Wargrave Big Local (WBL) is a resident-led community partnership that works towards making Wargrave a better place to live. We are one of 150 partnerships across the country run by Local Trust with lottery funding. WBL was awarded one million pounds over ten years, and the Partnership is charged with spending the funding through an action plan.

The ethos of WBL is to try and work collectively and to build positive relationships with individuals, local groups, and partner agencies. It does not get involved in political or religious activity. WBL is not a typical community group; we don’t have a bank account. Big Local holds the money for us and we draw on the support and advice of our Local Trusted Organisation, Groundwork Cheshire, Lancashire, Merseyside who do our finances and provide support with our projects.

The hub – once an empty, disused building – was transformed into a community asset, providing a multitude of much-needed services for the people of Wargrave. We were delighted to be able to provide a wide range of services and information to local residents, all under one roof. This included hosting support groups and events, providing computer/printer access and training in our dedicated IT suite, and offering courses and activities relating to the environment, gardening, arts and crafts, and more.

Unfortunately our lease with Torus expired and the partnership took the tough decision to leave the hub for the last year of the programme and concentrate the funding on longer-term legacy projects such as Red Brow Wood and investing in Newton Community Centre.

Community hubs are all about support. We are encouraging various support services to come and work in Wargrave, rather than residents having to travel outside of the area to access these services. Local community members are empowered to work with these organisations, and WBL provided funding to help them establish a base right here in Wargrave with the goal of these services continuing to stay local after the funding has finished.

We’re pleased that we can help Newton Community Centre to become more resilient and provide this support for our local community in the future.

Even though we are in the last year of the project, Wargrave Big Local is still resident-led, we are always looking for people to join us.

Please fill out our Register of Interest form » to become involved in the decision-making process for YOUR community, or simply to find out more information.

We also have a number of volunteering options, such as support for the Red Brow Wood project.