Community resilience case studies

Peggie’s Park Community Centre is based in Bedlam Lane, Foleshill and has been running for 28 years. It has supported many people in that time and is currently a thriving centre that relies solely on volunteers. The Community Resilience Team has supported the centre over the last few years

The centre has been running a homeless project for over 10 years. They provide hot meals twice weekly and require external funding to sustain this vital lifeline to many people. The team were asked for support to apply to the ‘Big Lottery Awards for All’ fund to keep the project going for the next 12 months. This was after a conversation between the centre manager and an officer from the Big Lottery, who advised they eligible to apply again.

An application to the value of £9,277 was submitted to the ‘Awards for All’ small grants fund, to pay for food to continue providing hot meals for the homeless and to pay for volunteer expenses. The organisation was successful with the application and were awarded the full amount from the ‘Big Lottery’.

As a result of this successful application, the centre was contacted by the ‘Big Lottery’ whose officer recommended that the organisation apply for the larger grant from the ‘Reaching Communities’ fund. This fund gives amounts of between £10,000-£500,000 and because Peggie’s Park has a proven history of managing lottery funding, they recommended they apply.

The CRT entered discussions with the organisation about the possibility of running a youth project from the centre. The organisation put in an expression of interest to the Big Lottery and have been given the go-ahead to apply for full funding. An application in excess of £300,000 will be submitted to the Reaching Communities arm of the Big Lottery Fund to pay for youth worker salaries and equipment.

To secure the future of Peggie’s Park the CRT will continue to work with the centre, not only to apply for funding for a youth project but to work with committee members and volunteers to ensure the centre runs efficiently going forward.

Alongside this support, the Community Resilience Team linked the community centre with local developers RG Group who had been building student accommodation in the city. As part of this recognise the importance of giving back to the community as much as possible and asked the team to put them in touch with a group that would greatly benefit from some support. 

Stephen Davis, RG Group Project Manager on the site, shared: “As a principal contractor we support local communities and good causes to try and create legacy projects to leave a lasting impression on the communities we impact and give something back. With the help of the Community Resilience Team we were able to help a really good local cause, Peggie’s Park, and give something back – and hopefully made a real difference.”

Cllr Tariq Khan, Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities, said: “The Community Resilience Team are a great liaison to link up communities and developers to make a real difference. Peggie’s Park is a great example of how connecting the right people can make a huge impact. The centre has been transformed with a fresh coat of paint and it’s ready to do even more great things in the local community now it’s been brightened up inside and out.

As well as the provision of materials, RG Group and M&S Decorators have been tirelessly working down at the community centre volunteering their time to decorate with great results.