Case studies

Summary Springfield Park is in an area of Cheltenham that ranks high in the tables of deprivation. Far from being the community asset it was designed to be, fears about personal safety and anti-social behaviour meant the park was shunned by local residents. Cheltenham Borough Council turned to the local community for a solution.

‘Together We Can' is a programme of community engagement work across Cumbria. One project in Harraby shows the positive impact the programme has had on the police, district and county council's work in communities. Its success prompted a visit by Prime Minister Gordon Brown in 2009.

London Borough of Lambeth has gone through a process of transformation to become a cooperative council, based on giving people more involvement in and control of the services they use and where they live.

Chorley Council has invested in a number of community action activities as part of the consideration of new service models, moving away from a traditional service delivery approach, to an integrated public services model.

Buckinghamshire County Council has engaged in a range of community action activities, at different scales of investment to enable local priorities to be determined and better met.

Cornwall Council Cornwall Council’s approach to community action has focused on its programme of devolution to parish and town councils, and using that learning now to foster partnerships with a wider range of community groups to improve health and wellbeing.

Leeds City Council recognised the need to offer more opportunities for people to take part in activities they enjoyed, and in particular, to make sport and leisure activities more accessible for people with a learning disability.

The living independently in later years (LILY) programme began in 2012 with the intention of helping older people access the right level of community-based support at the right times in their lives, to help them avoid triggering an event that will move them into high cost services.

Leeds City Council recognised the need to offer more opportunities for people to take part in activities they enjoyed, and in particular, to make access to sport and leisure activities more accessible for people with a learning disability. This in turn would help to improve health and well-being and quality of life for this population.

West Sussex County Council has invested in a ‘communities’ function that cuts across all service areas in order to engage more fully with its communities.