The Scotlands and Bushbury Hill Big Local area was two miles north-east of Wolverhampton city centre, where over 8,000 residents (ONS, 2022a) lived across two housing estates. Historically, the Scotlands and Bushbury Hill estates were felt to have been two separate but close-knit communities with little mixing between them. Although the area included shops, schools, community centres, libraries, religious buildings and GP surgeries, these were not evenly distributed across the area nor reachable by all residents.
The area was in the top 10 per cent most deprived in England, with children particularly affected (MHCLG, 2019a; 2019b). Compared to other Wolverhampton neighbourhoods, there were lower levels of employment (ONS, 2022b) and a higher proportion of residents claiming out-of-work benefits support (DWP, 2024a; 2024b). Residents were experiencing challenges with mental and physical health (MHCLG 2019c) and some parts of the area had a reputation for crime (Police UK, 2024). However, the area had many established and active community organisations and groups, which delivered activities and gave residents a sense of local pride.
Residents felt that in the past, outside investment in the Scotlands and Bushbury Hill Big Local area hadn’t been led by the community and the benefits hadn’t lasted. The partnership wanted Big Local to be different, by building the confidence and capacity of residents to help each other and themselves, developing community-based services and activity, and supporting residents to be active and involved citizens. Their vision was to improve local people’s mental health, economic and social wellbeing, and quality of life.
Through resident consultation, the partnership settled on their priorities. These included: supporting families to prosper; creating a safe environment and opportunities for children, young people, and older residents; and enabling residents to improve their health and wellbeing. They also wanted to bring the two distinct communities together through Big Local activities. Following the Covid-19 pandemic, the partnership increased their focus on health and wellbeing, providing family support, and planning their legacy.
The partnership identified volunteer support as foundational to creating a community of active citizens and ensuring the sustainability of Big Local initiatives. They supported volunteers by linking them to training opportunities, identifying their skills and strengths, hosting volunteering events, and reducing barriers to participation (like by covering expenses). In doing so, the partnership mobilised hundreds of volunteers over the years through different projects, developing more connected, civically active, and resilient residents.
The partnership also brought in extra capacity and local knowledge to deliver their Big Local plan. Working with Community Action and Training Services (CAATS) and their Locally Trusted Organisation (LTO), the resident-led Bushbury Hill Estate Management Board, they recruited capacity workers. With a background in community development, these workers trained volunteers, supported residents to develop projects, strengthened the skills and confidence of partnership members, and built the capacity of community groups. They helped establish key projects and brought in over £3m in funding and in-kind resources into the area.
Throughout the Big Local programme, the Scotlands and Bushbury Hill partnership worked collaboratively with individuals, organisations, and agencies to deliver their plan. Councillors and individuals from community organisations were partnership members, which meant they were well-connected locally, and early on, the partnership created a consortium of community organisations who collectively attracted funding, resources, and services across the wider area. This consortium continued to operate after Big Local funding had been spent, becoming a key part of the partnership’s legacy.
The partnership recognised the importance of local community spaces and established a new organisation, Big Local Venture Ltd, to save a community centre and manage it through a long-term lease from the council. The space became central to the delivery of their plans. Partnership members who volunteered at the hub were known as the Pink Ladies, due to their bright pink polo shirts. They won the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service in 2021, and the centre’s chair received an MBE the following year.
By increasing community control over local assets and creating a consortium through which local groups could collaborate, the Big Local partnership created a legacy of community ownership and action that continued after 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.
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.
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.
The Scotlands and Bushbury Hill Big Local partnership saw securing and developing community assets as essential for long-term change in the area. This would provide a base for activities and services, while addressing differences in infrastructure and facilities across the two estates.
In 2014, Wolverhampton City Council planned to close a popular community centre and adventure playground on the Scotlands estate. At the time, it was widely used by local groups as a place to meet and run activities, events, and services. The partnership felt its closure would be a significant loss to the community.
Working with Community Action and Training Services (CAATs) and other local organisations, the partnership created a business plan which outlined how the centre could be transformed into a self-sustaining social enterprise, hosting services needed by residents. They established Big Local Venture Ltd, a community benefit society, to manage the centre, and secured an asset transfer and a 25-year lease from the council.
After three years of hard work, the refurbished Big Local Venture hub opened as a volunteer-led community centre, with a new community café, spaces for hire, a redecorated kitchen, and outside space. With the support of a dedicated volunteer team – the Pink Ladies – in a few years, the centre was generating enough income to sustain itself and attracting hundreds of residents a week. Residents were accessed services including Citizens Advice, employment support, benefits advice, training, and activities and support for young people and families. The centre brought residents from the two estates together and became a thriving hub of community-based activity.
During the Covid-19 pandemic and local lockdowns, the Pink Ladies transformed the Big Venture Centre into a distribution hub for food parcels and activity packs, and offered services such as telephone befriending and counselling.
The centre continued to operate once Big Local funding had been spent, becoming a base for popular local initiatives, including the community food shop and charity shop.
The partnership also supported a second community asset transfer, transferring the Fifth Avenue Community Centre (in the Bushbury Hill estate) to their Locally Trusted Organisation (LTO), securing a 30 year lease and ensuring the building remained in community control. The newly acquired centre opened in 2022. Initially it was designed as a training hub, supporting local groups and residents to test and grow new ideas. It went on to expand in scope to host a range of activities including after school clubs, Funday Mondays for residents aged over 50, and cooking programmes.
The Scotlands and Bushbury Hill Big Local partnership identified a key challenge in their area. While there were many local groups delivering valuable work, there was little collaboration between them, and they often lacked the capacity to secure larger funding. The partnership also felt that most previous investment in the area came from large outside organisations, with little local connection or lasting impact.
To address this, the partnership, their Locally Trusted Organisation (LTO), and Community Action and Training Services (CAATS) brought together eight community-led organisations, including Big Venture Centre, with Wolverhampton City Council and local agencies, to create the WV10 Consortium. This community-led consortium consisted of two tiers that placed local, resident-led organisations at the forefront of decision-making and delivery, supported by larger partners (such as the council and Citizens Advice) who could provide additional resource, reach, and expertise. Together, they pooled resources and bid collectively for funding to deliver activities, services, and support in the Big Local area and wider WV10 postcode area.
In 2018, the consortium secured £367,000 funding from the Big Lottery Fund to deliver HeadStart, a mental health support programme. Over three years, the programme supported over 1,000 young people, parents, and carers, delivered 300 hours of counselling services, and around 47 activities, including mental health education sessions, science workshops, sports, music lessons, and art therapy.
By the end of Big Local, over 100 volunteers were involved in the activities, support and services delivered through the community spaces, and the groups that made up the WV10 consortium. Big Venture Centre and Scotlands and Bushbury Hill Big Local partnership emerged as key members of the group, and collectively the consortium managed four community hubs, two community shops, two charity shops, a baby bank, and a food bank.
Together with the Big Venture Centre and Fifth Avenue Community Centre, the WV10 Consortium became Scotlands and Bushbury Hill Big Local’s legacy in the area, creating sustainable, community-led infrastructure that continued to operate beyond Big Local funding.
The partnership developed a range of initiatives to address food insecurity and poverty in the Scotlands and Bushbury Hill area, combining immediate support with longer-term skills development. These included lunch clubs, food banks, family cookery lessons, community growing projects, holiday meal provision, and publishing the WV10 cookbook to help feed a family healthily and on a budget. Over time the partnership was able to respond flexibly to changing circumstances, working with local organisations to move from food provision to crisis response, to longer-term capacity-building.
Much of the partnership’s food work evolved through the WV10 Consortium, which enabled a more coordinated, area-wide response. The Big Venture Centre and Fifth Avenue Community Centre also acted as key delivery bases for these initiatives.
In 2017, the partnership opened a community café at the Big Venture Centre, providing low-cost, home-cooked food and a welcoming social space for residents. Run by volunteers and supported by paid staff (who were also residents) the café quickly became an important community asset, helping to reduce social isolation as well as improve access to affordable meals.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, the partnership adapted their offer to meet urgent need. The Big Venture Centre was used as a local distribution hub, delivering food parcels, vouchers, and cooked meals to the whole community, including those who were unable to leave their homes. Initiatives like Treats and Chat combined food delivery with doorstep conversations, helping to reduce loneliness. A community minibus, previously used to transport residents to activities, was repurposed to deliver food and essential supplies across the area.
As needs shifted after the pandemic, the partnership responded to the cost of living crisis by transforming the community café into Wolverhampton’s first community shop. Membership was £5 per year which allowed residents to buy food and toiletries at reduced prices. Within a few years, the shop had nearly 1,000 members. The partnership also opened a charity shop to sell affordable clothes and homeware. All three projects generated enough income to be self-sustaining, and the community shop model was replicated across Wolverhampton. The café later reopened alongside the shop, offering bacon and sausage sandwiches for £1.50.
Through the consortium, the partnership supported the introduction of two community chefs, who delivered regular cooking sessions at Fifth Avenue Community Centre focused on healthy eating, budgeting, and practical skills. The partnership felt that these sessions contributed to improving resident wellbeing and brought people together. Over time, the community chefs programme expanded beyond the Big Local area and became part of a wider city initiative tackling food and fuel poverty.
The Scotlands and Bushbury Hill partnership saw the value of volunteering and wanted residents to take an active role in supporting each other and running Big Local activities. Big Local funding was used to support projects, and paid staff supported voluntary groups and community organisations to train and manage volunteers. This increased the number of volunteering opportunities in the area and built a network of hundreds of volunteers across the estates.
One of the most successful resident ideas was Bushbury Buddies, a befriending service. Volunteers visited lonely and socially isolated older residents for a chat, helped with small domestic tasks and connected them with social groups in the area.
Big Local funding supported the initial set-up, and the partnership’s capacity workers supported the volunteers. The project successfully attracted an additional £92,000 from the National Lottery Community Fund, which the volunteers used to recruit a paid staff role, train more volunteers, and purchase a minibus. Volunteers extended support to the wider WV10 postcode and to all age groups, so they could help additional socially isolated residents like lone parents. By 2020, over 25 volunteers were part of the scheme and had supported over 130 people to increase their confidence to socialise and participate in activities.
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 Scotlands and Bushbury Hill Big Local told Local Trust they used their Big Local funding.
Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) (2024a) ‘People on universal credit: not in employment’. Available at: gov.uk/government/statistics/dwp-benefits-statistics-november-2024 (Accessed 23 January 2025)
Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) (2024b) ‘Jobseeker’s allowance’. Available at: gov.uk/government/statistics/dwp-benefits-statistics-november-2024 (Accessed 23 January 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 23 January 2025)
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) (2019b) ‘English Indices of Multiple Deprivation 2019 – Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index (IDACI)’. Available at: gov.uk/government/statistics/english-indices-of-deprivation-2019 (Accessed 23 January 2025)
Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG) (2019c) ‘English indices of deprivation 2019: Health deprivation and disability domain’. Available at: gov.uk/government/statistics/english-indices-of-deprivation-2019 (Accessed 23 January 2025)
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Office for National Statistics (ONS) (2022b) ‘UK Census 2021: Economic activity status, England and Wales’. Available at: ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/bulletins/economicactivitystatusenglandandwales/census2021#economic-activity-status (Accessed 23 January 2025)
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