Located on the outskirts of Barnsley in South Yorkshire, Thurnscoe had a total population of 9,517 in 2021 (an increase of 9 per cent from 8,687 in 2011) (ONS, 2012; 2022a). As a former mining village, the area was heavily affected by strikes and pit closures in the 1980s, and the partnership reflected that this had led to widespread unemployment and a loss of community cohesion. Recovery over the following decades was slow, especially around employment. Thurnscoe ranked among the 20 per cent most deprived areas in England in 2019 (MHCLG, 2019), and had significantly lower economic activity than the wider region in 2021 (ONS, 2022b).
During the Big Local programme, Thurnscoe’s assets included schools, a family centre, and a public green space on the former site of Hickleton Main Colliery, Phoenix Park. It also had a train station and was within 30 minutes’ drive of Barnsley and Doncaster. However, residents reported feeling dissatisfied with local transport infrastructure.
The vision of the Big Local partnership for Thurnscoe was to strengthen the community and work collaboratively to improve the area. They focused their work on community spaces, environmental improvements, the local economy, and bringing the community together.
The collapse of the coal mining industry in the 1980s caused significant loss of economic and social infrastructure, and at the start of Big Local the impacts still ran through most aspects of life in Thurnscoe. Though various funding schemes had been delivered to address growing issues (for example, health, unemployment, and social cohesion), residents felt that little had improved, and many had lost faith in funding initiatives. This meant Big Local began against a backdrop of some cynicism in the community.
The partnership began their work cautiously, reflecting sensitivity to this history and a sense of responsibility towards Thurnscoe’s residents. Big Local funding was initially spent gradually on events and other activities that could prove the value and commitment of the partnership to the community. By the halfway point of the Big Local programme, confidence on both sides had grown, making bigger, bolder projects more feasible. The partnership proved over time to be a high-capacity, well-connected, and mutually trusting group. Members brought a range of professional experience and local contacts, which combined with experience, ideas, and support of a skilled worker, they felt helped form a strong foundation from which to meet challenges.
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.
Delivering for and with the community required an approach of working with local governing bodies and directly with residents. The Big Local partnership collaborated with the Dearne Area Team of Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council, who was already working closely with the Thurnscoe community. By building a relationship with the Dearne Area Team, they were able to avoid duplicating work, and help each other where needed. This relationship was valuable when projects involving local authorities faced challenges, because the area team were well-placed to intervene.
Part of the partnership’s long-term work was creating their own Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO), Thurnscoe Regeneration, to raise local capacity and guarantee a way of receiving funding to continue their work in the future. The CIO was established early on and ran alongside the Big Local partnership. The separate identities of the two groups were always made clear – they met at different times and venues, and the CIO recruited some trustees who had not been involved with the partnership. Running both the Big Local and CIO simultaneously took significant capacity, however this effort paid off. The partnership and CIO were estimated to have leveraged at least £200,000 of additional funding over the course of the Big Local programme.
By the end of the Big Local programme, trustees had developed skills and implemented governance processes to run Thurnscoe Regeneration. The CIO supported the village by continuing certain Big Local activities as well as developing its own work. They also ensured the ongoing maintenance of community spaces. Together with the Community Plaza, a central outdoor area developed by the partnership, this formed the main legacy of Big Local in Thurnscoe.
The groundwork that was necessary in the community – to rebuild what had been lost in previous decades and to counteract local cynicism – informed the partnership’s strategy. During early consultations, they sought out themes that concerned the most residents from the widest backgrounds possible. They identified that a large cross-section of the community in the Thurnscoe Big Local area wanted more local events, and improvements to the local environment.
The partnership delivered initiatives to improve the appearance of the area, including installing planters, raised beds, wildflower areas, and hanging baskets throughout the village, and putting up Christmas lights in winter. A new pond dipping platform was installed at Thurnscoe reservoir, as well as new children’s play equipment and an outdoor gym, and 420 new trees were planted. The partnership also collaborated with local artists, schools, and groups to create the Go Wild sculpture trail, leaving three prominent sculptures across the village, and a community mosaic.
Alongside this, they focused on increasing the frequency and quality of local events so residents would not have to travel elsewhere. This included regular beach parties, Winter Wonderland events, picnics in the park, and a creative spring event celebrating the area’s history by parading old coal mining banners through the village, accompanied by a band. One-off events also attracted many residents. For example, the partnership organised a Battle of Britain event, hosted at a local church, to honour the veterans of World War Two. The 1940s-themed event brought together 70 people, including older residents, their families and veterans, to enjoy an afternoon tea, live music, and share stories.
Events were key to achieving collaborative working in the community, as a means of building relationships among residents and local stakeholders. For example, at the Winter Wonderland events, statutory and community-led organisations paid for stalls, bringing information and opportunities to residents’ attention. Such events also helped to build local capacity by encouraging resident involvement as volunteers or delivery partners.
To celebrate the end of the Big Local programme, over 400 residents attended a Building the Future event organised by the partnership. The event was hosted at the Community Plaza and featured an inflatable art installation – ‘Lumini’ – brought to the village by Architects of Air. The installation was designed to be a sensory space of light and colour, accessible to those with physical disabilities and mobility needs. Residents could explore the installation and hear stories of Thurnscoe Big Local, as well as enjoying food stalls, a theatre performance, and a ‘Marketplace of Opportunities’ exhibition setting out the ambitions of Thurnscoe Regeneration CIO.
A major project for the Thurnscoe Big Local partnership was developing the Community Plaza – an outdoor space built on underused land in the centre of the village, intended to serve and bring together the whole community. Given the interest in environmental improvements, the partnership wanted to design something that was visually pleasing, widely accessible, and requiring minimal maintenance. Plans included dedicated areas for parkour, skating, scooting and bikes, alongside a community garden and amphitheatre seating for the wider community. The space was designed to be for all residents, although the partnership noted that they were particularly interested in creating an area for young people to be active.
Delivery was slowed by leasing delays, Covid-19 restrictions, and contractors falling through. A further setback occurred when a café unit (installed as part of the development) had to be removed after an incident of antisocial behaviour. This was challenging for the partnership, as it affected the business model and potentially the community’s faith in the project. The partnership had to redouble their efforts to win back community support, bringing attention back to the aims not just for young people with the skatepark, but for the whole community with the plaza.
Despite setbacks, the finished plaza became an established part of the landscape, providing a place for young people and a multi-use space for the whole village. The partnership learned a lot from the development and felt the plaza to be one of their proudest achievements, proving themselves and their vision to the council, other partners, and the Thurnscoe community. Its opening in 2022 attracted hundreds of people and numerous local performers.
The Plaza continued to be a central space for community activity once Big Local funding had been spent. Thurnscoe Regeneration CIO supported further improvements to the space, including decorative archways, two new benches, and a new concrete ramp. It also became a popular site for community events, including RampUp where young people learned bike and scooter skills. Grow Wild events enabled children aged 10 and under to take part in nature activities, including foraging, planting, and making bug hotels and bird feeders.
The Thurnscoe Big Local partnership’s growing confidence was reflected in the purchase, renovation, and sale of two houses that had been vacant for 15 years, attracting antisocial behaviour. The project had several goals. Firstly, the houses would be refurbished to a high standard, improving the area and offering local families new places to live. Second, local young people would gain qualifications by being involved as apprentices in delivery. Finally, money from property rental or sale would be invested into the Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO).
The project was felt to be successful in achieving some goals, while less so in others. The partnership hoped the houses might help residents onto the housing ladder; however, they received little interest and were sold to buyers outside of the area. However, the money generated allowed the partnership to transition smoothly to their CIO at the end of the Big Local programme. Two apprentices were also upskilled through construction, and the refurbishments contributed significant aesthetic improvements to the area.
Working against a backdrop of long-term employment challenges in the Big Local area, the Thurnscoe partnership wanted to support entrepreneurship, and in doing so, help keep money in the community. They felt that the unusual circumstances surrounding Covid-19 created the perfect time to encourage new ideas. They therefore set up an enterprise fund alongside the regular small-grants programme, supporting local regeneration during the Covid-19 pandemic.
In partnership with Enterprising Barnsley’s Launchpad team – who vetted ideas and provided support to applicants – around 20 entrepreneurs were supported with grants of up to £500 each. Many were young people who created a range of businesses, including furniture recycling, cupcake sales, and guitar refurbishment. Some met a hyperlocal need – for example, one resident set up a mobile phone repair business, so residents did not have to leave town for this (a recurring challenge for residents who felt cut off from services by unsatisfactory local transport). The partnership maintained good relationships with some of the entrepreneurs, resulting in a mutual exchange of support (such as the provision of cakes free of charge for partnership events).
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 Thurnscoe Big Local told Local Trust they used their Big Local funding.
Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG) (2019) ‘English indices of deprivation 2019’. Available at: gov.uk/government/statistics/english-indices-of-deprivation-2019 (Accessed 9 October 2024)
Office for National Statistics (ONS) (2012) ‘UK Census 2011: All persons’. Available at: ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/populationestimates/datasets/2011censuspopulationandhouseholdestimatesforenglandandwales (Accessed 9 October 2024)
Office for National Statistics (ONS) (2022a) ‘UK Census 2021: All persons’. Available at: ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/populationestimates/datasets/populationandhouseholdestimatesenglandandwalescensus2021 (Accessed 9 October 2024)
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 9 October 2024)
