The Grange Breathing new life into community spaces - Going local with local social

Finding a centre point

The Grange is a large community space on a sheltered housing scheme in Ware, built in the 1990s with laundry and kitchen facilities and a TV lounge. Most people living in the area live on their own, with the majority of the 80-plus surrounding homes now owned by SNG. In the past, The Grange was a key centre point for the local community, hosting dances and social events — but for years, nothing had been done with the space.

Inspiring community building

Things began to change when Local Social — a community enterprise founded by Andy Cooke, a Shared Lives carer, and James, who has a learning disability — came looking for somewhere to host a regular coffee morning. Local Social's mission is to bring people together across Ware and the surrounding Hertfordshire neighbourhoods, working with community strengths and assets and treating relationships as the cornerstone of their work. They were set up with support from Community Catalysts, a social enterprise that creates opportunities for people to thrive in healthy, caring communities, through its project with Hertfordshire County Council.

Around two years ago, Local Social was pointed in the direction of The Grange. "It drove me crazy that this space wasn't being used!" says Andy Cooke, who made it his personal mission to see the hall restored as the heartbeat of the neighbourhood.

Local Social started a coffee morning at The Grange on Mondays. Gradually, local residents began attending, and over time they started organising their own events, such as fish and chip suppers.

Andy Cooke speaks highly of the support and encouragement Local Social has received from SNG, particularly from Andy Sheen, SNG's Community Investment and Partnership Lead. SNG funded shared lunches to engage local residents and hear what they wanted to do with the building.

In July this year, SNG set out an ambitious strategy to deliver 'the best customer experience of any social housing provider', with customer and neighbourhood engagement a core component of this goal through projects like their Customer Initiative Panel, and the co-created Homes and Place Standard framework. In this case, the partnership with Local Social has been a chance to see what's possible when a housing provider steps back and lets community energy lead.

Growing the network

Local Social went on to bring in another Community Catalysts-supported enterprise, Always Bee You, run by Jo Radcliffe, which supports adults with a learning disability or mental health issues to live fulfilled lives. Local Social and Always Bee You have been connecting with others through the SNG Community Foundation’s Local Community Partners Forum meetings, which now has around 15 members.

Always Bee You captured a vision for the space and, with Andy Sheen's support, put forward a project called 'Pleased to Meet You' to SNG. The project aligned with SNG’s Place Based Plan and funding was agreed, with Local Social supporting the project as catalysts.

The project has now been running for over 6 months and has seen over 40 local people benefit from a variety of fun and engaging activities including, art, craft and music sessions; friendships have been made and the activities have given many people a reason to leave their house. The project is also providing members from Always Bee You with real-life work experience opportunities, from planning the events, making the resources, to buying, making and serving the food.

Changing neighbourhoods together

There are community micro-enterprises just like Local Social and Always Bee You up and down the country, with the knowledge and passion to bring new ideas to life in ways that genuinely benefit local people and places. This example shows what can happen when connections form across sectors — and the role housing providers like SNG can play in backing small community organisations to lead local change.

The work is already beginning to transform this once-forgotten community space, and SNG is excited to see what further impact emerges from the connections and relationships taking root not only in this neighbourhood, but nationwide with the Public Living Rooms programme.

Earlier this year, SNG partnered with Clarion Housing Group, Peabody and grassroots movement Camerados to launch 100 new 'Public Living Rooms' across the country — informal, welcoming spaces where people can drop in, without referral or agenda, and simply be part of something. For SNG, helping to transform The Grange in Ware was a chance to see that same community spirit in action.

Looking ahead

The Grange reflects the direction set out in SNG's five-year plan, which puts thriving, connected communities at the heart of the customer experience they want to deliver. As SNG continues to strengthen how it listens to and works alongside residents, partnerships like this one with Local Social point to what's possible when communities are trusted to lead.

[This feature is adapted from a story originally written and published by Community Catalysts.]