Community Builders

The conversations a Community Builder has are key to understanding what elements help a community thrive or identify what might be missing. These conversations can happen in many resident spaces, from standing outside a local shop to attending a meeting or an event.

Community Builders have become a well-known, trusted face within many boroughs of Southend, but they are now working their way through all Southend localities, identifying the spaces where people meet and conversations happen.

The Big Sparks Fund will provide grants to residents, businesses and community groups who want to make a positive change within their communities.

A total of £40,000 is available in each of the four neighbourhoods across the city. The fund will be designed and delivered by those who live, work and support residents across the city.

The four localities/Wards and their neighbourhoods are:

East – Shoeburyness, Southchurch, Thorpe and West Shoebury
East Central – Kursaal, St Lukes and Victoria
West – Belfairs, Eastwood Park, Leigh and West Leigh
West Central – Blenheim Park, Chalkwell, Milton, Prittlewell, St Laurence and Westborough

Residents, businesses and voluntary sector organisations are invited to submit ideas on how to make their neighbourhood safer, happier or healthier and support the city’s vision of ageing, caring and living well. These ideas will be reviewed by a neighbourhood panel before going to a ‘Big Vote’.

Find out what’s happening in your community with our Community Builder Newsletter. Each month will be packed full of all of the amazing things our Community Builders are supporting or helping to spread the word about. If you’d like to read more of our newsletters or hear about them as soon as they go live, why not subscribe to our Substack page by clicking here.

Southend 2050 is the borough’s ambition for the future. It was developed following extensive conversations with those that live, work, visit, do business and study in Southend-on-Sea. These conversations asked people what they thought Southend-on-Sea should be like in 2050 and what steps are needed now, and in the coming years, to help achieve this. The ambition is grounded in the values of Southenders. It is bold and challenging and will need all elements of our community to work together to make it a reality.

Someone who lives and/or works in their local community, who is interested in the people who live there and cares about what happens in that local area and is connected to its existing community resources. They are good communicators and knowledge sharers, and can bring people together; most will actively do the above work without considering themselves a connector. An organic element of a thieving community.

If you would like to know more about becoming a Community Builder Connector, please contact Chiquitta and Eda or complete the form via the button below.