbourhood Trust. Building work commenced in 2020 with the Pavilion opening its doors to the community two years later, hosting warm spaces, a youth café and operating as a hireable space for weddings or private events.
The project pooled the resources, expertise, and objectives of multiple organisations to achieve a common goal: creating a brand-new community building poised to meet the evolving needs of a diverse community, sustainable beyond Big Local. The journey was not without its challenges; however, partnership members gained valuable expertise around planning, leases, and building regulations.
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 Ramsey Million Big Local told Local Trust they used their Big Local funding.
Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG) (2019) ‘English indices of deprivation 2019’. (Accessed 11 October 2024)
Office for National Statistics (ONS) (2022) ‘UK Census 2021: All persons’. (Accessed 11 October 2024)
Office for National Statistics (ONS) (2023) ‘UK Census 2021: 1 car or van in household’. (Accessed 11 October 2024)
