AGENDA ITEM 13

Area Committee Meeting - Central Community Development Service Report

As part of the Community Development Service’s commitment to improving communication, each area committee will now receive a report on the service as a whole, as well as specialised items of their particular area.

The Community Development Service (CDS) - Management /Staffing Information: Cllr. Ashraf is the port-folio holder for The CDS, which is part of the Housing and Community Living Department of the Council, managed by Penny Furness-Smith. The CDS comes under the direct line management of Mike McMahon(Head of Housing Strategy & Private Sector) whilst The CDS team is headed up by Sandra Hayes (Community Development Service Manager), supported by an Area Operations manager and 4 area managers (UDMs) and Centre staff; a Neighbourhood Governance Team (Manager and assistant - who are working exclusively in Luton West on the Neighbourhood Governance Project); 2 Project Managers (one specialising in group work and the other in communications) and a Service Support Team.

Community Development Service Partnership Day- This was held on 28th July at Chaul End. CDS invited partners both- internal and external – to an event to learn about current work in the section and discuss future plans. More than 30 partners participated and a Compact Disk Report of the presentations is now available.

Luton’s Community Centres: CDS manages and runs 11 community centres across Luton: 1 2 3 Chaul End 4 Farley 5 Hockwell Ring 6 Jubilee 7 8 9 Park Town 10 Raynham Way 11 Saints

We also support two independent Trusts to manage their own centres in and , as well as Sylam Hall in , which is a small community building, used mainly by the local school working with young people who have been excluded from school.

The local Community Centre plays an important part in supporting and building local communities as can be seen from attached programme as well as the major cross town initiatives i.e.:

Community Hubs- CDS is working with partners across town to explore options to improve and develop our existing model of community centre facilities and community development based upon a Community Hubs approach. No decisions have been taken on any revised approach; this is exploratory work at this stage. However the existing infrastructure of community centres and the improvement to school sites through the BSF programme presents a foundation

13/1 which has the potential to enable and support such a development proposal that a community hub programme would present. .

A Community Hub approach could provide the potential to create modern, accessible, flexible buildings that have the potential to be shared with partners and give communities access to a wider range of services than most of the existing premises currently can offer.

The approach to designing Community Hubs is to start with the needs of the community within which it is located,. However, they could have the potential to host a number of features and functions which could include:

• Delivery of agreed frontline services such as day activities , youth services , or community health services and support ; • Flexible community space that could be used for and by different activity groups . • Office accommodation which would support moving existing services and staff closer to the communities they support • If appropriate there could be the potential to provide customer Access points supporting access a range of services through a local one-stop shop approach or virtually.

Opportunities for social enterprise e.g. Cafes, training, support, advice/ advocacy, health related activities.

Community Cohesion

Community Centres across the town contribute to the cross Luton work with the communities to help reduce tension.

During activity around the town and in the Bury Park area, Community Centre staff made a significant contribution to maintain communities sense of pride and provided positive working solutions whilst working with groups like “Hear My Voice Project” (a national Charity) and “Developing Brighter Future” (a local community organisation) . All of which create opportunities for sharing information; networking and promoting the good work.

Emergency Evacuation Centres - Community Centres are called upon in times of emergencies as Evacuation Centres as in the case of a fire in the centre of Luton on a Sunday evening, which led to staff being called in to open up Bushmead Centre as part of the Town’s evacuation procedures

Playschemes Project- Summer Playschemes were delivered through all Community Centres this year. A programme booklet was produced which included involving children in design work from last year’s playschemes to help promote the activities and make it appealing to all communities. The booklet was widely available in local schools, libraries etc..

13/2 Play-work Training up to NVQ L3 was organised through CDS and provided via Train-2-Gain for CDS staff and volunteers. 15 applicants have been registered for the training.

Swine Flu- Jubilee Community Centre became Luton’s first and only anti-viral distribution centre during July 09. All the groups who operate out of Jubilee were satisfactorily re-located locally during the period.

CDS continued to manage the centre but the service was managed and supported by NHS staff distributing “TamiFlu”. The NHS were pleased with the organisation and running of the centre during the period.

CDS Projects Neighbourhood Governance Pilot Scheme: This project is now up and running in West Luton and has so far helped organise and run Community Festivals at the Chaul End Centre (for Residents) and Hockwell Ring Centre (for Residents) and The Lewsey Festival which attracted approx. 2000 people, 10% of whom agreed to take part in future Neighbourhood Governance activities.

The first Local SCS (Strategic Community Strategy) community planning morning was held in Hockwell Ring on 5th Sept with others being planned for Lewsey (26th Sept) ad Challney (3rd October).

Health Projects CDS is working with partners across town, in wards selected by the NHS, supporting Health Checks Steering group to raise awareness of the NHS LifeCheck, which is an online health service that will help citizens in Luton assess and manage their own health.

Luton Generations Together project CDS joined with partners in successfully securing funding for the Luton Generations Together project. This partnership involves: • Social Inclusion team • Community Development • Planning and Partnership team (Older People) • Integrated Youth Service • Police • Luton Cultural Services Trust

Luton Generations Together project will work with all 11 LBC community centres in Luton where there is potential to create and develop intergenerational work of linking all age groups to work together. This will mobilise the statutory and voluntary sectors to work in partnership to celebrate community cohesion and promote diversity of Luton communities by organising community festivals in , Bushmead, Farley, Hockwell, Marsh Farm, , Limbury, Parktown, Rynhamway, Saints, Sundon Park neighbourhoods in 2010 – 11.

Luton Migrant Project

CDS was also part of the successful application led by Bren McGowan (Local Strategic Partnership Manager) which hopes to help newly arrived and arriving migrants settle into Luton.

13/3 Bushmead Area – Responsible Unit Development Managers(North) Heather James and Sultan Khan – Community Development Service

• The creation of a play steering group recently named ‘Bushmead Play Project’, has led to significant progress being made on the development of a report aimed at identifying local play needs. The report should be complete by the end of the year and will be the result of three months of community consultation. Comprising mainly local residents, along with representatives from the Christchurch, local childminders network, Integrated Youth Service, Bushmead Pre-school, Cultural Services, ‘Groundwork’, and the Community Development Service, the group has met twice and now has a constitution and Child Protection policy, agreed aims and objectives, and an action plan. The consultation period will be from 5th October, during which views will be gathered in conjunction with ‘Groundwork’, which will then inform the group of the priorities for the area. These will then be translated into various phases of play development, each of which will be addressed and funding applied for. • Bushmead Play Project is to receive a substantial donation of £4200 from Pioneers Club as the concept of improving play/sport for local youngsters was very close to the heart of one of their members who recently passed away. • Plans to extend Room 3 at Bushmead Community Centre have been drawn up and will enable 15 more children to attend the Pre-school per session, improving access to sessions for up to 150 new children. This would also enable more flexible use by the community and increase access to large hireable space. Funds for approximately a third of the estimated costs have been found but staff are looking for more money to meet the full costs. In addition to the extra space, an outdoor shelter in the play area, attached to the building would improve the environment for the free-flow of play for children in all weathers. • Bushmead Users Association was formed in July and met again in September. It’s aim is to encourage user groups and individuals to have a greater say in what happens at their community centre and in their local neighbourhood, and to work together with staff and other volunteers/agencies to make improvements to the building itself and the programme of activities available. The Association, in conjunction with Christchurch and Luton Cultural Services Trust, is currently organising a Christmas Festival and Cattern Day which will take place on Saturday 28th November. It will include Christmas Carols, various stalls, local food such as the Clanger, a whole programme of 20 minute performances by local youngsters who will also perform their own songs/verses – co-ordinated by ‘Love Music, Hate Racism’, Ladies Morris Dancing, Father Christmas in his grotto and lots more. Everyone is welcome to come along. • The first meeting of the Bushmead Residents Association was held at the Community Centre on Tuesday 22nd September. This new group gives people opportunities to improve their own lives and those of the people around them. Co-ordinated by Peter Wakeham, it also provides a means by which local service providers can work together with members of the community to make sure that their needs are being met and their concerns addressed. There is a suggestion box at the Community Centre in which people can place comments and there is a website giving lots of useful information at ‘[email protected]. Alternatively, people can

13/4 visit the blogsite: http://bushmeadresidents.wordpress.com and leave a comment. • New sessions at the Community Centre include 50+ Keep Fit and Pilates. Future plans include trips to the recording of TV shows, a Children’s Christmas Party, the development of a 50+ Club and various fund raising events.

Saints Area Responsible Area Development Manager: Cathy Hackett

Children Saints Community Centre has worked with “Bright Eyes” to facilitate a disability playschemes during the summer. This was an all day provision offering respite for families of children with severe disabilities..

CYCD also ran a summer provision at the Saints Centre and this had well over 30 young people attending. This organisation is a well-established provider for activities for all ethnic backgrounds with well-funded activities i.e. trips, sports events etc for young people from the age of 12yrs+.

Saints also accommodated children from the age of 5yrs to 12yrs in providing a summer playschemes programme, which ran for 2 weeks. Staff members and volunteers once again ran this year’s programme. The centre engaged with the PCT, PCSO’S and local artists to provide an educational, informative and fun packed programme.

Young People The princes trust/YMCA organisation worked with young people in Luton age 16-30 yrs and have worked with Saints staff on the garden project, they worked in the garden for 6 weeks starting the 29th June 2009. The young people gained new skills, which has given them the opportunity to gain confidence, to focus on a positive future and face challenges ahead of them. They were involved with a number of projects during their 12-week programme and were supported with training, getting back to work, gaining new skills etc. The Trust had a very positive outcome out of the initial 12 young people at the start of the programme, 10 completed the project with really positive reviews, and to acknowledge their achievements they held a presentation and awards ceremony at Saints Community Centre. Luton and Beds Fire Service, The Princes Trust Manager and the Regional Director, Luton Youth Service, Local employers, Saints staff and parents attended this ceremony.

Women’s Groups Roshni group continue to work alongside the centre staff to support and facilitate various activities for Asian women with mental health issues. Activities vary from healthy cooking, healthy living classes and pre-arranged consultations from health practitioners.

Older People As a result of the area surveys that were done last year, it was highlighted that Saints area lacked activities for older people. In order to address this concern, staff worked very hard to publish and hand deliver leaflets to local residents within the area advertising a free coffee morning whereby local residents could come along and express their views and develop a link between local older people needs and LBC in providing a venue and meeting place with organised activities for the 50+. The centre

13/5 staff are now looking to review the outcome, which was unfortunately poor in attendance, in liaising with Local PCSO’s and revisiting local residents with a possible future date and time.

Bury Park Area Responsible Area Development Manager: Rizvan Bashir

Bury Park Community Centre Activities

Chaand Raat During the month of Ramadan, the centre played host to over 400 women and children in an event that catered for diverse activities including, food & clothes stalls, Henna Hand Painting, Health & Beauty sessions, NHS-PCT Area Hub Trainers, Changing Lives (Domestic Abuse) and much more.

Arab Friendship Organisation This is an organisation that is made up of the local Arab community who seek to build bridges with other communities in the local area to promote community cohesion. They meet in the centre the first Friday of every month from 7.00pm until 9.00 pm. They also run Arabic classes in the centre every Sunday from 10.00am until 12.30pm to promote the Arabic language amongst young people in the local area.

Jigsaw Pre- School This is a well-established organisation that has been using the Bury Park Community Resource Centre for some years now. They are an organisation that provides a pre- school for children that are aged between 3 and 5 and concentrates on Early Years Foundation Learning through child initiated play.

Discussions are continuing between staff at Bury Park Community Resource Centre, Luton Borough Council and Jigsaw Pre School to extending the existing pre school to accommodate more children and upgrade its facilities.

Due to pre school closing whilst the project is carried out, it was suggested that the work should start during the summer break of 2010. This should cause minimal inconvenience to the centre’s staff, activities and users as well as minimising the time taken off by the young children. The work should be completed in 6-8 weeks.

Playschemes The centre successfully ran summer play-schemes during July and August for children aged 5-12. Several individuals from the area expressed an interest in volunteering for the play-schemes.

Youth Inclusion Programme This is a youth organisation that uses the centre on a Monday evening and works in conjunction with the local schools to identify problem youth and develop strategies and practical measures to address their issues. Catch 22 (Safer Luton Partnership) are to commence fresh sessions with problem and vulnerable young people.

Bury Park Youth Organisation This is a voluntary youth organisation that is registered with the Youth Service, run by volunteers from the community and is a project that was initiated by centre staff because of the lack of provision for youth in the area. They target youths from age 10 to 25. The sessions are run on a Thursday between 6.30 and 9.00.

13/6 Sendo Ryu A martial arts organisation that targets both young people and adults in mixed sessions run on a Thursday evening and a Saturday morning. We are presently working with the Sendo Ryu organisers to start delivering classes for children and women at the centre.

Bengali Youth League A well established local organisation which will start delivering youth sessions in the centre on Wednesday evenings from 6.00pm until 8.00pm. They will be delivering the sessions with volunteers and LBC staff from the youth services.

Brazilian Ju Jitsu Martal arts organisation run by Carlson Gracaie Mataleao, a well established BJJ organisation around London. The adult classes are taken by Kader Tadjouri and the kid’s classes are taken by Syed Fazle Hussain. They run their session Every Tuesday 6.15pm – 7.15pm (kids classes) 7.30pm –9.00pm adult classes. They also run adult classes on a Sunday from 1.30pm until 3.00pm. There has been a good response from the community with regard to their sessions.

Adult & Community Learning (Adult Education) ACL run a variety of courses including English classes and computing courses at different levels depending on the ability of the students. They host sessions every day of the week Monday to Friday at varying times. They also provide male and female only classes in response to community requests. They additionally provide crèches for mothers with young children.

The community centre has developed a closer working partnership with the Adult Education team, thus enabling the delivery of core training for the local community including courses such as basic I T, English as a Second Language, and Basic Maths. Staff are still working with adult education to develop further learning opportunities in the evening for people who are unable to attend during the day. We are currently working to plan next term’s programme.

Luton All Women’s Centre This is an organisation that provides a unique service for women by women, offering each other mutual help and support. They have advisors who use the centre on a Tuesday and Thursday from 1.00pm –5.00pm to improve morale and legal advice to women in the local community. Both of these sessions are well attended by women who require support.

Library The Bury Park Resource Centre has enjoyed a positive relationship with the Library Service for many years. As well as providing books for their members to hire they also provide Internet facilities and daily newspapers. The facilities are well used and they have a range of people from young children to 50+ in attendance. The library is currently open from 3.30 –6.00 Monday – Friday and 9.30am –1.00pm on a Saturday. We continue to work with the Cultural Trust to extend the hours at this busy library, due to demand

Church Groups

Day Of Pentecost This is church group that uses our premises on a Sunday from 11.00am – 1.00pm to conduct church services.

13/7 St Peter’s Church This group uses our premises to conduct Sunday services between 2.00 – 5.00.

Ministry of Fire This group meets on Sundays from 10.00am until 3.00pm and every Thursday from 7.00 –9.00pm.

Community Development Trust The development trust uses the Ivy room on a permanent basis from Monday to Friday at varying times of the day. This is a trust that has been set up for the long- term development of the local community and the centre.

Help the Aged A well known charity that has started delivering advice drop in sessions on Monday from 10.00am until 1.00pm for older people.

Work Experience The centre continues to work with local educational institutes to provide work placement for students. Through this the centre can recruit possible future volunteers and promote our centre amongst the younger generation.

Unpaid Work Unit The centre also continues to work with the unpaid unit to provide work placement for offenders.

High Town – Report from Shohir Uddin (Project Manager)

High Town Interagency Network Forum

The High Town Partnership is a networking forum and aims to increase networking opportunities, raise awareness, and promote social inclusion through activities and events that benefit the Hightown community.

Currently the group meets every six to eight weeks and is attended by representatives from Addiction, Active Luton, Diverse FM, High Town Methodist Church, Adult Community Learning, Residents of High Town, Luton All Women Centre, Dignity Project, Integrated Youth Support Service and is supported by the LBC Community Development Service.

Funding from Area Committee and Community Development Service supported the group to organise a community event in February 2009 at Active Luton High Town Community Sports & Arts Centre. This provided an opportunity for voluntary organisations and agencies to participate in sports, media, educational tasters, and other diversionary activities. From this event the Group identified gaps in service delivery and decided to produce a directory of agencies active in the neighbourhood, giving residents accessibility and knowledge to all the key organisations delivering services in High Town and other parts of the town.

The “Directory of Organisations & Agencies in High Town” was designed by young people who dedicated their voluntary time and helped developed it as part of their coursework on an Entry to Employment (e2e) programme at Diverse FM -Community Radio project.

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