Community Forum

East Coseley’s plan is endorsed!

Lorna Prescott Big Local, Big Local Plan, community activities, Community Forum, Community Profile, Core Group, Local Trust, Visioning August 24, 2023August 24, 2023 0 Comment

On Monday 24th February, members of the East Coseley Core Group and local residents and volunteers came together to start preparing for the next phase in their Big Local journey once their plan had been formally endorsed by Local Trust. In particular, participants thought about how new projects and activities could be stimulated and supported by Big Local.

At the start of the meeting, chairman of the Core Group, Brian Guest, was able to announce that after Irene Evison’s visit last month, East Coseley’s Big Local plan had been officially endorsed by Local Trust. Brian himself had received the wonderful news not 30 minutes before and he revealed that he’d contemplated what might happen if the plan had been rejected. And what Brian said was inspirational: he and everyone else would still be here engaging with the community without the money.

I’m certain Brian was right. Having been privileged to work with East Coseley people over the past few years, I’ve found everyone utterly committed to making East Coseley even more vibrant and they are worth so much more than any amount of money for the dedication and support they’ve shown and will continue to show.

Equally, everyone was ecstatic that the plan had finally been endorsed. People feel like their hard work is paying off and things are now coming to fruition. And the announcement was just the tonic for a great meeting that contained much chatter about growing projects, identifying and nurturing community leaders, involving schools and young people, making the natural and built environment more appealing, Big Lunches, Black Country festivities… I could go on!

So work continues with renewed energy. On Monday, there will be a Core Group meeting that will look at how the plan can be delivered in a way that involves and engages the whole community. Watch this space!

Big Local is getting creative!

Helena Norman Big Local, community activities, Community Forum, Ideas, local groups and clubs, Sharing our passions, skills and spaces, Supporting our local groups, young people May 2, 2018May 2, 2018Big Local forum, Community activities, community spaces, creativity, local groups and clubs, young people 0 Comment

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!

You’re invited to our Big Local Community Forum

Lorna Prescott community activities, Community Forum, older people, young people October 24, 2016Aace Dance Co, Beatfreeks, Castle & Crystal, Community Forum, Crafternoon, credit union, isolation, loneliness, older people, Phase Trust, Trade School, young people 0 Comment

Nothing beats getting together to share ideas, encourage each other and find out what’s going on. For the last four years we’ve been connecting people and great ideas in Coseley through Big Local Community Forum meetings.

Our next Community Forum will take place on Monday 14 November at Willowfields on Whitehouse Street. It is open to all – if you live, work or volunteer in Coseley, or would like to know more about Big Local please come along. There is no need to book, just turn up. It’s an informal gathering, with lots of time to chat to people. You can expect a warm, friendly welcome, a few short talks about projects and activities East Coseley Big Local is supporting and a chance to talk about what you’d like more of in Coseley.

At this Community Forum we will hear from Phase Trust, a local charity who have been running a Youth Club in Coseley. We’ll also hear feedback from conversations between young people in Coseley and creative youth engagement agency Beatfreeks, and ideas about how we might unlock the potential of young people in Coseley. You can find out about community activities and projects East Coseley Big Local has been supporting, from Crafternoon to Trade School Coseley, a new dance company to community growing. Castle & Crystal credit union will be with us all evening, you can have a chat to them about what they offer, and how they helped Coseley residents save £28,000 in loan interest in a year! We’re also starting to think about ways that Big Local could help to tackle isolation and loneliness in Coseley. We’d love to hear your ideas and experiences.

In December we’ll be updating our Big Local Plan and preparing our budget for Big Local activity for the next 3 years (we have £1 million Big Local funding over 10 years). What we hear and discuss at Big Local Community Forums play a significant part in shaping our Big Local Plan. Join us on 14 November to find out more and tell us what is important to you and the people you care about.