A Decade of Change: 3 Together Big Local Marks the End of a Community-Led Journey

National World - LocalTV

After a decade of quiet transformation, one Sunderland community is marking the end of a unique local journey. Backed by £1.2 million in lottery funding, residents in Easington Lane, Moorsley and Peat Carr have spent the last ten years shaping their neighbourhoods—improving spaces, supporting each other, and building something lasting

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00:00The whole community was out in full spirit today celebrating the end of an era

00:04with jungle play area buses for the local children, a choir, food and lots of fun.

00:09I caught up with Stephen Armstrong from Groundworks and Jackie Worthington to find out more.

00:14So Three Together was a national programme funded by the Lottery.

00:18They set up an organisation called Local Trust and that was to give 150 communities around the UK

00:25a million pounds each and those communities were then allowed to decide how that million pounds was spent

00:32because the people who live in those communities are the experts so they were asked to form a local partnership

00:38and they were given a million pounds and it was quite different from previous funding programmes

00:43because it was long term, it was deeply rooted in community democracy

00:47and it was also really heavily supported by organisations like Groundwork

00:51and our wonderful rep Simon Underwood who came from Local Trust

00:55so it was a new approach to getting money into communities

01:00so communities could decide on their priorities to improve.

01:03So our role from the start has been known as a local trusted organisation.

01:07So we are the organisation that looks after the money because that frees up the community

01:13just to do the community work.

01:15You don't have to have your own bank account.

01:18You don't have to have your own organisational status.

01:21We are a local trusted organisation and we can take that kind of complex business side away from it.

01:27But I think what we've also done over the years is we've supported the partnership, the growth of the partnership.

01:32We've been a critical friend if we think you're doing something that's really good or something that's not so good.

01:37So we're just there to support all the way through the process Jackie.

01:40Is that right? Is that what we've been? I hope so.

01:43Yes, yes, yes I think so.

01:45Yeah, that's the way to explain it I think.

01:48A new skate park, a solar powered community hut in Morsley and a transport scheme to help combat loneliness

01:54were amongst the successful projects delivered in Sunderland.

01:57Thanks to the three together big local.

01:59The programme comes to an end this month after a decade of investment in the region.

02:04Well, Morsley as an area specifically has been benefited because of the new community building that we've achieved,

02:14which I doubt that we would have achieved without the big local involvement.

02:20I think also, can I just add, there's been lots of other projects.

02:25Jackie's amazingly keen and proud of this building and so she should be.

02:28This is one of the major projects that we've done and I think this will be a real legacy.

02:33You know, this will still, this will outlast all of us, won't I take it?

02:36But, you know, over the time of big local as well, there's been community transport projects set up.

02:43We built a play area for the young people.

02:46We did a lot of work through COVID when there was COVID-19 lockdowns.

02:50I think everybody's forgotten COVID.

02:51Yeah, they have and maybe I shouldn't mention it again, but lots and lots of dedicated support through COVID.

02:57So there's been a whole, there's been 10 years of projects.

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