The Wormley and Turnford Big Local area was in the Borough of Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, about 15 miles north of the centre of London. It brought together two neighbouring villages, Wormley and Turnford. The area consisted of 4,255 households and had a relatively large population for a Big Local area of 10,360 (ONS, 2022a; 2022b). It also contained a college, schools, shops, pubs, and light industry, with a main road (A1170), running north to south through the area. There were contrasts in living conditions, between high-value private housing and areas with higher levels of need.
The area contained several community venues, associated with faith groups or clubs, such as the local Scouts group. It was also rich in natural assets, including park land and two waterways – the River Lea and the River Lee Navigation.
The Wormley and Turnford Big Local partnership began with community engagement sessions and a series of consultations. This took place via questionnaires, vox-pop interviews (short, on-the-spot discussions with the public), and community events. Through these efforts, a partnership of resident volunteers was formed. A core group of these early volunteers remained throughout the programme, with new participants coming on board, particularly in the final years of Big Local.
Ongoing community research – involving partnership members and, later, paid workers – helped everyone involved in the partnership understand the needs of the community. The partnership identified their Big Local priorities: creating an empowered, cohesive and engaged community; transforming community facilities; helping children, young people, and families to flourish; improving access to services for those with disabilities or older residents; and increasing access to and appreciation of local countryside and open spaces. Partnership members described the area as diverse, and one of their focus areas was improving connections between areas of high-value housing and areas with higher levels of need. The partnership’s projects and activities aligned with these themes, and they worked through sub-groups that led on each priority within their Big Local plan.
Despite some internal disagreements and membership fluctuation, the partnership worked in a democratic and reflective way. This gave members a chance to voice their opinions and work together to support decision-making at crucial points in the programme. An example of this was the decision to support Wormley Community Centre, which faced an uncertain future at the start of Big Local. In 2021, the Wormley and Turnford partnership took over the running of Wormley Community Centre and was granted a long lease from Broxbourne Council. The same year, the partnership set up a legacy organisation – Broxbourne Big Local Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) – to take forward plans for funding and supporting Wormley Community Centre.
Supporting activities for residents was an important component of the partnership’s work. Many were based at the community centre, though the partnership also worked with clubs and other community venues, such as the Scouts group and local churches. The partnership focused on building relationships in the community through delivering large events, such as those marking the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, the King’s Coronation, and Black History Month. Up to 600 people attended the Jubilee celebrations, and on average there were 200 people at other events.
Some of the partnership’s work was supported by paid workers, who focused on community engagement, marketing and communications, and community centre management. The team included several residents, who used their local knowledge and expertise to engage with residents and partner organisations. The partnership helped create further opportunities for residents through voluntary and paid work – some within their own Big Local activity, and some with adjacent projects and groups.
In their final two years, the partnership focused on communicating the positive change they had created and establishing an evidence base for future funding of Broxbourne Big Local CIO and the Wormley Community Centre. The partnership’s Community Coordinator produced an impact report focusing on outcomes of the projects and groups the partnership had supported. This report highlighted that in the final two years of Big Local delivery, the partnership’s initiatives had reached over 4,000 residents through events, groups, and activities.
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 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 Wormley Community Centre was a key space for Wormley and Turnford Big Local partnership’s activities, providing a base for its workers and volunteers. From early in the programme, the community centre faced an uncertain future – Broxbourne Council was considering its demolition, due to concerns about financial sustainability and refurbishment costs.
Securing the centre became a priority for the partnership, as did creating a new organisation to continue their work into the future. From 2017 to 2021, a subgroup of members worked with Broxbourne Council and a chartered architect to negotiate a long-term lease of the building and develop a sustainable plan.
The Broxbourne Big Local Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) was established to ensure the centre’s financial sustainability, to serve the community into the future. They were given a 999-year lease on the centre by Broxbourne Council and awarded £165,000 capital funding and £33,000 revenue funding by the Community Ownership Fund to support their development of the hub. Work was completed on the hub in 2024.
As the Big Local programme came to an end, the CIO was awarded a large grant from the National Lottery Community Fund. This would enable them to continue delivering a range of activities, such as fitness classes and a sewing group, from the Wormley Community Centre for five years. The venue was also hired for use by the NHS for diabetes clinics and local faith groups.
Following their initial community consultation work and the Covid-19 pandemic, creating opportunities for young people and families emerged as a priority for the Wormley and Turnford partnership. During the programme, they worked to meet the emerging needs of young people and supported projects and activities designed to engage them. For example, Big Local funding supported a group of young people to produce a film highlighting the importance of keeping the community centre and a local shop open.
The partnership also commissioned a consultation with young residents to learn about their perceptions of the area and discover what activities or support they needed. Participants wanted more activities relevant to their interests and future intentions, and a greater choice of things for young people to do. It revealed the need for recreational and educational activities for young people from financially disadvantaged backgrounds.
Following the findings, Big Local funding was used for a range of projects for young people. This typically involved the partnership reaching out to develop relationships with new organisations, such as DJ & MC Academy, a local youth music-focused Community Interest Company. Big Local funding was used to run DJ skills sessions on Wednesday afternoons in the community centre, attracting around 23 young people overall, and a weekly core group of about 10. Sessions on DJing, rapping, lyric-writing, and presenting encouraged young people to use the community centre, and helped build their confidence and self-esteem.
Community consultation also showed an interest in clubs and groups that families could get involved in together. Big Local funding was invested in a new roller-skating club at the community centre, providing an opportunity for children and their parents or carers to learn something new and keep physically active. The club proved very popular, with consistent attendance of up to 25 young people at each session. The partnership reflected that the shared experiences they had been able to provide for local families was a notable outcome of these activities, with feedback indicating deeper relationships and stronger bonds.
The Big Local partnership supported activities to combat loneliness and social isolation and improve mental and physical wellbeing in the Wormley and Turnford community. Activity took place in the community centre and beyond, making the most of the area’s outdoor spaces and natural assets. Activities including a walking group, craft group, and community allotment, involved 100 residents over the lifespan of the partnership, and created a variety of new volunteer roles.
The Wormley Community Allotment developed over time, with volunteers turning it from an empty plot into a thriving garden with opportunities to learn, grow plants and socialise. The large allotment space allowed a variety of activity, including an Open Day held in collaboration with Broxbourne Council. Aiming to promote environmental sustainability through composting workshops, recipe exchanges and a chance to harvest vegetables, the experience provided a great opportunity for hands on learning in the community. It also attracted newcomers to the allotment, making more residents aware of the health and wellbeing benefits of volunteering and engaging in nature.
The walking group, supported by Big Local volunteers, used Turnford Marsh to encourage residents into a weekly walk, with various distances offered to make the activity suitable for different abilities. Volunteers taking part in the walks also connected with, and took referrals from, the local GP surgery. The group engaged up to 60 people a week, helping residents to become more active and connect with each other. Having access to the community centre enabled the group to socialise after their walks.
One of the Wormley and Turnford Big Local partnership’s later priorities was around providing projects and events to bring people together and empower residents to improve their wellbeing during the cost of living crisis. The Wormley Community Centre provided the partnership with a location for most of their events and activities.
Providing educational and social opportunities for residents became an important aim for the partnership. Called Eat & Meet, Lunch & Learn, these opportunities were designed to empower the community by sharing practical skills or knowledge from professionals, while also providing a meal to foster social connections. Topics included first aid training, a quiz night hosted by Citizens Advice and historical talks. The partnership felt that these sessions were particularly vital to older residents, supporting them to feel less socially isolated. Over two years, an average of 40 older residents attended each Eat & Meet, Lunch & Learn, with the partnership reflecting that providing a warm space and hot meal made this activity particularly appealing and valuable in the colder months.
Families also indicated that they wanted the chance to come together in the evenings and socialise with other families in the area. Alongside celebrating national events such as the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, the partnership hosted 10 free community parties across 2022 and 2024. Held at the community centre, these themed parties featured free food, a live DJ and a licensed bar and attracted an average of 200 attendees per event. They also provided opportunities for the partnership to gather informal feedback on what other events or activities residents would like to see in their community.
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 Wormley and Turnford Big Local told Local Trust they used their Big Local funding.
Office for National Statistics (ONS) (2022a) ‘UK Census 2021: Number of households with at least one usual resident’. Available at: ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/populationestimates/datasets/populationandhouseholdestimatesenglandandwalescensus2021 (Accessed 31 October 2024)
Office for National Statistics (ONS) (2022b) ‘UK Census 2021: All persons’. Available at: ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/populationestimates/datasets/populationandhouseholdestimatesenglandandwalescensus2021 (Accessed 9 October 2024)
