Par Bay Big Local

Par Bay Big Local (PBBL) is part of a national programme ‘Big Local’, funded by the National Lottery Community Fund and administered by Local Trust. The scheme, started in 2011, provides an opportunity for residents in 150 areas around England to use at least £1m each to make a massive and lasting difference to their communities. The programme as a whole has four key outcomes that each local Big Local needs to contribute to. These are;

• Communities will be better able to identify local needs and take action in response to them.
• People will have increased skills and confidence so that they continue to identify and respond to needs in the future.
• The community will make a difference to the needs it prioritises.
• People will feel that their area is an even better place to live.

Big Local was established with several core features that make it different from other programmes. It is:

• Long-term – providing certainty and continuity, over 10-15 years.
• Resident-led – working directly with individuals living, working, studying, and playing in areas rather than through organisations; building confidence and capacity amongst those wanting to make a difference to their community and their local area.
• Non-prescriptive – enabling residents to spend on their own terms and in their own time, on the projects they judge to be most important to them.
• Patient and non-judgemental – giving communities the time and opportunity to learn, make mistakes, resolve disagreements, and overcome challenges for themselves, on their way to achieving their ambitions.
• Accompanied by flexible and responsive support – to help communities to build the confidence and capability to make the most of the opportunities available to them, whilst not constraining their own ambition and initiative.

More information about Big Local can be found on the Local Trust website https://localtrust.org.uk/big-local/about-big-local/.

Par Bay Big Local, one of the first Big Locals in the country, was created in 2010 to support the communities of Par, St Blazey, and Tywardreath in Cornwall.  Since the national Big Local programme started in earnest in 2012, PBBL has had consecutive Plans and activities approved and endorsed by their funders, Local Trust, allowing staged drawdown of their allocated funding.  PBBL funded programme will be completed by late 2022.

Like all Big Locals, PBBL is run by a resident-led partnership of residents, community representatives, and support agencies. To draw down the funding, this group of people have determined local needs through research and consultation, prioritised addressing those needs, again in consultation with the community, and then developed a plan to address those priorities. Plans usually cover a period of 1-3 years and are updated and renewed when a drawdown of further funding is required.

All Big Local areas identify a “trusted” partner to help them develop and the Eden Project, a near neighbour, has provided this service and significant support.  They also have been supported by a Local Trust appointed ‘Local Rep’, in this case, Ian Smith whose role was to help the partnership develop a rolling programme of implementation plans and to help the partnership review and learn from their activities.

PBBL has identified a wide range of local needs and has addressed these through working collaboratively with local organisations, providing funding and practical support where required.

Par Bay Community Trust was formed as PBBL’s charitable arm in 2014 so that Cornubia could be purchased for the long-term benefit of residents across the Par Bay area. Trustees work closely with PBBL to ensure a legacy for the future, supporting the main areas of focus identified during consultations and their own charitable aims which echo the Big Local ethos which is all about community and resident-led decision-making to bring about lasting and sustainable improvements, maximising impact and making the best use of resources and opportunities.

More information on the key focus areas here.