‘I want something better for my kids’

With a population of around 2,500, Windmill Hill in Runcorn ranks among the smallest of the 150 Big Local areas in the programme. It is also one of the greenest, with the walk from Runcorn East Station taking in country lanes, cottages and the magnificent Grade II listed Norton Water Tower.

Windmill Hill is a social housing estate that welcomed its first residents in 1979, to accommodate the overspill from Liverpool. This became an exodus during the 1980s as the city was hollowed out by mass unemployment.

For all its surrounding beauty, over time this self-contained housing estate became sidelined and neglected, while also consistently ranking highest on every index of social deprivation in Halton Borough.

‘A village without a village hall’

Windmill Hill also lacked a focal point. On the edge of the estate, two small bungalows had been joined together to act as a community centre – but work was never completed, and the space lacked a hall for communal events. Similarly, St Bert’s Church, which opened in 1982, had limited facilities, while a local recreation centre closed down some 20 years ago.

‘A village without a village hall’ is how people would come to describe where they lived. And in 2005, one former resident sent a letter to the Warrington Guardian bemoaning Windmill Hill’s decline and appearance, including woodlands ‘full of rubbish and bits of discarded furniture’, and questioned who was taking responsibility.

In this context, it took time for Windmill Hill Big Local to make meaningful change, and for its partnership to function as a unit rather than a collection of individuals. Yet, since putting together the right formation, they haven’t looked back.

This is where I grew up and I want something better for my kids, a better future for Windmill Hill.”

Phil Saunders, Windmill Hill partnership member

Reasons to celebrate

Today, Windmill Hill Big Local has many reasons to celebrate.

In 2016, they joined forces with Halton Citizens’ Advice Bureau, to help residents find access to benefits, deal with debts or secure reimbursements on loans and services. They even broke through the £1million barrier – the total figure that 616 residents have either gained or retained financially through the programme.

After the recreation centre and swimming baths closed in 2002, a consistent concern was the lack of activities aimed at kids and teenagers, so often a contributory factor in anti-social behaviour. In 2019, the borough’s first pump track was opened in Phoenix Park, which backs onto the estate and was funded by Big Local.

More recently, the partnership has teamed up with Liverpool-based charity Vibe to run youth group sessions at the new community hub, which opened earlier this year inside the church. The sessions have almost been too successful, with up to 40 kids turning up each week.

That is a definite win given that historically, even if an activity was happening in the community, the default position of parents was to look elsewhere – making the area’s newsletters and Facebook updates particularly important for keeping the community informed.

“We always heard the same thing. There’s nothing to do around here. Well try opening your eyes and see what is happening in your community – there is lots happening on your doorstep,” says Nikki, chair of Windmill Hill Big Local.

Improving Windmill Hill’s woodlands

Another significant achievement has been improving the woodland that had become a dumping ground. The problem was so bad that, in 2017, ITV interviewed Windmill Hill Big Local and the Woodland Trust – the UK’s largest conservation charity – for a story about the rise of fly tipping nationwide.

For a number of years, the Woodland Trust had to spend nearly £6,000 annually removing litter and rubbish dumped in the woods at Windmill Hill, a third of the trust’s annual fly tipping and removal budget for the region.

It was at this time that Windmill Hill Big Local approached them, with an idea to give a small grant to a local organisation, who could spend time in the woods and get residents engaged in making their community a better place to live.

It took several years and a lot of hard work to find the right partner, but since Halton-based Litter Networks came on board in September 2021, the visual appearance of the woods has improved beyond recognition.

Whenever possible, rubbish, materials and household items are recycled by the dedicated team of local volunteers, who regularly post pictures and share updates online. Meanwhile, Litter Networks has become a community interest company (CIC) and through their contract with the Woodland Trust, will be able to keep the woods clear of litter and fly-tipping for years to come.

There is so much more potential now for the community themselves, who are not even connected with Big Local, to come to us with ideas.”

Carole Lewis, parishioner and community volunteer

A platform to change the community for the better

Perhaps the most important achievement for the partnership, though, has been bringing residents together and giving them a platform to change their community for the better.

As partnership member Phil Saunders explains: “When I first heard about Big Local I thought, ‘This is a great idea’. This is where I grew up and I want something better for my kids, a better future for Windmill Hill.”

And their work is far from done. A new group, Windmill Hill Events Network (WHEN), has been created, that will live on after this particular Big Local ends in September 2025.

As Carole Lewis, a parishioner and community volunteer, concludes, “There’s a huge variety of volunteers here working together, not just from the church. There is so much more potential now for the community themselves, who are not even connected with Big Local, to come to us with ideas.

“Everybody gets something back when they feel they’re making a difference.”

By Ryan Herman

Top photo: The Windmill Hill Big Local partnership in front of their new community hub. Photos within article: Celebrating the opening of the new community hub. Credit: Local Trust/Danyelle Rolla

Listen to more inspiring stories from the people delivering Big Local in series three of the community power podcast.