Community Pride Podcast Episode 1 - What is community pride?

Kayla Jones 00:00

On most Wednesday afternoons, I’m sitting behind my desk working away with light music in the background, finishing up some last-minute emails or on a Zoom call. On this particular Wednesday, on a cold, rainy October day in England in late 2024, I’m participating in one of the most fun rounds of bingo I’ve ever played.

Kayla Jones 00:34

I’m Kayla. I’m a creative researcher and storyteller, and as a researcher, no two days are ever the same for me, there’s always new things to uncover, stories to be formed and data to be analysed. But the truth is that most of my working days are spent on my own. Most working days, I don’t find myself playing bingo sitting across from complete strangers. Well, they might have been an hour ago, but now we’re chatting and laughing away at the misfortune of our gaming luck. And it’s nice to feel welcomed in this close-knit community for the day. I feel really lucky that this is a part of what my work entails. I’m putting together a podcast on community pride through Big Local communities, and a part of that journey is through interviewing and visiting communities across England, learning about their experiences with community pride. 

What’s Big Local you ask? Big Local is a community-led initiative across England that has provided funding and support to 150 neighbourhoods for more than a decade. Managed by Local Trust and funded by the National Lottery Community Fund, the programme provided at least 1.15 million in funding to each of these communities to address local priorities across an array of areas, from improving communal facilities to supporting social projects. The initiative has aimed to empower local residents to be the ones who decide how to use their funding to aid the unique needs of their area to create stronger, more connected, and resilient communities for the future. Now that the programme is coming to a close in 2026 after 15 years of hard work, dedication, and collaboration from residents across Big Local communities, I’m working with Local Trust to explore the meaning of community pride through this six-part podcast. What is community pride? Why is it so important to local areas? And how are communities expressing community pride through projects and initiatives that impact areas across England? 

In this podcast, we’ll hear from Big Local workers who help Big Local areas implement their funding plans, local volunteers who have given their time and experience, Local Trust researchers, the Chief Executive, and Chief Operating Officer, and leading academic experts in neighbourhood regeneration, who will share their insights and findings into this unique and transformative programme. We’ll explore how communities express pride across areas such as green spaces, heritage, creativity, community power, and leaving a legacy. We’ll discover how this resident-led funding programme has made a lasting impact across areas in England, and how Big Locals’ journey can be a useful learning tool for community planning for the future. I’m your host, Kayla Jones. Join me for our first episode as we explore the meaning of community pride.

Kayla Jones 03:41

I’ve started my exploration with community pride in the Big Local community of Barrowcliff, just outside of the beautiful seaside town of Scarborough, where I’ve come along to a Big Local event — a Halloween bingo in a local community centre. I’ve come along in a pumpkin sweater and a pair of pumpkin earrings for this Halloween event, but I can see that I’m under-dressed compared to the many witches, princesses and goblins that have come through the door for today’s bingo. I’m greeted by Bill, Barrowcliff Big Local’s Chair.

Bill 04:19

We are the third Big Local group, and our Big Local area is Barrowcliff, which is in Scarborough, North Yorkshire. I’ve been on the Big Local journey since the beginning, and I’ve been the Chair for about two years now.

Kayla Jones 04:33

Barrowcliff is an area where residents have experienced poverty, lack of employability and isolation, despite struggles over the years. It’s lovely seeing a packed room full of residents coming together for a fun game and fancy dress. One of the first things I notice is that pretty much everyone knows Bill, so much so that two people have dressed up like him for the Best Costume Contest. Immediately I feel welcomed as he brings me around to meet workers who help with Big Local events, volunteers and residents. He’s brought me into the kitchen, where there’s a great smell permeating the room.

Bill 05:14

So this is, this is Kendra. All right, we’re just saying how small the kitchen used to be, didn’t it? …. So we extended it out. Bought some more cookers. She’s now doing cookery courses.

Kayla Jones 05:30

For over a decade, Barrowcliff has been putting on cooking classes for children and families, teaching residents how to cook healthy meals on a budget. Through Big Local funding, the programme has continued on through the years and has helped expand the kitchen and equipment for the project.

Bill 05:47

So this now is very functional. It was very tight for her before, she struggled with it, but now very contented, aren’t you? So, are you still doing cookery?

Resident 05:59

Yeah I do Saturday kids’ lessons at the minute. I’m not doing any other ones at the minute.

Bill 06:04

Cos I need to know how to make scones!

Resident 06:06

I need a day to teach you how to make scones. 

Bill 06:09

You know, because they’re not easy, right? Last ones I made, they look more like flat pancakes. So Kendra says, ​‘I know how to make scones’. 

Resident 06:26

The trick is to not mess about with it. Get it together and leave it. Cold hands and love. 

Bill 06:30

You see, I have warm hands, that’s the problem. 

Kayla Jones 06:30

Even amidst the hustle of preparing decorations and food, the atmosphere at Barrowcliff’s Big Local Halloween bingo was filled with laughter.

Bill 06:36

So Kendra does all the food, all right, and she doesn’t take any messin’. If you want to come and learn something, she’ll teach you, but if you want to mess around, she’ll tell you to go away. No problems with that have you Kendra? But she does a really good afternoon tea. She has all the plates and everything. When we come, we have that, and that’s really good. 

Kayla Jones What are you making today? 

Resident 06:57

I haven’t actually made it today. Kirby did. She’s made a beef goulash and a vegan goulash.

Bill 07:02

What are we having for pudding? 

Resident 07:03

It’s chocolate sponge, chocolate mousse, our chocolate sponge, chocolate cream. 

Bill 07:07

What’s the theme here? 

Resident 07:08

It’s a Halloween graveyard. 

Bill 07:10

Yeah, no, I mean, I mean, what’s the theme for your pudding? Chocolate? 

Resident 07:17

No, Halloween!

Kayla Jones 07:20

I can confirm that both the goulash and the graveyard dessert were absolutely delicious. The pudding was so delightful, a chocolate mousse topped with an adorable gravestone shaped shortbread cookie, that I couldn’t resist snapping a few photos of. As we sat down for bingo, it was clear that perhaps Bill and I were not going to be lucky players.

Bill 07:45

What? Oh, no, are you sure you won? Is it one line? I nearly had it over there with the American woman.

Kayla Jones 08:00

Thankfully, though, one person at our table did end up winning and getting a voucher for coffee, as Bill told me, though it’s more about bringing together the community and having fun than winning.

Bill 08:13

And I’m glad you were there today, because this bingo thing what we started, and a couple of years ago, we’ve been doing it now, is having that laugh and a joke, and that’s what Big Local’s letting us do, is have that bit of fun, have that bit of enjoyment.

Kayla Jones 08:27

Bill told me of how Big Local funding has been a great way for Barrowcliff to come together more and tackle isolation and the cost-of-living crisis, providing events that are low cost or free to residents, like today’s bingo. Through the years, Barrowcliff has put on events such as the Barrowcliff Music Festival, dog shows, jubilee celebrations and Christmas meals. For many of those events, it’s been about creating memories and connections between people.

Bill 08:56

It’s not all about jumping over hurdles or through hoops. This is about people just being people, cos we used to be like that. We used to do things like walking around. We used to do things like spending time together as a community, you know, even if it was just for a stupid game of bingo.

Kayla Jones 09:13

After the bingo, Bill took me to visit Barrowcliff’s biggest project, a play park that was built in 2019. Bill talked to me about how it was difficult at first to come together and plan a large project like the park and see it out to its completion, but he’s proud that we’re standing in front of it today.

Bill 09:32

So, they came up with, we took them to Whitby and all over to see play equipment. You know, what do you like? So then they came up with this idea of all this equipment. So we sat down, we talked to them, and we said to them, so what would be good for you?

Kayla Jones 09:46

The cost of the play park was around £450,000, which was a large portion of the area’s budget, but to Barrowcliff Big Local, it was important that the play park be safe and long lasting. An unused plot was acquired, which was cleared and excavated, a retaining brick wall was built, and smart grass matting, turf, guard railings, street furniture and litter bins were installed. The play equipment was then designed with a section for younger and older children in mind.

Bill 10:18

As you can see, this area is enclosed, so this is for our young kids. There’s a nice table there at the side, so mum and dad can sit there. Kids can play here. Can’t get out, you’re locked in. It’s really good. We said, ​“right, that’s great for them”. So for the older kids, there’s more kit up here. Then we’ve got a MUGA Multi-Purpose football field, and then we’ve got a green area, right? So we thought we could have car boots on there, and we could do our dog show on there. So it happens. 

Kayla Jones 10:44

Every aspect of the play park was thought out for a range of residents, from small children to older adults who might come along to weekend events or small gatherings. The play park even had a central theme, which made me smile to see, as it’s based on my favourite childhood film.

Bill 11:02

So we engaged an artist, and the artist said, ​“well, what do you want?” We said, ​“we don’t know”. The kids know what they want. So with the theme being the Wizard of Oz, what theme? Why not have the yellow brick road? Cos it’s not the journey, it’s who you meet on the way. You know what a positive sign. Most parents would never come in this before. Now they have to come right through the middle.

Kayla Jones 11:22

The play park has fun aspects from the classic film, a yellow brick road leading up to the play park and a large Tin Man you can sit beside on the park bench. Throughout the process, Barrowcliff Big Local gained useful experience in community planning, community health and safety regulations and local legislation. 

Bill 11:43

But I mean, we as a group, learned so much, you know, planning legislation, planning law. I mean, I’m aware of planning. We had to learn things about land drainage and how long it takes for something to be authorised or okayed, and when it was completed it was absolutely stunning. You know, we still use that park now. I mean, the kids use it every day.

Kayla Jones 12:02

Bill spoke a lot to me about the ways that Big Local funding allowed Barrowcliff to choose projects and initiatives that were unique to their area and was able to more adequately target the needs of local residents over other types of community funding. For many Big Local areas, this has led to a sense of community connection, community power and eventually, community pride.

Bill 12:23

Community pride means a lot. I would say one of the biggest things what people feel now is that they can say, ​“I’m part of Big Local. I’m on Barrowcliff. Big Local do so much.”

Kayla Jones 12:36

Bill views a part of community pride as the ability for residents to come together, regardless of their financial situation, and enjoy shared moments as a community without the burden of worrying about the cost of every event.

Bill 12:49

Parents appreciate the fact that when they go, they’re not hand in pocket. What they’re thinking is, well, I can let little Johnny run around. He can go on the bouncy castles. He can have his face painted; he can have an ice cream. And it’s not just all the time coming out my purse.

Kayla Jones 13:08

So what’s different about Big Local from other funding programmes? What makes it so unique for communities across England? Big Local was designed as a groundbreaking funding model, prioritising community-led decision-making over top-down, time-limited funding approaches that are typical in community funding programmes. The 150 Big Local communities have been awarded their funds to spend over a long period of time compared to other more traditional funding models, which is why so many have been operating for over 10 to 15 years. From the outset, Big Local has had a resident-led focus to its approach. Recent COO and now Chief Executive Rachel explained to me how Big Local first came about through the Lottery Fund.

Rachel Rowney 13:52

I think what’s different about it is it’s long-term, so all the areas have had and will have had at least 10 years to deliver on their plans, and a bit longer than that, in fact, in terms of developing their plans and thinking about what they do. The scale: so 150 communities, all across England, all with a million pounds. So for me, it’s around long-term, really patient, high value. With support, I think it goes beyond the funding into how can we connect you with one another so you can learn and share, but also what expertise, what support, what insight do you need in order to achieve your ambitions?

Kayla Jones 14:31

Traditional funding bodies have often imposed strict criteria and tight timelines for communities to implement their plans, while funding can benefit small communities. Research shows that rigid guidelines frequently fail to address the specific needs of local areas. A more flexible, tailored approach could better support communities in tackling their unique challenges across urban and rural areas in England, plus it allows communities to put effort into projects that enhance what their local area has to offer for residents and visitors, as well as utilise talented volunteers and support workers through their unique skills and experience.

Rachel Rowney 15:09

We were very much about assets and what’s in your place and what’s good about your place, and the talents and the skills are all there. So let’s maximise that, rather than taking what was quite common, I think at the time, a deficit approach. I think everyone’s moved on a bit now. So that feels less novel, feels less different. But I think at the time, it felt genuinely different in terms of the language we were using. The other thing I think that sets us apart is that it’s resident led. So whilst we work through organisations to distribute funding, it really is residents making decisions about their community, how the money is spent, who they want to work with, and what the focus of their plans and their energy should be over that time. So lots of people spent a lot of time thinking about, ​“Okay, what does this community mean? Who is in this community, and what are their shared aspirations?” 

Kayla Jones 15:59

Big Local has never taken a one-size-fits-all approach to programme delivery. With communities spread across England, from urban areas and cities like Manchester and London to rural or coastal regions such as Cornwall and Scarborough, a standardised funding model would have neither been fair nor effective. Allowing communities to allocate fundings in ways that best suited their needs, whether through large or small projects, was a crucial step in enabling them to make a meaningful impact for their local area. This approach reflects Local Trust’s trust in communities, to determine what works best for them as they live and work within these environments.

Rachel Rowney 16:41

And then I think the other things that we’ve seen quite a lot of is investment in social infrastructure, and that varies quite a lot in terms of the local assets. So play parks, green spaces, community hubs, centres, and quite a range there, but very much around the physical space and what you can see. The other things, I think we’ve seen a lot of investment in is community groups, organisations in a place who are set up, maybe to support older people, to support younger people, to support people with IT skills. And a range of things, which have been very much focused on building community confidence in one another and each other to create what is a nicer environment for people with more choice and more things to do in a particular place.

Kayla Jones 17:33

For Barrowcliff as an example, that looked like the play park that I visited with Bill. The Play Park was their biggest project out of their funding, and Bill is proud that it’s a park that was well built and can be maintained for years. He puts that down to Barrowcliff being able to choose not just a play park with their funding, but one that they designed and planned out to fit their area’s needs. Not all projects have gone as successfully as the play park for Barrowcliff, however, and Big Local as a programme also has within it the possibility that some projects don’t work out. In discussing one previous project Bill showed that it was a part of the learning journey for communities.

Bill 18:09

It was a mistake, massive mistake, and if you actually talk about it now, they all go- you could see them put their head down. They would never, ever risk that again. But all the group actually felt it was a personal hit, you know what I mean? And I said to them, ​“Look, we’ve done one and it went wrong, but if we’d never tried it, we’d never have known”.

Kayla Jones 18:29

Regardless of the bumps along the way, Bill credits Big Local as a programme and Local Trust for believing in Barrowcliff Big Local to deliver large projects like the play park and the ability to learn from mistakes.

Bill 18:41

I do think, personally, that I’ve got to put my hands up to Local Trust and say, ​“Thank you so much. Without you, we couldn’t have done this. Without you we couldn’t have achieved what we’ve achieved”. They’ve been so supportive. You know, not just to Barrowcliff, but all the Big Locals. There’s always somebody at Local Trust to talk to. Them 10 years have just flown, you know. And I will say, I mean, I’ve committed an awful lot to this, but I’ve committed it not for Local Trust, I’ve committed it for my people, you know, the people out there, the people who, who I see every day, are the people who I know were having bad times. They’re not having an easy time of life. And you see it, and you think to yourself, that’s made that person happy.

Kayla Jones 19:23

For other communities, perhaps transportation, housing initiatives, a lack of arts or theatre programmes or green spaces have taken precedence, alongside a myriad of other projects unique to those areas, as we’re going to find out later in the podcast. 

Rachel Rowney 19:40

We’ve also got quite a lot of areas who’ve done some of what I suppose is more strategic campaigning and advocacy work. So in Ramsey in Huntingdonshire, they spent a lot of time thinking about, how do you save the bus and improve the routes and the connections into bigger towns, bigger places, so that people can shop, so that people can access work as well. And Custom House spent a lot of time thinking about housing and how might you in a place improve housing conditions where there might be things like damp …. which was much more around influencing. There’s also a bit around fundraising, so using the money, the expertise to bring in more and to shine a bit of a spotlight on the area.

Kayla Jones 20:20

Over the years, Big Local areas’ journeys has provided a valuable way for Local Trust researchers and experts in nonprofit research to analyse Big Local’s unique funding model, changes to local areas, and the ways residents perceive their community depending on elements such as housing, transportation links, green spaces, job opportunities, and community pride. I spoke with Professor Sarah Pearson, an expert in neighbourhood regeneration, who’s been studying the National Strategy for Neighborhood Renewal for decades, and Big Local as a programme.

Sarah Pearson 20:52

So when we looked at New Deal for Communities, we looked at a whole range of outcomes, and we looked across a number of what we call different domains. So we looked at employment, we looked at housing and the environment, we looked at education, we looked at health outcomes, and we also looked at a kind of basket of outcomes around what we called communities. So they were things like social capital, you know, people’s feelings about the places that they live, pride in place, and so on. And we saw improvements on the majority of those indicators. So by and large, those areas that had investment through the New Deal for Communities Programme improved on the vast majority of those indicators. So things got better across the piece.

Kayla Jones 21:35

Findings from initiatives like Big Local show that when residents lead funding programmes, communities can develop a renewed sense of pride in their area. This can happen through projects that revitalise local spaces, such as parks, playgrounds or community centres, and address issues like litter, safety or transportation, making the area feel more maintained and worth investing in. Community-led efforts to showcase local talent through art, music or cultural projects, as well as preserve heritage, can strengthen emotional connections and foster a shared sense of identity for residents. These initiatives can also help newcomers connect with their new home or bring in extra benefits for tourism and visibility to the area. These projects often create opportunities to collaborate with councils or local businesses, which can lead to skill building, employment and economic growth. Sarah emphasizes that empowering disadvantaged communities with tools to build connections is one of the most effective ways to create better economic opportunities for the future and foster a sense of pride in place.

Sarah Pearson 22:46

And quite often, there’s a real disconnect there. So, you know, investment comes in at the regional or sub regional level, into a space. It brings economic growth, but that economic growth doesn’t always benefit people living in disadvantaged neighbourhoods and communities. What you can do if you intervene in those disadvantaged neighbourhoods and communities is you can make those connections. You can build the connections with economic opportunity. You can skill people. You can provide people with the skills and the education to be able to benefit from those opportunities.

Kayla Jones 23:18

Rachel reflected on what community pride means to communities and how residents express this early in the programme.

Rachel Rowney 23:25

I think at the start of the programme, it’s interesting, community pride, and the way people spoke to us about it, or to me about it, was about how other people perceive their area. So very early on, there was this sense that they were selected because it was a bad area, because it was deprived, and because other people didn’t want to live there or didn’t want to go there, and they felt very isolated and forgotten. And over time, I think what has happened is people have talked more about how residents feel about their place and the work that they’ve done. And so I was in Hawksworth Wood the other night, which is an area just by Leeds. And we had a really interesting discussion with them, which was all about how much activity there is now, and how happy people are that they live there and they can access so much without having to travel — without having to pay for the bus or to pay for the taxi, and how important it was that there was now a sense of community which wouldn’t have happened before.

Kayla Jones 24:35

When we think of people feeling community pride in their area, we might be inclined to think about tangible external factors, perfectly manicured green spaces, litter-free high streets and well accessed amenities – the ways in which a community would look appealing in order for people to have pride in the place that they live. And while certainly Local Trust research has shown that clean, well-maintained and safe communal spaces contributes to residents feeling as if their area is a nice place to live (and we are going to explore that aspect in an upcoming episode) I think that what Barrowcliff Big Local proves is that at the heart of it, for many areas, community pride begins when residents feel as if there’s hope and optimism where they live. Community pride for many of these areas isn’t enjoying where you live because everything is perfect or aesthetically pleasing, but because you’ve had a hand in planning, executing and nurturing projects and initiatives which have helped your community and have the potential to improve your surroundings. It begins when people know they have a seat at the table for big decision making, a hand in big changes that affect their community, that they’re being listened to by their local council, that they have friends and neighbours who will band together with them to make their area safe and beneficial for all. That they’re not alone in working to make a change and long term impact in their local area for the future, and when the hard work is done and they’ve taken a well-deserved pause from their vital contributions to the community, they can gather on a quiet afternoon, share laughter over a game like bingo and simply enjoy a moment of connection and a bit of fun.