The St Peter’s and the Moors Big Local area sat west of Cheltenham town centre and was split by the busy Tewkesbury Road. North of the road was St Peter’s, with council-owned housing and most of the area’s community facilities (including churches, a youth centre, children’s centre, and primary school). South of the road was the Moors, a 1920s housing estate bordered by the River Chelt and an industrial estate to the west, with residents having to cross the road to access services and shops.
St Peter’s and the Moors had a population of 3,121, with 8 per cent of residents aged 65 and over, compared to 22 per cent in the South West (ONS, 2022a; 2022b). Twenty-nine per cent of children (aged 19 or under) were in low-income families, compared to 18 per cent regionally (DWP, 2025), and 36 per cent of households had no access to a car or van, compared to 17 per cent in the South West (ONS, 2023).
The partnership’s vision was consistent throughout Big Local – to build an inspiring community of supportive neighbours. While priorities evolved over time, they broadly focused on connecting residents, creating a cleaner and safer community, improving residents’ financial resilience, and increasing local activities. Towards the end of the programme, these priorities increasingly centred on the development of Petersfield Community and Sports Hub, which brought together many of the partnership’s earlier aims.
To develop their first plan, the partnership held consultation events and drop-ins at local venues to gather residents’ feedback. This generated some engagement, but to reach a wider range of residents the partnership launched the 1000 Conversations project, a listening campaign involving door-to-door visits, walking through the area, and hosting socials and events. This was supported by partnership members with experience in community organising.
The project worked well as an initial engagement tool, and helped them to build trust with residents, raise their profile, and identify ‘connectors’ in the community who could help spread messages and encourage wider involvement. However, this approach was labour intensive, and the partnership could not sustain it long-term.
A range of other consultation methods helped to maintain and deepen community ties throughout the programme. These included events, newsletters, social media, surveys, visiting established community groups, and employing a Community Link worker who regularly spoke with residents.
Alongside residents, the partnership included representatives from the local authority, housing associations, community centres, local businesses, and the University of Gloucestershire. However, recruiting residents from within the Big Local boundary was sometimes challenging, and at points the group slipped below the resident-majority threshold. Turnover among partnership members was also high, which made it difficult to maintain momentum. Though, many partnership members were well-connected and trusted locally, and resident engagement remained central to delivery throughout the programme.
Paid staff played an important role in supporting Big Local delivery. A development officer role in the early years evolved into project coordination as the partnership’s needs changed, and part-time staff supported consultation work. Longstanding full-time staff helped the partnership to sustain activity, coordinate engagement and delivery, and maintain links with local organisations.
Collaborative working was central to the partnership’s approach. Flagship projects were developed with organisations and residents, and networking helped secure additional resources, including office space and community planning support from the University of Gloucestershire.
Later in the programme, the partnership established a charity, the Petersfield Partnership, to take forward plans for a new community and sports hub and continue to fundraise for the community. Reflecting on the programme, partnership members felt their work had created a more connected community. They also reflected on the importance of celebrating small wins, having open and honest conversations with the community, showing support and gratitude to volunteers, and having a core partnership group that is invested in the community.
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.
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 partnership identified a strong desire among residents for a safe community space that could support activities, particularly for young people. Although there were existing community venues, these were quick to book up, and all located in St Peter’s. The partnership was also concerned about high levels of anti-social behaviour (Police UK, 2025) and wanted to create a safe place for people to meet.
Early in Big Local, the partnership began developing plans for a community and sports hub at the Cheltenham Saracens Football Club in the Moors. While the playing pitch was well tended, the facilities had not been updated for around 25 years, making them cold and costly to maintain.
Cheltenham Saracens Football Club were well-connected locally, and the partnership had already built a relationship with them through joint activities on the site. Together, they carried out a public consultation, which showed strong community support for improving the facilities. With support from residents, the council, and other local stakeholders, the partnership commissioned architects to design a new hub overlooking the pitch, including a main hall, meeting rooms, kitchen, and office. Big Local funding was contributed to the project (£350,000) and the partnership successfully won an additional £458,000 grant from the government’s Community Ownership Fund. In 2023, planning permission was granted and the Petersfield Partnership was established with representation from Big Local, Cheltenham Saracens Football Club, and the local authority.
Developing and delivering the hub was a long and challenging process. The Covid-19 pandemic, inflation, and rising cost of living made fundraising and delivery difficult, while delays securing the lease caused further challenges.
The partnership was proud that they kept going despite the challenges. They remained in close contact with the community, sharing progress and communicating honestly about delays, which they felt helped build trust. As the Hub approached opening towards the end of Big Local, they believed they had created a much-needed, community-owned, safe space for people to come together, particularly for residents of the Moors.
While plans for the community and sports hub progressed, Big Local funding was used for a series of quick-win projects to improve local green spaces and demonstrate the partnership’s commitment to the community.
At Elmfield Park, the partnership worked with Cheltenham Borough Council to install new playground railings, paths, and entrances. These improvements reduced mud and prevented dogs from entering the play area. They also delivered a joint planting project with children from the local primary school, Cheltenham Rotary Club, and the council, planting 500 crocus bulbs and 200 trees across the park.
The partnership also created two ‘pocket parks’ – small public green spaces created from underused or overgrown land. Working with The Conservation Volunteers, a local artist, and the council’s Green Spaces team, they created one in the Moors along the River Chelt and another along Tewkesbury Road near St Peter’s. They built new paths, planted new trees, and installed benches, bug hotels, bird boxes, play features, and art installations.
Maintenance of the Moors pocket park was taken on by Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust, who ran twice-weekly sessions that involved residents in planting and maintaining the garden. The Tewkesbury Road site became known as the Community Rest Garden and, alongside Elmfield Park, was supported by a ‘Friends of’ group. Initially involving Big Local and a council representative, the group later became self-sustaining and continued to host community events and secure additional funding to improve the spaces.
The Covid-19 pandemic and resulting lockdowns marked a turning point for the St Peter’s and the Moors Big Local partnership. They were among the first local responders – coordinating volunteers, running errands for shielding residents, and delivering remote befriending activities. They reflected that scaling up their activity during this period helped build trust with residents and strengthen their reputation.
The partnership’s most successful initiative was their food waste project, delivered with FareShare Go. Launched in 2018, it was expanded during the pandemic to accommodate growing need. Volunteers and a worker collected surplus food donations from local supermarkets, quality-checked the food, and redistributed it via the Gas Green Community Centre. Food parcels were also delivered to residents who were shielding or unable to attend the centre. During the first lockdown and the months that followed, the partnership ran two weekly drop-in sessions, amounting to 1,086 visits. They also made 503 deliveries, providing a total of 1,590 food parcels supporting 4,802 people, while saving just under 8,498kg of food from being wasted.
The food redistribution project continued for a few years after lockdowns (including sessions for Moors residents at Cheltenham Saracens Football Club), but was eventually closed as more community pantries emerged.
The St Peter’s and the Moors Big Local partnership ran a grants programme to support resident-led activity. Grants of up to £250 were available, with some awards increased to £1,000. While take-up was lower than expected, the grants acted as a catalyst for several activities that continued beyond the initial funding.
One grant supported the development of a community café at The Rock Youth Centre. The café provided access to quality low-cost food, created volunteering opportunities, and offered young people experience in catering. It became an informal hub, where residents could meet and socialise, and where service providers regularly engaged with the community.
The Gas Green Community Choir also began as a grant-funded activity but proved popular enough to become self-sustaining, performing at a range of local venues and events.
In 2017, a £500 grant to a local artist helped launch The Cheltenham Paint Festival, where artists painted murals in public spaces across Cheltenham. The festival quickly grew in scale and visibility, with murals appearing across the town and becoming part of the local landscape. Some artworks remained in place, while others were repainted each year. By 2026, the festival had involved more than 170 artists and spanned 90 locations along a five-mile route, engaging residents of all ages.
Through the grants programme, the partnership discovered how providing seed funding to local initiatives could create lasting impact and strengthen community connections.
The partnership ran a busy calendar of activities and events to bring residents together. These included fun days, football tournaments, cooking clubs, environmental clear-ups, and themed events (like Halloween discos, Easter egg hunts, and a WWI Living History Event with the Great War Society). By working with organisations like Move More and Goals Beyond Grass, summer activity programmes regularly engaged over 200 people, through a range of sports and craft activities for young residents.
Residents valued Big Local annual trips. A coach trip to Weston-super-Mare, often the only trip many families could afford, took around 50 residents each year, and the partnership introduced a £5 fee to keep the trips sustainable. In 2023, more than 200 people travelled to nearby attractions, including Bournemouth Air Festival.
Attracting over 1,000 residents, one of the partnership’s most popular events was a free bonfire and firework display at Cheltenham Saracens Football Club. Refreshments were provided, including hot pasties, baked potatoes, hot dogs, and hot and cold drinks. Many residents stayed after to help with clean-up, which the partnership felt signalled the community’s appreciation.
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 St Peter’s and the Moors Big Local told Local Trust they used their Big Local funding.
Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) (2025) ‘Children in low income families: local area statistics’. Available at: gov.uk/government/statistics/children-in-low-income-families-local-area-statistics-2014-to-2024 (Accessed17 March 2026)
Office for National Statistics (ONS) (2022a) ‘UK Census 2021: All persons’. Available at: ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/populationestimates/datasets/populationandhouseholdestimatesenglandandwalescensus2021 (Accessed 19 Jan 2026)
Office for National Statistics (ONS) (2022b) ‘UK Census 2021: Age structure of the population: Aged 65 years and over’. Available at: ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/populationestimates/datasets/populationandhouseholdestimatesenglandandwalescensus2021 (Accessed 19 Jan 2026)
Office for National Statistics (ONS) (2023) ‘UK Census 2021: No cars or vans in household’. Available at: ons.gov.uk/datasets/TS045/editions/2021/versions/4 (Accessed 19 Jan 2026)
Police UK (2025) ‘Crime type: Anti-social behaviour (12 month total)’. Available at: data.police.uk/data/ (Accessed 19 Jan 2026)