Community Projects in Barrow

5ive and 5ive is a scheme aimed at promoting healthy eating (five-a-day) and physical activity (five-a-week). 1000 ten week diaries were produced to record participant’s progress and offered free of charge. Due to the success of this project a further 1000 diaries have been produced.

This scheme, includes a 17 hectare Business Park, accessed from a new boulevard, offering plots suitable for a range of commercial uses. Community Unit officers organised consultation and community engagement, with over 120 local residents attending or commenting on development plans.

A trampoline club designed around the needs of children with Autism is running in Barrow. Cumbria County Council's Sports Equity Officer and the Barrow branch of the Autistic Society are working together to develop the club. Every Saturday children with Autism enjoy an hour session of trampoline and soft play with the support of young volunteers. Families in Barrow who have children with Autism were becoming increasingly concerned with the lack of organised activities their children could attend. After consulting with parents, a series of activity taster sessions were organised. The feedback from the trampoline sessions was very encouraging and clearly provided the children with a range of benefits.  Parents were involved in drawing up a plan of how to run the sessions and a successful bid to the Cumbria Community Foundation to fund the first year’s activities and specialist training was submitted. The sessions are proving to be very successful, with the full support of parents the club is continuously improving. 

A scheme to allow local residents to ‘reclaim’ their back streets is underway in Barrow. Following evidence provided by the Police, Fire Service and Environmental Health, Alleygates are being installed for hundreds of households across Barrow with funding obtained through Government’s Cleaner, Safer, Greener initiative and the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund. The scheme has been divided into four manageable zones with the first two installed and already contributing to the fight against anti-social behaviour. A follow-up operation will be carried out in the near future to evaluate the effect the gates have had on communities. This will be conducted by collating statistical evidence but also qualitative information in the form of residents views and perceptions regarding the impact the gates have had on their lives. 

Residents of Askam & Ireleth raised concerns over their bus service at their Neighbourhood Forum. There was no direct route from their community to access services in Dalton. The Barrow Area Support team organised a meeting between Councillors, the local manager of Stagecoach bus company, local officers and the Transport team. A Neighbourhood Forum was arranged and together the partners discussed the issues of transport with the community. After listening to the concerns raised it was possible to reach a compromise and a new daily bus service has been agreed, traveling between Askam and Dalton and eventually reaching the hospital in Barrow.  A follow-up Forum meeting consulted local residents on the best routes around Askam and this information has been used as the basis for an additional improved route. No public funding has been used for these improved services, apart from officer time involved in arranging and facilitating meetings. The whole scheme owes its success to partnership, persuasion and open and effective dialogue with local communities.

Young people on a disadvantaged housing estate are now enjoying ‘state of the art’ skate boarding facilities. The new skate park at Ormsgill is just one of the new projects provided by Neighbourhood Renewal Funds (NRF). Furness Partnership allocated £550k to disadvantaged parts of the Borough for community projects. Staff in the Community Unit used their local knowledge and contacts to draw up priorities with local communities. Finding positive ways to address anti-social behaviour was the number one issue. The Community Unit worked closely with the Borough Council, Police and community groups to draw up plans to meet local needs. In addition to the skate park, NRF was used to upgrade several community facilities, including playgrounds and kick about areas. 

To promote greater collaboration between two adjacent parishes, Dalton and Askam & Ireleth, a new part-time post has been created. Using £8,000 from Barrow Local Committee, plus match-funding from the District Council and Parishes, the Rural Projects Officer will work with both communities to manage project identified in each of their development plans. A Rural Steering Group made up of members from Dalton Development Partnership, Askam & Ireleth Regeneration Partnership, Cumbria County Council and Barrow Borough Council has successfully been established and meets every six weeks to discuss progress and maintain momentum.

Following a grant provided by Barrow Local Committee, Barrow Group Libraries are able to host a series of ICT sessions for older people. These free-of-charge events are aimed at improving independence and well-being, building confidence and promoting library usage. It is the intention that these sessions will lead to further adult training through Community Development Centres, local colleges and other training providers.