Worsley, Haslingden, Lancashire

• lack of awareness of community activities and a need for more co-ordination between community groups and service providers as well as lack of knowledge about whom / which organisation to contact about an issue affecting their area;
• desire to get more residents active and engaged in the local community;
• need for more opportunities for ‘connectedness’ between the different social and ethnic groups, especially people who might be isolated or face challenges in meeting with or in socialising with others;
• transport barriers and how they negatively impact connectedness.

In light of these issues, local activity focused on ‘social connectedness’ aiming to increase social interaction/socialising and engagement between different social groups, organisations and communities in the neighbourhood.

1. Enquiries on experiences of community and social isolation

Resident Advisers undertook a participative enquiry on experiences of social isolation and community in Haslingden. A questionnaire on social activities in the area was created and distributed. Ninety-five residents completed the questionnaire which explored three key issues: where people go or what they do to connect with others; what barriers prevent people from connecting with others; and, what activities or support would assist people to form more connections. Responses were analysed jointly by residents and key stakeholders between January and April 2018.

Producing an illustrated booklet to capture and disseminate findings

Residents collaborated with an artist, Len Grant, to produce an illustrated booklet based on the findings of this enquiry and documenting local accounts and experiences. The booklet was titled ‘What’s your story?’.

The booklet was presented to the wider community and local stakeholders to facilitate further discussions on social connectedness. Feedback on the art booklet was sought from the community and other stakeholders in three events held at different community organisations: Veterans in Communities, the Irish Democratic League, Haslingden Community Link and the local library.

2. Revisiting priorities for action

Information from the questionnaire, the booklet, and community discussions was brought together in the form of an action plan identifying three key areas of action: 1) Information and communication – how information about resources, events and organisations that support social connections could be communicated in the NfL; 2) Activities – how to identify existing activities, current gaps in provision and how to develop new activities; 3) Transport – how it impacted on social connectivity. The action plan was used by the Local Oversight Group (LOG) to oversee the activities of the Neighbourhood Resilience Programme in Worsley.

These discussions led to a subsequent participative enquiry focussing on issues around transport and connectivity to other areas. The enquiry took place between December 2018 and January 2019. Resident Advisers conducted interviews and group discussions with 26 other residents on their experiences of transport services, problems with transport, the impact of problems on their lives and on possible solutions.

Unanticipated positive impacts of the NRP work

An unplanned outcome of the participative enquiries and the production of the art-based booklet was the commitment of £3,000 provided by the local authorities, through the Haslingden Community Partnership, to put up new notice boards in the area to promote local activities.

The art-based booklet was incorporated in community funding bids. Haslingden Community Link secured funding from Power to Change for a community kitchen through a bid which included the booklet in the submitted materials. Findings from the booklet also informed the Haslingden Environmental Plan which included plans to replant a community garden and making raised beds available for a local community group.

Rossendale Borough Council (RBC) responded to the content of the booklet by reviewing their responses to queries from the public and their involvement of residents in community issues. RBC instituted a change in the ways they were handling citizen requests.

Through discussions as part of the LOG, Rossendale Borough Council and Lancashire County Council (LCC) collaborated to address holiday hunger in Haslingden schools. RBC secured £1,500 from LCC to offer meals to children during the summer holidays.

Through contacts with LOG members, cycling classes were delivered to women at APNA.

The Resident Adviser role and model of citizen engagement was considered by Rossendale Borough Council for adoption. Resident Advisers were asked to attend Town Planning meetings to offer their perspective on new draft plans on the part of the council. Rossendale Borough Council, Lancashire County Council, and Haslingden Community Link have continued to work with Resident Advisors and have secured funding from Sport England for a community action research project with Residents Advisors as partners.

The Team

Resident Advisers: Dawn Allen, Hinah Qureshi, Dawn Vear

Local Authority Lead: Kayt Horsley

Academic Lead: Koser Khan

Contributors: Jackie Flynn – Community Projects and Partnerships, Rossendale Borough Council

Andy Laverty – East Lancashire Clinical Commissioning Group

Marilyn Protector – Councillor for Worsley, Rossendale Borough Council