Bowling Club

East Coseley Big Local set out to bring families together, to improve green spaces and to get local people meeting and talking to each other. Coseley Bowling Club is a great example of just this.

One of the first projects to be supported by East Coseley Big Local was a large net to keep bowlers safe from cricket balls from the neighbouring cricket pitch. Last year the club was supported to create a Buzz Garden to attract butterflies and bees and improve the overgrown green space for the benefit of the people who visit and bowl at the club.

Joe has been Chair of the bowling club for 3 years. When asked of the impact of Big Local support, he said “You can see that it’s made an impact by just looking around the bowling green. We’ve had support from Big Local for timber partitions to tidy up the green and prevent the old one from rotting. Last year we had the new shed as a facility for visitors to watch the bowling. Big Local has bought tins of paint to do the place up and make it nice for the community. All the hard work that volunteer Joe has put into maintaining the Buzz Garden – we wouldn’t have had anything as good as this without our volunteers and the support of East Coseley Big Local.

People come from all over to use the bowling green – Edgbaston, Dudley, Dartmouth – it covers a big area. I’d like to think the green shows Coseley in a good light.

We just want to keep on making it better. We’ve put a lot of time into the green. The money needed to maintain the green is generated ourselves.

Volunteer, Joe, has been involved in the Buzz Garden since the start.

Joe said, “It was a wilderness and we wanted to do something with it. I put gravel boards down and raised it all up, we then started to get more ideas. We selected plants that were wildlife friendly. We’ve seen a massive difference to the wildlife on the green. We now feel like we can spread our wings to do more, we’d like to do different beds with different flowers, some people have been talking about edible beds.” When Joe was in his 20’s an old gardener who was in his 70’s said to him “Never let a weed see a Sunday.” This is now Joe’s motto!

Joe has put slabs down and added paths in amongst the flowers. The Buzz Garden does what it’s supposed to do and attracts many butterflies and bees. There are Lavender and Buddleia plants – also known as a butterfly bush – from Joes garden. In amongst the garden plants are little painted stone houses. Julie who paints the stone houses, started by bowling for the ladies team and is now groups secretary.

The bowling green also attracts many birds, including Wagtails, Wrens and Swifts.

Chair Joe said, “We have 50 odd bowlers at the club. We had 5 teams, we’ve now got 8. It’s constantly expanding especially the ladies bowling team. It gets people actively involved, which is the biggest impact to the community. The cricket club is also a really active group, most of our bowlers use the cricket club too so that makes it a thriving place.

It benefits people by getting them out. Families can bring their children to a safe place. New friendships have developed here. It keeps me busy anyway!”

The club is now looking to attract more people to come and have a go at bowling. If people like it, they can join the club. “The age range of people who come here is 17 years old to late 70’s. A lot of bowling clubs have aged and eventually closed. We have a steady influx of middle-aged people here, many 30 year olds took it up for the first time and found they liked it. It’s a very vibrant club that I think is going to carry on for a bit. Bowling is a dying thing in a way, there are fewer greens now, pubs used to have bowling greens, and with the general demise of pubs, the greens have gone. I like to think that we appeal to a wide age group and we bring families together. We have a laugh here.

The Coseley women’s league is in their 4th season. They buy their own uniforms in pink. We all like to look professional and represent the club.”

The bowling club has 2 teams that play at the Coseley Skittles League, “The Skittles League is a great way to connect with the community. This is how we got to know Bayer Street Allotments. We’re getting to know a lot of people involved in Big Local and meeting with others who care about Coseley.”

In the future, they would like to get a toilet on the green.

Silver Jubilee Park

Silver Jubilee Park is just outside of the East Coseley Big Local border, but the park and its activities benefit many people in the Coseley area.

The Friends of Silver Jubilee Park were supported by East Coseley Big Local to purchase a laptop and printer in 2017. When asked of the impact, the response was “The biggest impact to our group has been access.”

Jan, secretary of the Friends of Silver Jubilee Park group said, “At first, we approached Tesco’s ‘Bags for Help’ to support us to buy a computer, but then East Coseley Big Local offered to help and support us. Tesco’s Bags for Help is actually an online application, so we needed a computer in order to apply for any funding.

After receiving the computer from Big Local, we were able to apply to Tesco. When we received funding from Tesco, we were able to buy a marquee, marketing and promotion material, and a long hosepipe to save people carrying watering cans long distances. Big Local has enabled us to widen our scope, as we now have access to apply online for funding for other things to make the park better for local people.”

With Big Local support the group has become more independent. “Originally the council would do funding applications for us, but now we can do it ourselves. We’ve got more access!”

The printer has enabled the group to print papers and posters which have helped local people who don’t have access to email to get involved and find out what is happening on the park.

Many activities take place in the park including Health Walks, Buggy Walks for mothers, Nordic Walks, Yoga, and Keep Fit classes. The Health Walks used to be led by council staff, now volunteers have taken them on. Their walking route includes not just the park but the Coseley canal and Bayer Street Allotments.

We met some of the people from the walking group. Local lady Brenda has been coming to the Health Walks for 8 years, she likes to take her son’s dog for a walk. Abdar is in his 70’s, he does 5 laps around the park every week.

Another local lady, Cindy, came to the weekly walking group when she had not long had a stroke and could hardly walk, 4 years on she’s happily walking around the park and now attends the parks committee meetings. Week by week she has improved.

Around 2 years ago, the Friends of the park group started to come to East Coseley Big Local meetings. From this, they made new connections and built relationships with other groups based in Coseley.

East Coseley’s Community Connectors Dave and Shona have been connecting local people to activities in the Park.

Dave will bring some of the people he meets whilst working in the Coseley area to the park. He brought one lady, Iris, who can’t speak but is able to hear, she has been joining in with the Health Walks on a Wednesday morning. Linking with JST has been very good, some people haven’t stayed but they have got out of the house and they know where to come if they want to do something different.”

The Friends of Jubilee Park has also joined the Coseley Skittles League. From these nights at Darkhouse Church they have built up links with other Coseley groups and got involved with Big Local activities. They now feel more connected in the community. “It’s really nice to get involved in social activities as a group. It’s given people here a wider view of what’s going on in the area. When we do our walks, we’ll have a walk down to the allotments, they give us plants for the park, it’s all about sharing.”

The local Pentecostal church now has a coffee morning once a month in the park, they also link with East Coseley Big Local.

The group is working hard to improve public and green spaces for the people of Coseley. They have been busy clearing the old bowling green on the park to create a family space for the people of Coseley. “Before, nobody would come in because it was just an overgrown wilderness.”

Since the 6-8 foot of hedge has been taken out by the group’s volunteers it’s opened up the park. “People feel safer, you can see the Bowling Green from the parks Hub. People were afraid to come into the park because it was all closed in.”

Ray has been planting African Marigolds from his garden. Joe is busily digging and getting rid of weeds, he’s even named a part of the bowling green, ‘Joe’s Corner’, where he’s cut down the overgrowth, found rocks and is creating a beautiful rockery. Jim’s neighbour has donated a lot of plants. Blackcurrant plants have been donated by the allotments to create an edible border.

When Jim, Joe and Ray are working on the park, many people stop to ask what they are doing and tell them how good it looks.

The park has also received funding from the local Community Forum to purchase picnic benches for disabled people, allowing for wheelchairs to fit under the benches.

Just Start Talking – A new project supporting people to feel more connected in Coseley

Just Start Talking – A new project supporting people to feel more connected in Coseley

Great news! Just Straight Talk (JST) has been successful with an application for funding through East Coseley Big Local. The new pilot project called Just Start Talking, which launched at the beginning of March 2019, will work to connect local people and support those who may be experiencing loneliness within the Coseley community. The new project aims to provide a supportive environment to empower people to start feeling better about their futures, their opportunities and the community where they live.

Two newly recruited community connectors David and Shona will support local people by connecting them to activities, coffee mornings, befriending and group sessions, enabling people to increase their social circles and develop a routine. Most of these activities will be held at the Rainbow Centre, Rainbow Street, Bilston.

People from Coseley will have the opportunity to be involved through volunteering with the project, presenting great opportunities for social interaction and to cultivate new friendships, potentially helping to decreas the feelings of loneliness.

Just Straight Talk (JST) is a Coseley-based social enterprise supporting people by providing the practical help and motivation they need to turn their lives around and reach their life goals. JST works holistically with people in a tailor-made way to ensure complex situations are approached together and that a helping hand is on offer through life. The team constantly goes the extra mile to ensure full support for people by providing a range of practical, inspirational support and mentoring. JST has a strong track record of helping people to increase their confidence and self-esteem, resulting in positive engagement within society. JST recognises that in East Coseley isolation and loneliness is prevalent and works with partner agencies to help support this issue. 

If you or anyone you know would like to find out more about the new project, Just Start Talking, and how we can help to support you, your family, friends or even your neighbour to help reduce loneliness and isolation please email drobertsjst@gmail.com shona@jst@gmail.com or call 07726210092.

Loneliness is not the same as being alone, and has nothing to do with how many people you see – it’s the quality of social contact that makes all the difference.

Coseley Lunch and Chat – working together to bring people together

Coseley Lunch and Chat – working together to bring people together

Each year East Coseley Big Local organises four seasonal Lunch and Chat events during the daytime for local people to come together to enjoy and share a three-course meal together. The meals bring people of all ages together, people that might be on their own or simply looking for a place to be to meet others for a drink, meal and a chat.

In the beginning, East Coseley workers and volunteers found it quite challenging to find people living on their own as many were quite isolated and rarely left the house. It’s through partnerships with local services Just Straight Talk, Integrated Plus and local residential homes, working closely with people to help them to stay connected in their day-to-day work, that we have been able to find and connect people in Coseley. This collaboration has helped us to reach people of all ages (from 21 to a staggering 101 years old!).

A partnership with Marston’s Brewery and local pub The Apple Tree Inn has provided a safe, friendly and familiar space to host the meals where local people can get to know each other. The staff who work there are always welcoming and make sure everybody feels comfortable.

New people are often accompanied to the meal with support and encouragement from the service, helping them to feel comfortable leaving their home with confidence that they will be safe.

East Coseley Big Local workers and volunteers have also been raising awareness with local residents and helping them to spot people who may be experiencing loneliness. This has led many to carry out small acts of kindness to check in with their neighbours. A few residents have referred neighbours to the Coseley meal.

It’s by working together that we have been able to find and bring people together.

At this year’s Christmas Lunch and Chat we were joined by 80 residents from Coseley of all ages to enjoy a meal together.

Georgia from the Integrated Plus team got chatting to some of the residents at this months Christmas Lunch and Chat event… Integrated Plus identifies opportunities for people to become more involved and active in their community to help improve their wellbeing.  “Jason and I were kindly invited to come along with clients that we had worked with over the past year who reside in Coseley. Ten of our clients came along and joined in with the festivities.

This is Joyce (and Georgia)! Integrated Plus met Joyce earlier in the year to help her to attend Airtime, a social group for people with respiratory conditions. Joyce said she enjoyed the meal: “I appreciate coming here. The best part is talking to other people because I spend a lot of time on my own”.

This is Karen (left) and Irene (right). Karen said she enjoyed the meal as this enabled her to talk to other people and made her feel more involved in the community. Karen and Irene are hoping to meet up soon when shopping in Coseley!

Integrated Plus met Betty and her son Trevor in the summer to help her to claim a blue badge to get out and about more easily.
“The meal has been lovely and would recommend it to anyone who is feeling lonely. It is a break from being on your own.”

From left to right, this is Gordon, Gwen, her friend Dorothy and Derek. Gordon is 92 and is used to being on his own but feels that getting out to speak to other people is nice, especially around Christmas time. Gwen and Dorothy thought it was lovely to have a Christmas treat like this locally. Although they’ve been good friends for over 40 years, they now find it difficult to get out so they are really thankful that they were asked to come along to the meal.

Derek: “I have been overwhelmed by kindness here. I feel safe and I have enjoyed every minute. I haven’t been out for months so it has been nice to get out and speak with new people”. Derek has also accessed additional support from Integrated Plus including obtaining a new bathroom through a Dudley home improvement service.

It is clear to see that gatherings like this help to combat loneliness and how speaking with other people can really make a difference to someone’s happiness, especially at Christmas time. During this meal, some of our clients saw people that they hadn’t seen in a long time and were able to chat with them.” Georgia, Integrated Plus.

Just Straight Talk (JST) is a community project supporting people by providing the practical help and motivation they need to turn their lives around. JST helps people to increase their confidence and self-esteem which results with engaging positively within society. Many people have been supported by JST to attend the Lunch and Chat events.

At the last Christmas meal we were also joined by Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) from Sedgley and Coseley handing out ‘Christmas presents… with a twist’ – Gift bags full of crime prevention advice and home security gadgets. It was great to have them join us at the meal to speak with local people that may be vulnerable to crime.

If you would like to find out more about the Coseley Lunch and Chat events contact neil@eastcoseleybiglocal.net

Beatfreeks are in Coseley- What we do whilst we’re here is up to you.

East Coseley has been working in partnership with Beatfreeks, a youth organisation based in Birmingham, to engage communities of Coseley in creative activities on Friday evenings. For each seasonal programme, a suite of different creative activities are developed and thoughtfully put together as Friday night ‘drop-in’ sessions. Young people have been involved in the design process of each programme to ensure they are invested in its success. So far, the activities have been a great success and have been enjoyed by Coseley residents of all ages!

We’ve been out talking to you, and you’ve said you want to see more of this –

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Come along to Coseley Does NOISE,
meet like-minded people, see what we’re about.

Or email bethany@beatfreeks.com

The last programme of events focused on unlocking the hidden talents and potential of young people in Coseley. Activities included poetry, crafting, filmmaking, circus skills, singing and comedy, and at the end of the programme, creative residents took part in ‘Coseley’s Got Talent’ and were also treated to a pizza oven in the car park!

What we found most important, is that these sessions were enjoyed not only by young people but their families too, ages ranged from 6 years old to grandparent age!

The new Spring/Summer programme will focus on storytelling and is aimed at all ages in the community.

Over 10 weeks the people of Coseley will create and design a magazine, gather stories from around Coseley via various different media, and at the end of the programme will host an exciting event to give out the magazine and show the rest of Coseley what they have been up to! These sessions will include, photography, illustration, collage, poetry and interviewing techniques.

There will be opportunities to join in every week and you don’t need to come to every single session to be able to join in.

If you’ve missed the Coseley Nights experience so far, here is a little taster from one of the Friday night filmmaking activities. This film was produced with young people of Coseley and their families at one of the sessions themed on happiness, and named ‘The Secret of happiness’….

 

 

Meet the gardeners transforming Coseley Station into a vibrant green space

Meet the gardeners transforming Coseley Station into a vibrant green space

Bayer Street Allotments is a thriving green hub in the heart of the Coseley where people are passionate about sharing knowledge and growing tips with people of all ages. Not only does it provide an excellent space for community projects and events, but with the support of East Coseley Big Local, the people there are on a mission to make Coseley a better place to live, improving and starting gardening projects in vacant green public spaces, forming fabulous partnerships along the way.

Ron and Maria Wedgbury, Natalie Partridge and Dave Williams, creative green-fingered gardeners from the allotments, are transforming Coseley Station’s northbound platform embankment by maintaining beautiful flower displays and window boxes, continued from the marvellous work started by Tom, Kerry and volunteers last year, catching the eye of many local people and commuters.

They have now joined West Midlands Railways ‘Adopt a Station’ scheme, with a vision to continue to improve the station for the benefit of all who use it.

The scheme started back in 2003, originally created to improve relationships between the train operator and station users. Over the years it has grown to become much more, with station adopters now playing an active role in keeping stations looking good through innovative gardening projects and creative community art projects.

To thank volunteers and station adopters, West Midlands Railway and London Northwestern Railway organised a picnic and day out to Bridgnorth on the Severn Valley Railway, an opportunity to meet directors from the railways and volunteers from other stations around the Midlands, a great day for making new connections.

Ron found the day great for making new connections, “What’s great about the day was that there were no formal presentations or speeches, they kept the day really casual, there were no speeches or slideshows. It was nice to meet other people that were involved in local station projects.”

 

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Husband and wife, Ron and Maria, first got their allotment on Bayer Street Allotments 4 years ago. Maria said, “Ron took on the allotment because when he retired he wasn’t the type to sit at home and do nothing, he needed something to do…and the vegetables were a bonus!” Ron has lots of useful tips on how to grow prize winning tomatoes, he also makes his own gin and whiskey from his brewing shed in his garden.

Dave grows all sorts on his allotment, cabbages, potatoes, tomatoes and much more, but warns “you have to pick them fast in this hot weather before they go brown!” He has took great pleasure in being part of the Coseley station project, “I’ve had my allotments for nearly 13 years now. I like gardening because it gets me out of the house and gets things off my mind. A good many people say how nice the station is, people often stop to look at the embankment.”

Natalie previously worked with the council’s ground maintenance team, looking after parks, bowling greens, cricket, football and rounders pitches for 20 years before leaving to have children. “My children come down to the allotment with me every day, they come on their bikes and have a picnic, sometimes they play in the woodchip piles, or in the horse manure! Sometimes they go train spotting behind the back of the toilets. They have got their own shed, and I’ve got my shed. They help me water the plants and love picking all the fruit.”

East Coseley Big Local, has recently funded £1,000 so that the allotments team can use their gardening expertise to the full and buy news tools, flowers and shrubs for the station project. With this extra bit of funding, they plan to purchase perennials that come up every year, and a camellia, which would be one of the first plants to flower.

Peruvian lilies were donated from Ron’s garden, he said “It feels good to be doing something for the community, it also gives you something to do. We thought we would get vandalism on the embankment, but we haven’t.”

A lot of research suggests that cleaning and turning vacant plots into vibrant green spaces, beyond the aesthetic benefits, creates a respected and therefore safer environment. It’s also not just people who benefit from green spaces, it can become home to all sorts of birds, insects and other creatures.

So what are the benefits of adopting a station? Well, it allows the volunteers to have better access to the station, whenever needed, which helps with regular maintenance.

A wonderful partnership has now formed between East Coseley Big Local, Bayer Street Allotments and West Midlands Railway. Last year a plaque was erected on the platform to recognise the allotment team’s work to maintain the flowerbed on the station.

Ron, Marie, Natalie, Dave, and others at Bayer Street Allotments also play a huge part in encouraging young people or people who may be a little isolated in the community to spend more time outside. The allotment is a perfect base to share gardening knowledge with people of all ages.

Maria said, “It’s a little community, you have always got someone to talk to, you go up there do an hours work and sometimes spend 3 hours talking! It gets you meeting other people, we have quite a few little community events, we have barbecues and bonfires, we try to do lots of things that include the community. We also bring children on to the allotments to teach them how they can grow their own food and to give them an idea of where food comes from. We have bought tools for the playgroup at Darkhouse Baptist Church, they come for two hours, have a walk around the allotments, and they learn that food doesn’t just come out of a plastic bag.”

So what have the team got planned for the future of Coseley Station? …a wildflower garden, artwork and mosaics, restoring heritage, lots of exciting ideas on the horizon!

Big Local is an exciting opportunity for residents to make a lasting positive difference in their community. Find out how you can get involved or start projects in Coseley www.eastcoseleybiglocal.net/community-support/

 

 

Music Moves, building positive futures for young people in Coseley

Paul and Joanne Westwood arrived in Coseley three years ago with a vision to improve the lives and welfare of people in the community. With a little support from East Coseley Big Local, they are now turning one of their ideas into a reality and building positive futures for young people in Coseley.

Paul and Joanne started working with groups of young people at a youth club back in 2008. They found that the young people came along to the club because they were a little at a loose end, or for social reasons, a couple were a little introverted, anxious, and found it difficult to mix and communicate.

They decided to start a music group when they arrived in Coseley about 3 years ago, to help young people socialise and play music together. It was at this point that they realised how much young people were communicating over music and the idea behind Music Moves started to grow.

They approached Big Local, Big Local Project Investment Team he primary reason for starting the Music Moves project was to support young people that are affected by bullying, it is a 12-week programme designed to introduce a new way for young people to cope with anxiety, and emotional and physical bullying. Using a referral method through schools, health professionals, police and other agencies, the programme will take them on a journey of positive personal growth and development through the medium of music..

Their base at New Hope Baptist church provides welcoming, vibrant and multi-use space located in the heart of Coseley, perfect location for young people to build their skills.

Music Moves (www.musicmoves.org)

Paul, Pastor at New Hope Baptist Church and musician said, “Hopefully it will be a preventative model for those who struggle with low self-esteem and other mental health issues, and it will give them something they can do away from their usual environment of school.

The Hope Project has successfully received £13,000 to finish equipping the recording studio at the church, and to pay professional musician to run the Music Moves programme.

“The structure of the programme is in three parts. The first 4 sessions we teach the young people to play something within their skill set, the second 4 week period is bringing them together collectively, in a band environment, and the final 4 weeks, we take them into the recording studio to produce a CD or a digital download. This means they will also be introduced to music production.”

Music Moves, is a music based course supporting the emotional well-being of 11-17 year olds.

When they came together in June 2016, members of the Big Local Project Investment Team could feel the energy and enthusiasm Amy and Asher had for their idea. They told Big Local that they were really excited about it, they had been waiting for an opportunity and the timing was perfect. They wanted to use the Coseley Community Centre (previously the Youth Centre) for dance classes as it is a great space.

Before approaching Big Local for some funding to start up. Through the Big Local Project Investment session Amy and Asher heard about the Darkhouse Summer Playscheme and offered to run a dance class with them which would help to promote the newly forming Aace Dance to more children and parents, and help volunteers from Darkhouse to offer a new activity.

The Hope Project has successfully received £13,000 to finish equipping the recording studio at the church, and to pay professional musician to run the Music Moves programme, supported us with an application for funding from East Coseley Big Local, she helped us to see our vision more clearly.”

Paul worked as a full time musician for a while, and started to work with young people at the youth club, “Music Moves really grew out of that idea, all the way back in 2008. I started working with groups of young people that primarily came through the church but other groups as well. These young people were a little at a loose end, others came for social reasons, a couple were a little introverted, anxious, and found it difficult to mix and communicate.”

The Hope Project has successfully received £13,000 to finish equipping the recording studio at the church, and to pay professional musician to run the Music Moves programme.

The Hope Project, presents three very distinct programmes, Music Moves, a music based course supporting the emotional well-being of 11-17 year olds, Living Life to the Full, designed to support people who struggle with anxiety, low mood and depression, and Beauty for Ashes, designed to support survivors of domestic abuse. Each project has been designed to positively impact the wellbeing of people in the Coseley community and surrounding areas.

Coseley Nights are back with an exciting 10-week programme of creative Friday night activities!

Coseley Nights are back with an exciting 10-week Spring/Summer programme of Friday night activities for people of all ages in Coseley.

East Coseley has been working in partnership with Beatfreeks, a youth organisation based in Birmingham, to engage communities of Coseley in creative activities on Friday evenings. For each seasonal programme, a suite of different creative activities are developed and thoughtfully put together as Friday night ‘drop-in’ sessions. Young people have been involved in the design process of each programme to ensure they are invested in its success. So far, the activities have been a great success and have been enjoyed by Coseley residents of all ages!

The last programme of events focused on unlocking the hidden talents and potential of young people in Coseley. Activities included poetry, crafting, filmmaking, circus skills, singing and comedy, and at the end of the programme, creative residents took part in ‘Coseley’s Got Talent’ and were also treated to a pizza oven in the car park!

What we found most important, is that these sessions were enjoyed not only by young people but their families too, ages ranged from 6 years old to grandparent age!

The new Spring/Summer programme will focus on storytelling and is aimed at all ages in the community.

Over 10 weeks the people of Coseley will create and design a magazine, gather stories from around Coseley via various different media, and at the end of the programme will host an exciting event to give out the magazine and show the rest of Coseley what they have been up to! These sessions will include, photography, illustration, collage, poetry and interviewing techniques.

There will be opportunities to join in every week and you don’t need to come to every single session to be able to join in.

The activities will take place every Friday night until the 27 July from 6:30pm – 8:30pm at Mary Dermott Hall. All ages welcome and the nights are free to attend!

Find out more and drop by! Coseley Nights Spring/Summer Programme

If you’ve missed the Coseley Nights experience so far, here is a little taster from one of the Friday night filmmaking activities. This film was produced with young people of Coseley and their families at one of the sessions themed on happiness, and named ‘The Secret of happiness’….

 

Big Local is getting creative!

Big Local is getting creative!

Are you passionate about creativity and Coseley? Get your creative juices flowing on the 21 May and explore how people of all ages can get involved in community activities and projects. Find out how East Coseley Big Local can help you start something in Coseley, and turn your creative ideas into action!

Say hello to some of Coseley’s amazing creatives who are making great things happen in your area, bringing the community together through creativity, unlocking the potential of young people, developing the skills, confidence and talent of local people, and making Coseley a more vibrant place to live.

We’ll be at Christchurch School, Bilston, from 7pm – 9pm for this special event, people of all ages are welcome, whether you are a budding creative genius, passionate about creativity and Coseley, or simply interested to find out more about exciting projects happening in your local area.

Just bring yourselves, friends, family, for a fun evening of creativity! We’ll bring the refreshments… and biscuits of course!

Interested to come along? Register on Eventbrite: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/big-local-gets-creative-tickets-45684912804 or contact Neil for more information neil@eastcoseleybiglocal.net

Meet the people behind some of the wonderful projects that are unlocking the potential and creativity of young people in Coseley…

Beatfreeks – East Coseley is working in partnership with Beatfreeks, a youth organisation based in Birmingham, to unlock the potential of young people in the area. It started with a skateboarding party in the park, followed by a 16 week programme of Friday night activities at Clayton Park Youth Centre, which kicked off with an open-air pop-up cinema last September. The weekly events were rapidly co-designed and hosted with young people, in response to their creative ideas and interests. Activities including poetry, crafting, filmmaking, circus skills, singing and comedy were all enjoyed by young people in the area.

Music Moves – East Coseley Big Local is supporting an exciting new programme called Music Moves and an associated recording studio in Coseley. Music moves is a programme designed to positively impact the emotional well-being of young people.

Maybe you have a passion for making, growing, designing projects or helping people in your community to feel less isolated? Perhaps you have an inventive idea to use one of Coseley’s indoor or outdoor green spaces? There are all sorts of ways you can bring your special sparkle to Coseley.

We’re also on the lookout for passionate people of all ages to join the East Coseley Big Local partnership, to oversee the shared vision and plan for East Coseley Big Local!

Hope to see you at the event!

We’re starting a dementia-friendly community cinema in Coseley!

We would like to warmly invite you to East Coseley Big Local’s first dementia-friendly cinema screening on the 17th April at Darkhouse Baptist Church, Coseley. Do you know, care for, or support someone living with dementia in the Coseley area? Would you like to book places at the cinema? Please contact Neil at neil@eastcoseleybiglocal.net
 or call 07472627497. 

Join us 2pm – 4pm on the 17th April for a screening, snacks and refreshments. The cinema is open to the community but the screenings will be enhanced to suit the needs of people living with dementia.

East Coseley Big Local is passionate to support people living with dementia, their families and carers, to continue to participate in entertainment. The dementia-friendly cinema will enable people who often feel a little isolated in the community to enjoy an everyday experience in an accessible, friendly, supportive and fun environment where participation is encouraged!

Please contact Neil at neil@eastcoseleybiglocal.net
 or call 07472627497 to book places by Friday 13th April. 

Our first film screening will be the classic 1948 film Easter Parade.

Broadway star Don Hewes’ (Fred Astaire) dancing partner (Ann Miller) goes solo, and Don declares that he can make a hit performer out of the next dancer he sees. This turns out to be the inexperienced Hannah (Judy Garland), who bristles as Don tries to make her into his old partner. But as he realizes that he is falling in love with Hannah, Don knows that he must let her grow into her own kind of dancer if he wants her to reach her full potential.

What is East Coseley Big Local?

East Coseley Big Local is an exciting opportunity for residents to make a massive and lasting positive difference to their community. It brings together all the local talent, ambitions, skills and energy from individuals, groups and organisations who want to make the area an even better place to live.

Big Local is funded by the Big Lottery Fund and managed by Local Trust. There are 150 Big Local areas in England which have been allocated £1million each. East Coseley was selected as a Big Local area by the Big Lottery Fund in 2011. Find out more at www.eastcoseleybiglocal.net.