Cornish empowerment project under threat

Effective community empowerment on the deprived Pengegon estate in West Cornwall has been featured in the Guardian because it is at risk of serious cuts next March. Clare Arymar, Pengegon's neighbouhood manager, is widely recognised on the estate as the 'glue' that has made the estate more secure and happy. She helped set up the residents' association, runs events to bring people together and create a sense of community, and has an open-door policy for residents to drop in for support or advice in her estate-based office. Her project costs just £38,000 a year but is under threat because like all local authorities, Cornwall Council is being asked to cut its budget by more than a quarter over four years.
Arymar fears her temporary contract which ends in March may not be continued. This fear is familiar to hundreds of other community empowerment workers across the South West, who quietly help isolated, deprived and disempowered communities to come together, tackle local problems and take control of the future of their area.

The residents of Pengegon estate have recently taken part in a 'co-design' process organised by Designs of the Time (Dott), to help shape their local area and identify what the community needs. This creative process involved children building a mock-up of their ideal community centre using cake, and one of the conclusions was that any new building would have to be run by the community in order to be effective.

Pengengon has great potential to be the Big Society that the coalition government has in mind, but not without support. Pengegon resident Karen Gaylord explains that meetings with 'suits and ties' can be intimidating but the creative approach Dott has used has meant the residents are really listened to. She stresses that while the residents know what they need, professional support is crucial to making it happen: 'They've got experience of what's worked elsewhere and what hasn't. We need support from outside people.'

Lets hope that the Pengegon residents will continue to get the community empowerment support they need to turn their estate around and build a stronger community with better prospects for the young people growing up the area.

Read more in the Guardian, 'Cuts could put paid to fledgling 'big society' schemes'.