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Community development
What we will do 2008-2011
Introduction
We have worked with our partners and residents to create a community development strategy. We will use this to help our residents and communities work together to improve their quality of life and create better and stronger neighbourhoods.
In Spring 2007 residents, staff, and partner organisations came together at the ‘Communities Count’ event to talk, visit the huge number of stalls and share information. Westlea’s Neighbourhood Involvement Team ran a consultation stall to discuss ideas for the new strategy.
This summary sets out how we will work with residents and partners to focus on ten key areas: Youth & Children; Crime Adults; Health; Finance; Social Enterprise; Employment & Training; Environment; Housing and Transport. This is three more areas than in our 2004-7 strategy.
We want to make sure that community needs are met and that we communicate with residents in a clear, inclusive, and timely way regarding our services. We will work together to ensure we make a real difference to people in the neighbourhoods where Westlea has homes.
What we will do
Youth and ChildrenCrime
Adults
Healthy living
Finance
Social enterprise
Employment and training
Environment
Housing
Transport
Dreamscheme – Young people will carry out supervised community and environmental improvements work, earning points they can trade for leisure trips. Nine days of trips are planned.
Continue to run and improve the ‘Dreamscheme’ projects and associated activities by holding sessions at Easter as well as during the summer.
Inter-generational projects – Set up activities such as community history projects, sharing cooking skills, and music and arts projects where generations work together to help resolve the fear and misunderstanding between older and young people.
Young Carers – Sponsor, in partnership with Wiltshire Young Carers Team, a part-time post that will deliver family support, healthy living/ environmental projects and session-based activities for young carers living in Westlea neighbourhoods.
Alternative Sports Coach – Develop an ‘Alternative Sports Coach’ partnership with WASP (Wiltshire & Swindon Sports Partnership) to deliver sports activities to those who do not take part in traditional sports.
Barnardo’s – Continue to work in partnership with Barnardo’s, delivering family activities and individual family support. The partnership will also continue to deliver a number of healthy living projects.
Sustaining tenancies – We want to help residents start their tenancies successfully and be able to maintain them. To do this, we will partner with Start Here, a registered charity that provides easy to use information via a website.
SPLASH – Work in partnership to provide positive activities as a diversion from antisocial behaviour.
Salamander Project – Support diversionary activities for young people who have been identified as being involved in antisocial behaviour. The project is run by the Fire Service who provide good role models.
Bluez and Zuz’s – Sponsor social events where 11-16 year olds can get together in a safe environment supported and staffed by local police.
Adult Carers – Work with North Wiltshire Adult Carers Team to develop a guaranteed service to support Westlea residents who are carers.
Family Forum – Set up a working group to plan events and explore setting up Gingerbread Groups.
World Festival – Repeat the successful ‘World Festival’ to celebrate and involve people of different cultures.
Fit Together – Develop outreach activities with WASP (Wiltshire & Swindon Sports Partnership) to run activities for adults in rural areas.
Continue to run the successful healthy living activities. We will expand healthy living projects to include community lunch clubs for the elderly, healthy living on a budget, cooking skills, and increasing access to healthy food and allotments.
Money Friend – Service provided to help residents set up bank accounts and work with them on their personal finance issues. The Citizens Advice worker will continue to support people who are experience problems with money or debt. We will continue to promote and support credit unions.
Look at developing community centres into social enterprises; examine other social enterprise opportunities such as community shops.
Whatever Project! – Continue to provide employment and skills opportunities for 16-24 year olds who are Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET) and expanding the project into Swindon. Link with the ‘Wheels to Work’ scheme provided by Community First.
B&Q – Continue to run DIY training courses with B&Q. Develop the ladies decorating group.
Westlearn – Promote the resident training programme ‘Westlearn’ including life skills courses such as cooking. Continue to provide wide-ranging training for those involved in resident participation and community development activities.
E-projects – Continue to offer one-to-one learning sessions for residents as well as access to services via the internet. Provide access to IT courses for residents via Learning Curve, Westlea, Wiltshire College and skills sharing schemes.
Provide training for residents to become community champions and gain accreditation through ‘Investors in Communities’.
Recycling – Continue to work with Hills and the local councils to promote and raise awareness of recycling projects. Where we have flats we will install recycling points if appropriate.
Sustainability – Work in partnership with Wiltshire Wildlife Trust to promote environmentally sustainable projects such as composting and river restoration projects.
Car parking – Continue to deliver hard standings to residents where requested as a value for money option. We will identify car parking schemes via the car parking strategy.
Built Environment – To continue a programme of updating the external areas of flats and starting a programme for flats in Corsham.
Estate Agreements – Develop an Estate Agreement to improve the quality of neighbourhoods and put Estate Service Standards into practice.
Estate Walkabouts – Continue a timetable of estate walkabouts with neighbourhood officers that local residents can take part in.
Sustainability – Link the decisions made by both development and maintenance service to ensure sustainable development within communities and choice for residents.
Link Schemes – Work with Community First to revamp the scheme and build up a pool of volunteers to provide this service for residents.
