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With the support of Solihull SUSTAiN

‘The Cars Area’ Smiths Wood Community

‘Creating a greater sense of community spirit,

neighbourliness, friendship and support’

Our BIG Local Plan for the Cars area


1.0 Introduction

1.1 We are pleased to present our first Action Plan for the Cars area, Smiths Wood,

which will take us through the next 18 months and want to take this opportunity to

say a big thank you to all of our residents who have contributed their thoughts, ideas

and priorities to our plan for the Cars which we hope many of you will recognise.

1.2 This plan is the culmination of two years hard work and commitment. A group of local

residents have been working on your behalf with the support of organisations like

Solihull SUSTAiN (as the ‘Local Trusted Organisation’) Solihull Community Housing,

Solihull Council and Public Health and whilst we have tried to do our best, we need

your support going forward.

1.3 There are lots of decisions to make about how we spend the money that has been

allocated to us (£1 million over 10 years) and we want to make sure that we invest it

wisely to make the greatest impact. So if you haven’t yet told us what changes you

would like to see in the Cars area, now is your chance!

1.4 We especially want to thank the pupils of Smiths Wood Sports College and the young

people who attended the Halloween Fun Day at Auckland Hall arranged by young

people who, with the support of Solihull Council’s Youth Service, developed and ran

a detailed survey to find out what’s important to young people and their views on how

we could make the Cars a better place for young people to enjoy.

1.5 Their report and the photographs they took showing things they would like to change

were amazing, so well done to each and every one of you who had any involvement

in making this happen. You will know who you are so a big thank you from us all. We

could not have asked anything more from you and look forward to continuing working

with you as the years go by, so that together we can make our community one of

which to be proud

2. So what’s Big Local all about?

2.1 ‘Big Local’ is an initiative of the Big Lottery Fund and an excellent opportunity for residents to spend £1m over 10 years to make a massive and lasting positive difference to the Cars.

2.2 ‘Big Local’ is about bringing together all the local talent, ambitions, skills and energy of local residents, groups and organisations who want to make the Cars area an even better place to live, by finding out what the priorities of local residents are, which are the most important to them and what changes delivering them will achieve. These will become our project outcomes.

2.3 Alongside this, the Big Lottery has set four broad programme outcomes for Big Local to help us deliver the changes required. These are as follows:

i. Communities will be better able to identify local needs and take action in response to them


ii. People will have increased skills and confidence, so that they continue to identify and respond to needs in the future

iii. The community will make a difference to the needs it prioritises iv. People will feel that their area is an even better place to live

2.4 When the Big Local Partnership assesses applications for funding to deliver against residents priorities, we will need to take into account both the project and programme priorities but more about that later!

2.5 By working together, however, we believe that we can achieve our goals and look

forward to reaching out to each and every one of you that wants to be a part of

creating a lovely and more sustainable area for ourselves, our children and our

children’s children.

3.0 The Cars

3.1 Geography

The Cars or Area 13 as it was

originally known, is in Smith’s

Wood ward at the northern tip of

Solihull Borough. It is bounded by

the M6 motorway and the A452 to

the north and east and is circled by

Lanchester Way to the east, north

and west and Auckland Drive to the

south.

3.2 Separate community

The Cars is an area that is

somewhat separated from its

surroundings but this does

foster a sense of community.

The Cars is so called because

the roads are named after car

manufacturers.


3.3 Living in the area

Across the Cars, there are a mix of 2-3 bedroom properties, some of which have a garage;

but there are no high rise developments. 53% are owner occupied, 37% are socially rented

and 10% privately rented or people are living there rent free. The number of people living on

each hectare of land is 2-3 times greater than that of urban Solihull.

The Cars was the last part of the late 60’s development to be completed and many of the

original residents were relocated from the centre of Birmingham. It is home to about 3000

people across approximately 1200 households. Many of the original residents still live here

and retain a strong loyalty to it.

4. What industry, amenities and services are in the Cars area?

4.1 Unfortunately there are no notable businesses or industries locally so people from

the Cars area have to travel outside the area to work. This has contributed towards

higher levels of unemployment amongst local people and the number claiming Jobs

Seekers Allowance (JSA) is now double the Solihull average.

4.2 Amenities are also scarce with the Cars area having just one neighbourhood nursery,

one small shop, one pub, a small Council owned community centre (Auckland Hall)

and one active resident group, namely ‘Safe and Sound’. Besides this there are no

local leisure and recreation facilities, no luncheon clubs, no long established youth

clubs and no homework clubs.

4.3 Sadly too, the school that was considered the heart of the community merged with

another school some years ago and a new facility constructed away from the Cars,

and the nearest park is adjacent to a wood. Both are outside the area across a main

road with no zebra crossing or similar for children to use which makes them very

vulnerable.

4.4 This has gnawed away at the heart of the community and is something we are keen

to heal so we can re-establish that sense of community spirit, neighbourliness,

friendship and support that once typified the area. To do so means that we will need

to be creative and ambitious so we can maximise income coming into the area by

using the resources we have to attract other sources of funding.

5. Deprivation Indicators

5.1 Unfortunately the Cars East and West are also amongst the top 20% most deprived

LSOA’s in the country. All neighbourhoods in Smith’s Wood have an above average

unemployment claimant rate and in May 2014, there were 1,420 people in Smith’s

Wood claiming out of work benefits, equating to 18.1% of the 16-64 population. This


The Community

24%

The People 36%

Location (close to

shops, bus routes and motorway

links) 29%

The Houses

13%

Survey results: What residents like about living on the estate

compares with the Solihull average of 8.7%, 11.2% for the West Midlands and 9.8%

for England.

5.2 Youth unemployment is a particular concern across North Solihull, with young

people, especially for those with limited experience and low qualifications subject to

challenging labour market conditions. The unemployment claimant rate amongst 18-

24 year olds in Smith’s Wood is, at 10.1%, far higher than that of older age groups

and substantially higher than the Solihull (3.8%), England (2.9%) and West Midlands

(3.6%) averages. However, as the overall economy has emerged from the recession

of 2008/09, 18-24 year old claimant unemployment in North Solihull has trended

downwards from a peak of 22.2% at the start of 2012 to 9.6% at the end of 2014.

5.3 Sadly too, workforce skills are also lacking in the local community and there are

5,394 adults aged 16 and over in Smith’s Wood who can be classified as having low

skills (qualified to a maximum of NVQ level 1) of which 3,593 have no formal

qualifications.

5.4 This means that nearly 38% of the adult population in Smith’s Wood have no formal

qualifications, substantially above both the Solihull and England (both 23%) averages

and the 2nd highest level in the borough.

5.5 Feelings of safety are also an issue with just 55% of Smith’s Wood respondents to

the Place Survey 2012 saying that they feel safe in their local area after dark (22%

very safe, 33% fairly safe) compared to 26% who feel unsafe. This is significantly

less favourable than the Solihull average (64% safe, 18% unsafe).

5.6 Despite these

indicators, the majority of

us value different aspects

of living in the Cars area

including the people, our

homes, its location and

the community so we

have a lot on which to

build.


6.0 About those living in The Cars

6.1 Residents of the Cars area are mostly white British (88%). There has however been

a slight increase in the number of us that come from mixed origin backgrounds,

principally white and black Caribbean, and those of Black Caribbean descent.

6.2 In the 2011 Census, 61% of us gave our religion as Christian, 31% stated no religion

and 7% didn’t answer the question

6.3 1 in 5 of the Cars population are also children (aged 0-14 years), and of concern to

all of us is the fact that child poverty is acute in the area with rates of 36% (Cars

East) and 38% (Cars West), almost double the national average of 22%.

6.4 1 in 5 households are also headed by a lone parent who are another vulnerable

group from an employment perspective. Indeed, the last Census indicated that in

Smith’s Wood there are 407 lone parents with dependent children who are not in

employment, which at 49% of the total is much higher than the Solihull average of

38% and the 2nd highest rate in the borough.

6.5 The only other age group that has increased in size over the last few years are those

of “non-working age” (60+ for women and 65+ for men). Ref: Census Data

7.0 The Big Local Pathway

7.1 The idea behind ‘Big Local’ is that it is run and driven by local residents, responds to

local needs, builds on local strengths and that wherever possible and with partner

agency support, we use Big Local funding to leverage other resources to maximise

investment and the potential to make a difference.

7.2 To help us achieve this, the Big Lottery created a Big Local pathway as a guide for all

Big Local Partnerships to follow. This involves:

a) Developing a Big Local Partnership

b) Getting people engaged

c) Establishing priorities and exploring the vision for the area

d) Creating a Big Local Plan that describes:

- How we will work

- Who will be involved

- What resources are needed

- How these resources will used most effectively and imaginatively

- How we might want to use social investment locals and procurement to

help deliver our programme

e) AND Executing the Big Local Plan


8.0 The Cars Big Local Partnership

8.0.1 The current membership of The Cars Big Local Partnership is made up of a few local

residents, Solihull SUSTAiN as the ‘Local Trusted Organisation’ (LTO), Solihull

Council and its Youth Services, Solihull Community Housing, Neighbourhoods Team,

Planning Team, Public Health Service, Elected and Parish Councillors and the Local

Strategic Partnership (LSP). But we need more local residents to join us.

8.0.2. This is important because we must have a partnership that is resident led and reflects our local community in terms of age, ethnicity, gender, faith, disability and income levels. We also need to have at least nine members present at meetings, the majority of whom must be residents in order for us to be quorate (i.e. have sufficient residents involved to approve decisions)

8.0.3 Although we have moved some way to making this happen, despite the very best efforts of Steering Group members who have worked hard to engage residents ‘where they are at’; we are unrepresentative of the local community

8.0.4 For this reason, we have taken a measured approach in progressing your priorities to give us the time required to become more inclusive, more confident about decision making processes and better placed to develop future Action Plan/s that takes account of the needs of all sections of the local community…. And we really

do need you!

8.0.5 This is especially vital given that the Big Local Cars Partnership:

Is responsible for guiding the overall direction and implementation of the Big Local Plan and connecting with many different people from the local area to ensure they are at the centre of decision making processes

Is not only a way for people locally to provide recommendations in good faith about The Cars and how it may be improved, but also a means by which members can respond in good faith to the suggestions made by residents

Is a means by which overall decisions are made to prioritise the actions that are taken in the area and make overall decisions about the money that is

allocated and the groups/organisations that the funding is allocated to

9.0 How have we engaged with local residents so far?

9.0.1 As you will see from our timeline of activities, we have been beavering away in lots of different ways over the last couple of years to meet with residents and to find out what your priorities are for the area. This has brought us into contact with young people, families as well as older people and we would like to think that we have got some understanding of the things you like and dislike about The Cars and the changes you would like to see made.


2013

MARCH Big Local Open Day

Resident’s survey launched

JUNE

Fun Day

‘What do you know about

the area?’ quiz

‘What do you remember at

Auckland Hall?’ quiz

OCTOBER First Big Local Car Boot

DECEMBER Christmas Fair

2014

MAY Fun Day (300-500 attendants)

DECEMBER Mince Pie and Tinsel

event for the elderly

Wizzleworld

Christmas event

NOVEMBER Resident’s survey launched on

Big Local Facebook page

APRIL

Car Boot

JUNE

JULY Car Boot

Car Boot AUGUST

St Car Boot SEPTEMBER

Car Boot


We have also:

9.02 Created a dedicated Facebook page which has been particularly successful. Data

generated by the mid November 2014 Facebook Report showed that 12,589

individuals had been exposed to content in that one month period, with a trend for

consistent growth in interest. 382 likes have also been received on the site which

now enjoys a very good following.

9.0.3 Designed and developed a video as a way of letting residents and key stakeholders know what has been happening in the Cars and how they can be a part of it. This has had a good impact on our marketing and promotional campaign so our thanks go to one of our local residents, Theo Thompson who many of you will know. Theo not only took on the role of Project Co-ordinator, but has also been the brainchild of our social media campaign which many of you appear to have enjoyed following, so well done Theo!

9.0.4 Benefitted from the efforts of Solihull Council’s Youth Service and Smiths Wood

Sports College who have very competently captured the views and priorities of young

people from the Cars. Well done again all!

9.05 Met with a range of partners to find out from them what they are doing to support

local residents and how this work can support Big Local. These include Age UK,

Solihull Council’s Youth Services, Solihull Community Housing, Public Health, WM

Police and Solihull Council’s Neighbourhoods Team.

10.0 What have our partners been doing and how can we benefit

from their continued involvement in helping us to deliver our

priorities?

10.0.1 Age UK are delivering a range of services across North Solihull which have been

primarily funded by the Big Lottery to deliver ‘Community Spirit’, a 5 year project that

ends in September 2015. This has enabled them (with some additional support from

Public Health) to deliver tea and taster sessions, exercise classes, reading clubs and

art classes for residents of North Solihull. They are currently looking at ways of

continuing to fund this and other similar provision and interested in working with us to

take new activities and services into Auckland Hall on a part fee, part grant basis.

In terms of befrienders, Age UK currently recruits volunteer befrienders through

newspaper advertising, via their website, by word of mouth and through leaflet drops.

Despite these efforts, few people from North Solihull have come forward. This has

led to a reduction in the number of volunteers available and could be contributing

towards low levels of engagement in Big Local as well as broader community life.

Consequently Age UK is keen to ask the Big Local Partnership if they can support

the recruitment of would be befrienders by referring them from Big Local into Age UK

(including potentially younger people)


10.0.2 SMBC’s Youth Services We are extremely indebted to Youth Services for the work

they have done as active members of the Big Local Steering Group, particularly the

support they have given to young people to help them to devise and run a survey to

determine the priorities of young people from the Cars. Their findings have been

integrated into our plan and we look forward to continuing to work with them to make

sure that young people have a voice and a say in the future of the Cars.

The ethos of Youth Services is to find out the needs of young people and then to

address them wherever possible. Youth services are particularly keen to work with us

to give young people the skills and knowledge they need to develop; and to help

coordinate and publicise activities and services as they grow.

10.0.3 Solihull Community Housing (SCH) We are equally indebted to SCH for giving us

considerable periods of free use of Auckland Hall where they would ordinarily charge

£10ph plus VAT. This agreement expires April 2015, but we are hopeful that it may

be extended to enable us to make best use of the resources we have.

SCH also provides two Steering Group members (Engagement Officers) who have

committed to monthly meetings and have been involved in every consultation event.

10.0.4 Public Health We are also indebted to Public Health who have supported some of

the refurbishment of Auckland Hall and who continue to have a presence in taking

Big Local forward.

Public Health also complements the work of Big Local through the services it

commissions to help improve health in the area and the support they provide to

community projects that in the long term, will improve the health and well-being of

local people

10.0.5 West Midlands Police We are further indebted to the Police who are very actively

involved in the local area and:

Currently run football coaching with Solihull Moors at Smith’s Wood Sports College.

This group is run free of charge and open to everyone in Smith’s Wood to attend.

Will shortly be establishing a ‘Community Reparation Scheme’ in Smiths Wood like

that already established in Chelmsley Wood to enable those who have committed

petty crime to participate in ‘Community Help’ rather than go through the Courts

system.

Are keen to re-establish a visible presence in Big Local including representation in

the Steering Group/Big Local Partnership

Are keen to provide ideas to the group, feedback on what’s going on in area and

commit time and resources going forward


10.0.6 The Parish Council We are also indebted to the Parish Council who:

Currently run a gym in Smiths Wood for the benefit of all residents

Are active members of the Big Local and acted as interim ‘Local Trusted

Organisation’ until Solihull SUSTAiN took over

Part funded the notice boards for Big Local

Have supported all of our fun days and events

Have committed to continuing to provide funding to Big Local along with support,

advice and help writing bids on behalf of the Big Local group.

Will continue to raise awareness of Big Local in the community.

Are keen to get involved in the renovation of Auckland Hall

10.0.7 Solihull Council’s Neighbourhoods Team We are finally too indebted to the

Council for the hard work they have put into the Cars Big Local project on the basis

that:

The Council owns the land in the area and is responsible its maintenance, the education of

local people, their capacity and their health and well-being.

The Neighbourhoods Team complements the work of the Council by listening to the needs

of local residents and providing resident led groups/local organisations with funding to

enable them to undertake small improvements to help make the local area cleaner, greener

and safer.

They have also provided funding for some of the Big Local Fun Days and run a

‘Neighbourhood Activity Programme’ that supports sports and environmental

programmes in the area and also:

Assisted the delivery of ‘Big Green’ campaigns’ for which funding, support, volunteers

and publicity have also been provided and:

Undertaken ‘clean up exercises’ which have been run with the support of local

schools as a means of educating pupils about the need to protect the environment

and green spaces.

The Neighbourhoods Team is supported in the work they do by colleagues that serve ‘The

Solihull Partnership’. This is Solihull’s Local Strategic Partnership (LSP). The LSP includes

local communities and their elected representatives working with public, private, voluntary

and community sector organisations to improve outcomes for everyone in Solihull. The

Partnership’s vision is: Solihull in 2018: where everyone has an equal chance to be

healthier, happier, safer, and more prosperous.

LSP staff support members of the Steering Group by putting them into contact with the right people in the Council that can help them to achieve their priorities. They have also helped trial our ‘micro-community development’ approach by commissioning ‘Street Associations’ to work in two of the Cars Street namely ‘Vauxhall Crescent’ and ‘Armstrong Drive’


Working together should help us to deliver far more than we would otherwise have been able

so thanks for the enthusiasm and commitment of all those who have joined us in our Big

Local journey. Your support is really appreciated!

11.0 What have been the outcome/s of our work so far?

11.1 We have:

a) Submitted our ‘Getting Started Plan which was approved by the Big Local Trust for

the area to release the £1m.

b) Appointed our Local Trusted Organisation (LTO - Solihull SUSTAiN) whose role is:

i. to hold the funding on behalf of the local partnership ii. to distribute Big Local funds in accordance with the Big Local Plan iii. to ensure that funding decisions and procedures meet the

requirements of Local Trust , around transparency, accountability, monitoring etc

iv. make sure that the partnership is kept informed of decisions relating to the funds

v. report, as required, to the partnership and Local Trust c) Established ‘Local Councillor’ surgeries d) Established a drop in surgery at Auckland Hall which is facilitated by Bromford

Housing e) Run a workshop for those interested in establishing or growing a social enterprise in

response to local demand f) Are working closely with Solihull Community Housing to progress the refurbishment

of Auckland Hall kitchen which was considered to be a major priority to enable its use to be bettered.

11.2 Quick Wins

We have also invested in an increase in the number and variety of activities and services available from Auckland Hall, including the following:

a) A programme of activities for young people including a ‘Sportivate Summer Programme’ and weekly multi-sports activities (Saturday’s 3.30pm until 5.30pm)

b) ‘Stay & Play’ session/s for under 5’s and their parents (Wednesday mornings 9.30am until 11.00am)

c) Big Local Thursday drop-in group attended by local residents and key stakeholders and supported by our Big Local Representative, Conrad Parke (Every Thursday 2.30pm until 4.30pm)

d) the Cars area Photography Competition and Photography Group which meets on Monday afternoons at Auckland Hall (1.00pm until 3.00pm)

e) The Social Media Café which has been meeting on Mondays (9.00am until 11.00am) and associated Laptops for residents to use

Additional classes run from the centre includes:

f) Women’s Support Group (11.00 am until 1.00pm on Thursdays) g) Route 36 – Music related activities for 11-25 year olds (5.30pm until 7.30pm every

Friday)


We have also..........

h) Provided funding for ‘Cooking on a Budget’ classes i) Provided funding to Birmingham Unsigned j) Supported WBC Boxing to apply for external funding with the help of our LTO,

Solihull SUSTAiN

11.3 Commenced dialogue with Solihull Council about using Bosworth Wood School field

as a park for the benefit of our children and young people. Although Solihull Council needs to consider the long term future of the field, the Council has suggested that we put together a proposal to demonstrate the need for a park and why it should go on the school field for their consideration which is something which we are currently working on.

11.4 Coming soon into Auckland Hall:

i. ‘Community Cafe’ 2.30pm until 4.30pm every Thursday at Auckland Hall (pending completion of refurbishment works to the kitchen)

11.5 Combined, the actions we have taken to date have helped to create new services

and activities for young people and build awareness both inside and outside the area

about what’s happening. In so doing, we would like to think that this is helping to

increase pride in The Cars as residents talk to one another about what’s going on. It

is something on which we are keen to build by getting more residents, groups and

organisations involved. Achieving this will require that we:

11.6 `Re-double and refresh the efforts made to engage more local residents in the

Partnership and its decision making processes by trying out different approaches to

meeting the community ‘where they are at’, involving them and gathering their views

as much as possible

11.7 Ensure that through on-going consultation, communication and community

engagement, we can keep abreast of what people think about the work we are doing

and plan for future Big Local work as emerging social, economic and environmental

issues arise

11.8 Look at opportunities to maximise investment by working in partnership with other

agencies to deliver Big Local’s priorities and commensurate multiple wins

11.9 Work strategically with statutory bodies to combine resources where possible and in

so doing, enable us to address more of the social, economic and environmental

issues raised by local residents

11.10 Ensure the inclusion of specific groups of residents and in particular, the young and

elderly by working in partnership with relevant agencies including Age UK and their

Befriending Scheme, Youth Services and CSWP to support resident involvement and

inclusion in planning, decision making and inclusion in socio-economic life.


12.0 Future activities and services and how to apply for funding to

deliver our priorities

12.01 The funding of new priorities will be subject to a robust assessment process with

calls for project activities being made by the Big Local Partnership through a formal

bidding process via which groups and organisations can apply

12.02 This will build on the track record of local residents in reviewing and scoring funding

applications against set priorities and required outcomes.

12.03 Approximately £80,000 will be made available over the next 18 months with small

grants up to £500, medium up to £5,000 and larger up to £10,000 to deliver actions

that support the delivery of both residents and Big Local’s priorities

12.04 A scoring process will be devised to assess the applications we receive and ensure

that a fair and equitable approach is taken.

12.05 Priority will be given to those applicants that offer match funding which could be in the form of cash or another grant or social investment (although in kind support could be considered for smaller awards)

12.06 In kind support reflects the cost value of time given by volunteers to support the delivery of projects. The Community Development Foundation costs this at £11.09 per hour which is a figure we would be happy for you to use.

12.07 Applications for activities and services that would normally fall into mainstream

Government spending will be automatically rejected

12.08 Any Cars Big Local Partnership member who has a vested interest in proposals will

be required to ‘Declare their Interest’ and will be asked to refrain from scoring the

application/s in question.

13.0 The resources required to take Big Local forward

In order to ensure that:

13.1 We have a partnership that is representative of residents from different

backgrounds and age groups; and

13.2 We have the capacity and infrastructure we need in place to manage Big

Local and to steer the partnership towards the delivery of our vision and

established priorities


13.3 We have the capacity required to support resident engagement and inclusion

in priority setting and action planning and the socio-economic inclusion of

specific groups including the young and elderly

13.4 We can establish successful partnerships with local agencies to support the

delivery of the Cars area Big Local Vision and the meeting of common

objectives and goals

13.5 We use the resources available to us most effectively and imaginatively

We propose to:

13.6 Engage and employ a part time Project Manager who will have responsibility

for managing project staff, raising income and attracting match funding, driving the

progression of our Action Plan and ensuring its delivery with the support of local

residents, partnership members and key stakeholders

13.7 Engage and employ a full time ‘Community Development Worker’ to provide

the capacity required to not only build community capacity and inspire

neighbourliness on a ‘patch by patch’ basis, but to get to the heart of what’s

important to local people.

13.8 This patchwork approach will take account of the work undertaken by ‘’ U

Turn UK, a Community Interest Company (CIC) which has worked with local

residents on a consultancy basis to form 3 Street Associations in the Cars area ,

namely Vauxhall Crescent and Armstrong Drive. Providing them with opportunities

for them to come together as self-help groups, this way of working appears to

have generated a lot more interest and got more people involved.

13.9 Taking this into account, it was felt that by mirroring this approach through the

employment of a new Community Development Worker’ would not only provide

increased capacity and economies of scale, but also enable us provide a solution

to our resident involvement challenge by covering the whole of the area and in so

doing, begin to foster a spirit of neighbourliness and support.

13.10 Make available training to equip residents and partnership members with the

skills, knowledge and understanding that they need to support the development of

their local community in the best possible way

13.11 Regularly update the Safe and Sound Group on Big Local developments and explore ways in which common priority needs can be met through collaborative working

13.12 Develop relationships with churches local to the Cars area that could help support the realisation of our vision and priorities

13.13 Further develop relationships with our existing partners such as Youth Services, Public Health and the |Neighbourhoods Team to explore the potential for new services and activities to be made available in the Cars area


13.14 Develop new partnerships with organisations such as Age UK to support the development of more activities and services for the benefit of older people.

13.15 Utilise the local knowledge and expertise of the Photography group to take

pictures of the local area for inclusion in marketing and promotional materials and

updated versions of the Action Plan.

13.16 Work in partnership with the Council’s Youth Services, other local youth

support initiatives and ‘CSW (Coventry, Solihull & Warwickshire) Sport’ to support

the ongoing delivery of activities and services for the benefit of young people. Also

to consider with our young people CSWP’s Proposal to provide:

A satellite Youth Club

First Aid, Safeguarding and ABC Youth Work training (see

http://www.abcawards.co.uk/ for further information)

Business Mentoring

Traineeships, Apprenticeships and Sports Coaching

Other externally funded resources

In return for a small fee that will enable their worker to devote a day per week to

working in the area.

13.17 Continue progressing the Business Plan to develop a significant locally based

social enterprise to provide employment, income and recycling opportunities to

minimise landfill

14. So what strategic priorities have local residents told us

about?

14.1 Steering Group members and our young residents from Smiths Wood Sports College

have put a tremendous amount of effort into determining what residents would like to

see happen

14.2 From the information we have gathered so far, these are your main priorities which

have been grouped under specific themes. Please do contact us if you have anything

further to add so we can make sure we get things right.

http://www.abcawards.co.uk/


Residents Strategic Priorites

Cars Area

Priorities

Creating community ownership

A stronger and more involved

community

Young People

Parks and Green Spaces

Environment

Safety

Elderly People

Employment and Training


ACTION PLAN

To support the delivery of the Cars priorities over the next 18 months with the support of Big Local Grants (Circa £80k over

the next 18 months), social investment, volunteer commitment, other grant income and the support of Solihull SUSTAiN as

the ‘Local Trusted Organisation’

Strategic Priority 1A - Creating Community Ownership

General Resident feedback

How

When

Whose responsibility

Financial and Human Resource requirements

Local residents told us that:

They should have the greatest say on what happens in our community. We should use this opportunity to help build and create local capacity to make the community stronger; adding that:

‘There needs to be ability for residents having a voice on what to do’

Involve more residents as Partnership members

Invest in developing the skills and confidence of partnership members and residents so that they have the ability to continue to identify and respond to needs in the future

By Autumn 2015

The Cars Big Local Partnership and the LTO (Solihull SUSTAiN)

Resident commitment Partner and Project Co-ordinator support Appointment of a FTE Community Development Worker (18 month contract – total cost inc. NI, pension and overheads £41,520) Appointment of P/T Project Manager to lead the implementation of the Action Plan, manage project staff, raise income and find match funding (18 month contract – total cost inc. NI, pension and overheads £29,064) Training delivered by the Big Local Trust for the benefit of members and our young people


Strategic Priority 1B - Creating Community Ownership

Young People’s feedback and recommendations

How

When



We recommend consultation continues with young people throughout the duration of Big Local

We propose a Young People’s Shadow Board to run similar to the Neighbourhood Forum but just for young people, so we can have our say and a voice

A representative from the Young People’s Board could attend the Cars Big Local Partnership meetings to feedback on young people’s issues, comments and ideas.

Put young people’s recommendations forward to the Partnership for discussion

Feedback the views of members to SMBC Youth Services to update their young cohort on their recommendations

Invest in developing the skills and confidence of young people so that they have the ability to continue to identify and respond to needs in the future, and understand the principles of planning for and developing more sustainable communities

As soon as possible


Young people’s ongoing commitment

Partner and Project Co-ordinator support

Training delivered by the Big Local Trust for the benefit of members and our young people


Strategic Priority 2 – A stronger and more involved community

General resident and young people’s feedback combined

How do we achieve resident’s priorities?

When



Local residents have also told us that we need to: Strengthen community spirit and bridge the gap between older and younger generations (something also endorsed by young people who want to see more community activities that bring together all age groups and better community spirit)

Create a community hub in the area that is open to all residents

Continue to introduce more activities and run more community events With a view to making The Cars: ‘More community friendly, tight knit and inclusive with a lot more groups and open venues for everyone to interact.’

Like it used to be ... ‘Hopefully the community comes back together like 12 years ago.’

Continue to develop more activities and services for the benefit of all residents making best use of Auckland Hall, local schools and other venues and outdoor facilities; and with recourse to ‘Big Local Grants’ which groups and organisations can apply to support the delivery of their project ideas.

Suggestions to date from the general community have included:

A dance club, luncheon club, keep fit, arts/literary society/book club bonfire parties, Cake decorating courses, Family club Involve local younger people in the promotion of the project (please also refer to young people’s suggestions under Strategic Priority 3B ‘Young People)

Infrastructure to be in place by Autumn 2015 to release funds for action/s


Resident and young people’s ongoing commitment

Partner and Project Co-ordinator support £9,000 to support the delivery of promotional events and activities, marketing and communication The establishment of the small, medium and large grant programme and call for applications to support the delivery of agreed priorities


Strategic Priority 3A – Young people


How

When



Residents also told us that they are concerned that there is:

Nowhere for children to play

A lack of activities for 18-24 year olds

A lack of facilities for young people generally

In particular you want us to: Enable Young people to have greater involvement and a voice in the community’

‘Create youth clubs and a wide range of activities which cater to the young people in the area’

Have ‘More consistency of young people activities to help them gain a sense of ownership.

Provide ‘A chance for the youth to engage and build positive relationships with adults of local area.’ ‘Please think about young people as they are the future to the area. They need a sense of ownership something that’s theirs, created and maintained by them’.

Identify potential site/s to develop play areas and include as one of our priorities for action

Seek to expand the ‘Youth Club’ activities which have successfully grown in the Cars for teenagers and youths over the last few months and which have been warmly received and well attended Within our priority actions, provide for the development of more sporting activities (with the help of CSW Sport)

By Autumn 2015


Resident commitment Partner and Project Co-ordinator support Young people’s commitment to work with us to find suitable solutions £15,000 to enable a CSW Sport Worker to devote one day per week developing and running sporting and developmental activities for the benefit of young people over the 18 month Action Plan term


Strategic Priority 3B – Young people

Young people’s feedback

How

When



Young people would like us to consider developing:

More activities

A bigger skate park (making use of the grass verges surrounding the park which could be used as ramps)

More football provision

A swimming pool

A youth centre

A motor bike track so that young people can ride motor bikes legally and not through the local park which makes them feel vulnerable and unsafe and compromises existing equipment such as the local skate-park

The young people surveyed were also asked what they thought would benefit young people’s development and future prospects in the Cars area and the responses were (highest to lowest): An adventure playground, training and development, a supermarket, apprenticeship opportunities, Job Centre, Doctors Surgery and Sexual Health Clinic. Other suggestions included: an activity centre, ice rink, bowling alley, cinema, restaurant, more clubs, more police and whatever will prevent people from causing damage to society

Consider the proposals tabled by young people to enable them to have their say Undertake more action planning work to help prioritise the things that are most important to them Work with them to try to find ways of taking these forward within the Cars area or indeed the wider area of North Solihull

By Autumn 2015


Resident commitment Partner and Project Co-ordinator support Young people’s commitment to work with us to find suitable solutions The establishment of the small, medium and large grant programme and call for applications to support the delivery of agreed priorities


Strategic Priority 4 – Parks and Green Spaces

General Resident and young people’s feedback

How

When



You also told us that we need to:

Retain the green space in The Cars

Build a children’s park that will create safe space for children to play

Consider developing a motorbike track to encourage riders away from using the local park which is causing young people to fear for their own safety

Similar fears were also raised about the skate park which has been damaged by the remains of a motor bike that was set on fire

And said: ‘I would put a park that is age restricted so little kids can go to the park when it's after dark and not feel scared or threatened by anyone because there will only be kids allowed there.’

‘I like the greenery of the area, I think now though that the greenery is becoming less and less and it is sad to see, as it is very industrial to come.’

‘It needs brightening up, sometimes it’s like a no go area’

Review the latest map of the Cars area

Identify existing and potential green spaces with the support of local residents including our young people (including the field and (if possible) the school facilities at Lanchester way

Ascertain who owns the land

Develop a business case to retain or develop space/s for community use based on evidence of need, cost value, use of the space/s, by which groups/ages and how the space/s will be sustained beyond the life of Big Local

Work with young people to look at ways of expanding the skate park and making good the surface damage to the existing track

By Autumn 2015




Strategic Priority 5 – The Environment


How

When



Residents told us that we need to use this opportunity to: ‘tidy up’ the Cars Area by removing the litter’

‘organise a clean‐up team of residents that

will be responsible for the tidiness of the area, creating a sense of community ownership’; Adding............ ‘It needs to be a tidier place altogether. More pride in our area leading to a better reputation all round.’

‘I don't like how there is litter on the ground.’ Residents were also concerned about dog mess being left lying around by irresponsible dog owners Consider the development of a significant recycling social enterprise initiative to provide local employment opportunities, generate income and contribute to the council’s recycling initiative to cut items that are destined for landfill

- Identify locations requiring a clean up - Identify actions required to improve / resolve this issue including the potential to bring together a resident led clean-up-team that also includes young people for 31

st March – National

Clean Up Day - Develop two ‘Estate Management’ Apprenticeships with a remit to support the upkeep of the local environment and the potential for them to evolve their own business/s with support - Consider providing regular skips to reduce fly tipping - Identify suitable areas for more litter bins and dog bins around the Cars; seeking Council support to install and ensure their regular emptying - Work with the local ‘Priority Setting Panels’ to tackle dog owners who continually fail to pick up their dog’s mess Escalate safety issues via the ‘Community Safety Partnership’ - Progress the development of a social business to recycle unwanted clothing, used shoes, books and Bric a Brac

By Autumn 2015



The recruitment of two FTE ‘Estate and Facilities Management Young 16-18 year old Apprentices Contract duration 12 months. Total costs inc. salary and overheads, less the Governments AGE grant for both posts £9,606


Strategic Priority 6 – Safety


How

When



Local residents also said that they wanted to make the Cars Area a safer environment for all residents and to ’create safer places for children to play’ You also told us that: ‘More lighting and officers on the beat should be bought back; I don’t feel safe going out after dark.’

‘Young people still like to play and have fun and it should be encouraged that they have a safe place to go and to be young feel safe from street crime amongst young people in the area’ Likewise young people also raised concerns about safety and in particular, that they feel: ‘Threatened by ‘gangs and chavs’ in the area’ and compromised by poor lighting in some areas (e.g. alleyways) which makes them feel more vulnerable and at risk They also stated there was a need for lighting in the park so that they can see what they are doing and feel safer, as in the winter months it gets darker earlier.

Identify and take up with SMBC, issues where street lighting (or the lack of it) could be causing concern , especially around alleyways

Identify and map out other critical hot spot areas that need more illumination with the support of local residents including young people and open dialogue with the police, Council and any other interested parties to explore potential solutions.

By Autumn 2015




Strategic Priority 7 – Older people


How

When



Residents told us that there was a need for us to support the:

Establishment of a range of activities especially for the elderly in the area. Creation of more opportunities for the elderly to socialise; adding that: ‘There is not a lot for the elderly to do.’

Open dialogue with Age UK with a view to: Growing volunteer befriending services in the area to help those who are housebound and need support to join in activities and benefit from services with the help of the Ring and Ride Service Growing activities in Auckland Hall for the benefit of older people such as:

Dance classes (seated/low impact)

Move to Music

Tea Dances

Pilates, Extend

Social Cafe

Silver Surfers

Art for older people

Luncheon Club These activities are already delivered in neighbourhoods across North Solihull. Some are free, others chargeable to make them more sustainable

By Winter 2015 The Cars Big Local Partnership and the LTO (Solihull SUSTAiN)

Resident commitment Partner and Project Co-ordinator support Young people’s support to help break down inter-generational barriers by passing on their IT skills to older people that want to learn how to use IT so that they keep in touch with the families The establishment of the small, medium and large grant programme and call for applications to support the delivery of agreed priorities


Strategic Priority 8 – Employment and Training


How

When



Residents also identified a need to:

Access the wealth of talent and skills that residents have

Provide opportunities for training and development, especially amongst young people Create more training and employment opportunities in the Cars Consider the development of existing and new viable local businesses that (as evidenced by their business plan/s and recommendations from business advisors) have the potential become sustainable and provide local employment opportunities ‘The Princes Trust’, adding that: ‘It would be good to see training courses done from Auckland Hall for the community and motivational workshops for younger people that show positive role models’ ‘There needs to be more employment chances for younger people and more training courses for all ages.’

With the advice, support and guidance of our young cohort from Smiths Wood Sports College, seek to create positive things for young people to do to develop work and career skills Investigate the possibility of using local people’s skills to take on small contracts to support local people and traders Progress the development of viable local businesses with the support of ‘The Princes Trust’, ‘Development in Social Enterprise’ and Enterprise for Success’ Explore the possibility of creating industrial or commercial units (subsidised for local people)

By Winter 2015 The Cars Big Local Partnership, and the LTO (Solihull SUSTAiN)

Resident commitment Partner and Project Co-ordinator support Young people’s support to help break down inter-generational barriers by passing on their IT skills to older people that want to learn how to use IT so that they keep in touch with the families Consideration given to Potential consideration to developing a system of small start up loans in conjunction with other initiatives


12. OUR VISION FOR THE CARS

12.1 Having a vision statement for our area is important so we know the direction in which we are heading over the next 18 months. The best visions are inspirational, clear, memorable, concise and describe the long term changes we want to make

12.2 With this is mind, members were asked to imagine what it would be like if they went away from the Cars and then came back 18

months later; what changes they would expect to see with the support of Big Local?

These were our thoughts:

To have found a way to communicate effectively with the whole estate. This could include social media, community notice boards and extending the street association network

To have found and supported more residents to have become community leaders

To be generating regular income and match funding

To extend the ‘Street Association’ approach to all corners of The Cars with the help of the Community Development Worker

To have developed a business plan for Auckland Hall

To have developed a vision and plan for up to Year 5 of Big Local

12.3 Taking these thoughts into account, our vision is:

‘To breathe life back into the Cars by bringing the community together, creating more community leaders and fostering the

development of a more prosperous and sustainable community of which we can all be proud’


If you want to find out more about our Big Local project and/or to get involved, please contact either:

Conrad Parke (Big Local Representative) C/O Auckland Hall 25 Sunbeam Close Solihull B36 9JR Email: [email protected] Mob: 07740 896 954 Or Dave Dixon (Chair of the Cars Big Local Steering Group) C/O Auckland Hall 25 Sunbeam Close Solihull B36 9JR Email: [email protected] Mob: 07586 921394 We look forward to hearing from you and hope that you will be as enthusiastic as we are to join us in making a difference to our community and the lives of all of our residents, both now and in the future.

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

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