Stoke North
Key points
- Local organisations were brought together, creating a strong network – Fegg Hayes Forum – to continue beyond Big Local.
- Outdoor spaces received investment, through a new skate park and the Growing Fields Project.
- A programme of events and trips (especially popular with older residents) helped tackle social isolation and support resident wellbeing.
About the Big Local area
The Stoke North Big Local area was on the northern edge of Stoke-on-Trent, around a 20-minute drive from the city centre. The area included three social housing estates – Chell Heath, Fegg Hayes, and Chell – each with their own neighbourhood and social identity, and plenty of green space, shops, pubs, and community facilities. In 2021, Stoke North had a population of 8,198 (ONS, 2022).
Almost half of Stoke North households were owner-occupied (13 percentage points lower than the regional average), while a third were rented from the local authority (22 percentage points higher than the regional average) (ONS, 2023a; 2023b). At 44 per cent, the proportion of working-age residents claiming benefits was higher than the regional average of 27 per cent (DWP, 2024). Fuel poverty also dramatically increased, from 13 per cent in 2011 to 25 per cent in 2022, five per cent higher than the regional 2022 average (DECC, 2013; BEIS, 2022). Stoke North also had a greater prevalence of poor mental health than the wider West Midlands (PLDR, 2022).
How the Big Local area approached delivery
Community consultation was important for the Stoke North partnership in setting priorities early in the programme. Members travelled between neighbourhoods on a community bus, gathering views about how the area could be improved. They also commissioned a local organisation, Unity, to run ‘Postcards from the Future ’ – inviting residents to imagine how Big Local funding could be best used.
Initial priorities included creating green spaces and strengthening local connections, later expanding to include financial support, tackling poverty, and improving health and wellbeing. Throughout Big Local, bringing together the three housing estate communities – as well as existing local organisations – remained a core focus.
An early challenge was ensuring that all three estates were equally represented and supported. Helpfully, most partnership members were residents of these neighbourhoods, and several were affiliated with existing residents’ associations. From 2018, members organised into four subgroups (People, Communications, Environment, and Finance), each developing a work plan to structure and drive activities. They were supported by a community development worker, who acted as a link between the partnership and local stakeholders. Through the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic, the partnership’s confidence grew – particularly around commissioning work. From this point on, they struck an effective balance between commissioning projects, leading their own initiatives, and supporting community-led ideas through grants.
Known locally as The Bright Ideas Fund, the partnership’s community grants programme was a key component in their delivery. Local groups and individuals could apply for grants of up to £500 for projects aligned with Big Local priorities. Applications were open three times a year and structured around the partnership’s subgroups – for example, aligned with ‘Environment’, Chell Heath School received a grant for binoculars and seeds for their forest school.
The partnership ensured its members were equipped to support and deliver projects effectively by investing in training around food hygiene and allergy awareness, safeguarding, emergency first aid, and CPR. Recognising mental health challenges within the community, they also provided a three-day mental health training course. Members felt this helped them support residents and challenged their biases and misconceptions around mental wellbeing. This strengthened the partnership’s reputation and relationships with local organisations, establishing them as skilled and knowledgeable.
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.
What the Big Local area did
Working collaboratively
Strengthening local networks as a ‘community connector’
At the outset of Big Local, there were several well-established community groups in Stoke North. However, the partnership observed that there was little collaboration between groups. So, rather than competing, the partnership worked as a ‘community connector’, supporting collaboration and impact.
The partnership built relationships with schools, residents’ associations, churches, youth clubs, Stoke-on-Trent Council, and organisations like the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC), Fegg Hayes Futures, and Chell Area Family Action Group (CAFAG). These relationships strengthened local connections and Big Local delivery, by giving access to community spaces, like The Hub@ST6, Whitfield Valley Centre, and the Community Methodist Church. Through collaborative working, around £1m of additional funding was brought into the area. The partnership learned to be strategic, identifying valuable relationships and moving on from less productive ones.
To help strengthen and grow relationships, Big Local funding was used for a resident to redesign the partnership’s newsletter, The Big Chatter, to help local groups share their efforts and reach more residents. It grew to be distributed three times a year to around 4,000 residents, highlighting available programmes, celebrating the work of local groups, promoting local businesses, and signposting residents towards support.
In 2019, the NSPCC selected Stoke North Big Local to help deliver the Together for Childhood (TFC) programme in the area, noting the partnership’s strong collaborative work and robust network of community organisations. TFC aimed to raise awareness and build community support around child abuse prevention, working across the three local estates and in partnership with schools, NHS trusts, Staffordshire Police, the city council, and community groups. Through this collaboration, the partnership supported public awareness campaigns, workshops, and direct services, providing the TFC team with access to local engagement channels, including Big Local events and partnership meetings.
Towards the end of the Big Local programme, committed to strengthening networks over competing for resources, the partnership chose not to register as a charity. Instead, they focused on their legacy: ensuring that local organisations could continue working together. A conference with local organisations was planned for summer 2025 to shape a long-term plan. Working with Fegg Hayes Futures, the partnership co-founded the Fegg Hayes Forum to continue their work reducing community stress and empowering and supporting residents. The forum was set up to sustain key Big Local initiatives (such as The Big Chatter), carry forward the TFC programme, and continue uniting local organisations and schools to tackle community needs for the long term.
Community assets and spaces
Creating a shared space for young people
Early consultation with Stoke North schoolchildren showed desire for a skate park in the community. The partnership identified Monks Neil Park (at the heart of the Fegg Hayes, Chell Heath, and Chell estates) as an ideal site for this project. As it evolved, they continued consulting with local children on the design, trialling a temporary skate park before moving forward with a permanent facility.
The partnership agreed with the local council that Big Local funding would be used for the park’s development, while the council would take on long-term ownership and maintenance. Delays with the lease agreement and rising costs made development challenging, and at times the partnership considered moving on. However, with support from their Locally Trusted Organisation (LTO), YMCA North Staffordshire, the partnership saw the project through to completion, with the Monks Neil Skate Park officially opening after nine years in 2024.
To mark the occasion, the partnership held a well-attended launch, with free skate equipment for young attendees, food, face-painting, and a tombola raising funds for local groups. The launch was successful and the skate park remained in regular use by young residents.
Transforming disused land into a community growing space
In 2017, the Fegg Hayes Residents Association approached the partnership’s environmental subgroup with a proposal to reclaim disused land near an existing allotment site. Their vision was to transform the overgrown and frequently littered area into a thriving community space – The Growing Fields Project – where residents could enjoy nature and grow food, and organisations could host events.
Big Local funding was allocated to help the residents’ association establish a charity – the Sylvester Community Trust (SCT) – to do the work. Momentum grew when the project was selected for the BBC’s ‘DIY SOS: The Big Build ’, bringing in support from local tradespeople and businesses. Work began in December 2021, and the programme broadcast in early 2022. For its first few years, Big Local funding went towards SCT’s legal and running costs, helping establish the project.
The site featured raised beds (where volunteers planted food crops), a kitchen and office space (for ‘Cook and Eat’ sessions), an outdoor porch, a small amphitheatre, and a men’s shed. It quickly became a well-used space among local people and groups. Partnership members described it as a peaceful and welcoming oasis, even in busier summer months.
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.
Responding to crisis and urgent need
Building resilience through community support
The Stoke North Big Local partnership played a key organising role in the area’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic, making use of their networks to provide food, activity, and wellbeing packages for residents. Despite this being a challenging and uncertain time for the community, the pandemic period reinforced the partnership’s position locally, and increased their confidence and ability to respond to future crises.
The partnership was therefore well-placed to respond proactively when the rising cost of living began impacting the area after the pandemic. Their newsletter became an essential tool for sharing information about local services, like food banks, ‘Cook and Eat’ courses, and lunch clubs. The partnership also produced a guidebook to help residents navigate common financial and wellbeing challenges, focusing on issues such as the winter fuel allowance, mental health, and pension credit.
The Big Local partnership also collaborated with Potteries Moneywise (a Citizens Advice project) and Disability Solutions to support residents facing financial difficulties. Big Local funding was allocated for a weekly drop-in clinic that rotated between the three housing estates, eventually expanding to include an additional day each month. It also covered salary costs, some overheads, and promotion at local events and the Chell Parish Pantry, helping to reach those most in need. The support on offer covered debt advice, energy efficiency tips, information on the Household Support Fund, and benefit entitlements, particularly for people with disabilities. In 2024, the Potteries Moneywise Advisor assisted 31 residents, helping them collectively save £37,000.
Place-based pride and connection
Creating connections through community events
Keen to tackle loneliness and reduce stigma surrounding mental health, the partnership delivered a programme of trips and events to strengthen social ties between Stoke North residents, and support their mental wellbeing. These included summer fairs, intergenerational activities, and outings for young people. These events helped the partnership stay closely connected with residents and identify emerging needs.
In 2024, the partnership organised a Christmas lunch at The Hub@ST6 for residents who would otherwise have been alone on Christmas Day. With Fegg Hayes Future charging just £1 to use the hub (to maintain insurance cover), volunteers cooked a meal for around 30 people, providing food and a valuable sense of connection.
Day trips for over-55s, which ran four times a year to seaside destinations (like Rhyl and Llandudno), were particularly popular. Big Local funding covered the coach costs, and the partnership asked attendees to contribute £5 towards a fund to sustain the trips beyond Big Local. Initially promoted through the community hub and social media, the outings became so popular that residents began approaching the partnership directly to find out when the next trip would be.
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 Stoke North Big Local told Local Trust they used their Big Local funding.
References
Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) (2013) ‘Proportion of households fuel poor (%)’. (Accessed 28 May 2025)
Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) (2022) ‘Proportion of households fuel poor (%)’. (Accessed 28 May 2025)
Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) (2024) ‘Benefit claimants: Aged 16–64’. (Accessed 28 May 2025)
Office for National Statistics (ONS) (2022) ‘UK Census 2021: All persons’. (Accessed 5 March 2025)
Office for National Statistics (ONS) (2023a) ‘UK Census 2021: Owner occupied housing’. (Accessed 5 March 2025)
Office for National Statistics (ONS) (2023b) ‘UK Census 2021: Social rented: Rented from Council or Local Authority’. (Accessed 5 March 2025)
Place-Based Longitudinal Data Resource (PLDR) (2022) ‘Small Area Mental Health Index (SAMHI)’. Available at: pldr.org/dataset/2noyv/small-area-mental-health-index-samhi (Accessed 5 March 2025)