How Big Local built a legacy of place-based pride

From annual community events, to murals honouring local heritage or young people taking a stand against knife crime, Big Local areas show what it truly takes to build place-based pride and connection. As the new Pride in Place programme gets underway, our senior policy and parliamentary manager, Tilly Steward, explores how Big Local communities have strengthened residents’ perceptions of their neighbourhoods.

For me and other colleagues at Local Trust, the past couple of weeks have felt a little different.

31 March marked the formal end of the Big Local programme: an incredible achievement by residents in 150 communities across the country, who over the past 15 years have volunteered their time, led decisions, and worked together to create the change they wanted to see in their neighbourhoods.

As we transition to speaking about aspects of Big Local in the past tense – how it worked, what it achieved – I’ve been reflecting on the different legacies the programme leaves behind. With the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government’s Pride in Place programme now rolling out across the country, one of these feels particularly relevant to dig into deeper. How did Big Local help develop place-based pride and connection?

Our Bigger Story researchers Mandy Wilson, Angus McCabe and Rob Macmillan describe increased community pride as a “cultural legacy” of the programme. Through Big Local, many residents developed a stronger affinity for their local area, feeling more positive about where they live.

Relatively small-scale activities have sat alongside more strategic and systemic work to improve perceptions and unpick negative images that are often imposed from outside the communities in question.

Most of all, Big Local has shown that long-term, community-led change works.”

Revitalising a Portsmouth high street through the arts

Big Local has showed us that community pride is often the byproduct of local people coming together and putting on fun, affirming activities that create shared memories and strengthen bonds between neighbours. Over time, these develop into networks and relationships that last.

In Portsmouth, the Fratton Big Local partnership were motivated by a clear vision to improve the image and reputation of the local area. Their annual programme of community events attracted thousands of participants, often taking place around the area’s previously overlooked high street, brought to life by performance stages, stalls, and a lantern parade led by local schools and community groups.

Fratton Family Festival held annually on Fratton Road. Photo: Fratton Big Local

As one resident reflected: “[Events] like this are so important because they provide people with an alternative picture and experience of what a high street can be.”

Creating murals to reveal hidden histories

Sometimes, painting an alternative picture for residents can happen quite literally. For Arches Local in Chatham, Kent, a major mural project has helped showcase the area’s heritage and uncover lesser-known local stories. One of the first in the series focused on the town’s agricultural past, employing artistic licence through its portrayal of a giant cabbage behind security tape to encourage residents to find out more.

The partnership describe the public art as both simple and transformative: celebrating the area’s past and present, sparking curiosity among residents, and fostering a renewed sense of connection. They feel the buzz generated by each new installation has cultivated a deeper sense of pride within the community.

A mural celebrating the Windrush Generation, featuring a local man who had been the first Black railway guard at Euston station. Photo: Local Trust

Engaging young people

Just down the road from me in North London, the aptly named Elthorne Pride Big Local illustrates this approach in practice. Local concerns about knife crime in the area led the partnership to provide funding for a short film that explored how young people can be drawn into trouble, as well as showcasing the alternatives.

The film was co-produced by a partnership member and fifteen young people from the area, who participated in workshops to shape the concept and script based on their real-life experiences. Grounding the project in people’s everyday reality helped the project to tackle negative preconceptions of the area head-on.

Examples like this chime with a recent report by Kinship Works on the evidence from Big Local, which described the programme as both positive and resourceful. Foregrounding the voice of residents has ensured activities tap into local pride without glossing over local challenges.

Looking to the future

Of course, the legacy of Big Local isn’t just limited to what the programme leaves behind – whether that be counted in the greater number of community spaces, improved local services and facilities, wider pool of active and engaged residents, or improved feelings of community pride. In many areas, this work is ongoing through successor organisations that have emerged out of the programme.

Most of all, Big Local has shown that long-term, community-led change works. But there’s so much more to learn from the programme.

If you’re interested in finding out more, please visit Learning from Big Local.