Together with Local Wild Spaces, a collaboration of local outdoor community groups, we are asking residents about their favourite open and green spaces, how they access them and what needs improving. If you live in the Moulsecoomb & Bevendean area, please let us know what you think about your local spaces by completing the survey online here: https://s.surveyplanet.com/uLqP7Ecqy
You can also get a hard copy from your local Community Development Worker, Anke Thurm by ringing 07449 464695.
The survey responses will help us identify projects around our local green spaces to bring people together, and improve living in and enjoying the neighbourhood, and with outdoor activities and a variety of sports and healthy activities.
There was a great turn out for the launch of the Hollingdean Pop-up library on 1st August. The free, drop-in, family event at Hollingdean Community Centre was attended by over 60 local residents of all ages with the Real Junk Food Project providing a pay-as-you-feel lunch.
A collaboration between Brighton & Hove City Libraries & Hollingdean Community Centre (Hollingdean Development Trust) and supported by TDC, the pop-up library will be available from now on for the community to use on Thursdays from 10am. It includes books for both adults and children to borrow, free Internet and wifi.
Youngsters at the launch aged 5-11 years were able to sign up for #SpaceChase, the 2019 Summer Reading Challenge inspired by the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing. The challenge is to read at least six library books over the holidays and collect prizes from Brighton & Hove City Libraries. There’s even a mini challenge for Under 5s to get involved in.
Community Development Worker Ceza helped arrange for up the pop-up to come to Hollingdean and was thrilled to see so many people at the launch. He says “The library is meeting a real need in Hollingdean and it is an encouragement to join and visit main libraries in the city centre. As a TDC worker, it’s been great to support this partnership between HDT and Library Services, for the benefit of the local community.”
By Anke Thurm, Community Development Worker for Moulsecoomb, Bevendean and Bates Estate.
This year the community of Lower Bevendean celebrated their neighbourhood by putting on a traditional summer fair, which was organised by Friends of Farm Green, Friends of BevFest and Action in Bevendean Community. Held on a nice summer’s day on 13th July, it brought out a variety of community groups providing activities in the Lower Bevendean area to promote their services, but also local residents selling their handcrafted goods. Whilst listening to the summer-feeling inducing steel band, the tea tent provided sweet and fruity refreshments and you could get a yummy and low-cost vegan burger. Children could enjoy face painting, raffles, bouncy castle and enjoying the green space with its new playground. You can view a video of the fair on facebook. If you want to know more about future events and community activities, follow: Friends of Farm Green, Friends of BevFest and Bevendean Community.
We’re thrilled to have been a part of a recent report on the impact of the charity sector in Brighton & Hove.
Taking Account is an audit of third sector organisations in Brighton and Hove, which evidences the scale, scope and impact the sector makes, and evaluates its social and economic contribution to the city. It takes place every five years and the 4th Taking Account report has just been published. It includes case studies, background reports and the Brighton and Hove Money Trail Project in which nine local third sector organisations, including TDC, tracked their income and expenditure to see how much of it they spent on local services and suppliers. We’re proud that the report has revealed that for every £1 invested in TDC, a further £1.51 of value is generated through reinvestment in our city.
Read the full Taking Account 4 Report on the Community Works website and view a summary of findings below.
As part of the Stanmer Park Restoration Project a number of Oral History Memory days are taking place this October providing a chance for people to come along to share past and present memories of Stanmer Park. People are being asked to bring along treasured photos and other memorabilia to share and TDC are pleased to be playing a part in this project, helping create a unique record of the park’s fascinating past.
All are welcome, no need to book and the events are being held at:
St Georges Hall, Newick Road, Moulsecoomb 8 October, 2 – 5pm
New Larchwood Waldron Avenue, Coldean 8 October, 9.30am – 12.30pm
Plumpton College at Stanmer Park 12 October, 10am – 2pm
Brighton Museum, Royal Pavilion Gardens 26 October, 11am – 4pm
The 2019 Tarner festival took place on Saturday - the hottest day of the year, giving local residents the chance to come together and celebrate in the beautiful setting of Tarner Park.
With the usual excellent line up by AudioActive, the acts taking part showcased a superb variety of music and spoken word artists. South East Dance curated the dance performances which included a fantastic selection of dance styles from all over the world.
There were crafts to try, unusual animals for younger residents to meet, the skate park was open and there was plenty of delicious food and drink including a special mocktail bar. Team TDC was there telling people about the Healthy Neighbourhood Fund, sharing the Summer edition of the Tarner newsletter and talking about local initiatives in the Tarner area.
The annual Lucky Dip fair took place in Hollingdean on Sunday 30th June, with local residents coming together to celebrate their neighbourhood and enjoy a day out together in the sun.
Organisers cleverly repurposed The Dip bus stop as a stage, with local musicians, storytellers and a dancing seagull providing the entertainment. The huge kids' section in the middle of the festival ensured that the younger residents of Hollingdean had a great time – with art and crafts to get involved with plus a Lego challenge with prizes for the best creations. RepTylers brought along a number of reptiles and spiders for residents to meet.
There was an interesting mixture of stalls including bric-a-brac and plants, a fine selection of handmade crafts and plenty of homemade cake, many fundraising for local community initiatives such as the WI or Hollingdean Development Trust.
TDC’s local community development worker Ceza was there talking to people about the Healthy Neighbourhood Fund and the many initiatives he is supporting in the area – these include Cooking on a Budget, Craftea Wednesdays, Hollingdean Women’s ESOL Group, Friday Fitness, Hollingdean Knitting Group, Hollingdeaners, Tavistock Down Community Gardens and The Biscuit Club.
Residents of Moulsecoomb and Bevendean have launched a new project to establish a nature trail which links the accessible green spaces in Bevendean and Moulsecoomb, such as woodlands, meadows, parks and orchards. This project is a collaboration between Fernee Forest Club, Friends of Moulsecoomb Woods and Friends of Farm Green. The aim is to encourage the enjoyment and conservation of these local green spaces; to share their value and to bring people together.
The group successfully crowdfunded to start the project off. The funding will go towards creating an illustrated map which highlights the features of each of the green spaces and shows a variety of walking routes that link them, establishing some signage to create a physical trail, and hosting 4 seasonal Healthwalks using the trail, starting with the Summer Walk on 6th July from 11am with Farm Green in Lower Bevendean as meeting point.
There is also an online survey out now asking ward residents about their ideas and opinions on local green and open spaces and their facilities, inspired by the group and supported by TDC : https://s.surveyplanet.com/uLqP7Ecqy
During Refugee Week 2019 (17–23 June) people across the city celebrated the contribution that refugees & migrants have made and continue to make to Brighton & Hove. This year’s theme was ‘You, Me and Those Who Came Before’.
On Sunday 23rd, members of TDC’s Equalities and Inclusion team attended Sanctuary on Sea’s flagship Refugee Week event, Together. Largely organised by refugees and groups working with migrants the day included stalls, drumming workshops, poetry and book readings, film screenings, art installations, doll and puppet making, henna hand painting and games. There was delicious food from around the world, plus many more activities bringing people together.
TDC’s MESH case worker Cicely, tells us more:
“TDC partnered with Voices in Exile (ViE) this year to promote both our services, and particularly the shared MESH (Migrant ESOL Support Hub) project. We delivered a Clay Therapy Workshop (thank you, Penny, ViE volunteer) and an Interactive Mapping Task (thank you, Brighton Peace & Environment Centre for the loan of the lovely big cloth world map – pictured below). People were invited to write about their countries of origin, places, food, sounds and memories held dear, and attach them onto the map. The event was well attended by people from our refugee community and other local residents. The atmosphere was really warm and the activities were enjoyed by many, with opportunities to meet and chat, whilst being creative and sharing experiences. There were talks, music, lots of inspiring art activities, delicious food, and strong evidence of the growing connections between locals and refugees and migrants. The event reflected how Brighton really is a Sanctuary by the Sea, with lots of great organisations and individuals (including the Network of International Women, Hummingbird, Brighton Table Tennis Club) contributing to make refugees welcome here.”
Brighton and Hove like many cities and towns across the UK – is impacted by violence, vulnerability and exploitation related to drug dealing, serious & violent crime and the criminal & sexual exploitation of children, young people and vulnerable adults.
This is often referred to as ‘County Lines’ which refers to the transportation of drugs across the country by children and vulnerable adults who have been exploited by organised criminal gangs or groups. A wide range of statutory, community and voluntary sector organisations have come together to raise awareness of these issues throughout the second half of June 2019.
These agencies include Brighton & Hove City Council (BHCC), Sussex Police, Office of Sussex Police & Crime Commissioner, Brighton & Hove Clinical Commissioning Group, East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service, The Trust for Developing Communities, YMCA Downslink Group, AudioActive, Tarner Community Project, Hangleton & Knoll Project and Albion in the Community.
The events that have been organised will be supported by a social media awareness campaign called #spotthesigns which seeks to help us all understand what exploitation looks like, the impact it has on people and communities in Brighton & Hove, and how to access support if you or someone you know is being exploited.
Further information will be shared online by BHCC, Sussex Police and the local adults and children safeguarding boards and their respective social media accounts.
For more info contact The Community Safety Team on 01273 292735 or Sussex Police on [email protected] or call 101 and quote Op Cuckoo. In an emergency contact 999. If you would like more information at Neighbourhood Level you can also contact Claire Burchell, The Trust for Developing Communities Citywide Manager on 07450 281331 [email protected]
We had a wonderful time on Saturday 15th June at the very first 'Blossom Day' at Craven Vale.
Visitors came along to The Vale Community Centre to find out what is being done by local people to improve biodiversity in the area. Nature walks gave people the chance to learn about the community orchard, the wildlife garden, the rare Elm trees in Craven Wood and the butterfly-friendly wildflower banks around the estate. And everyone got involved in crafts such as making solitary bee homes and hoverfly lagoons.
Bee-themed activities took place all day – there was face painting, and minibeasts to colour in. There were bee cakes to eat (think butterfly cakes disguised as well… bees) and no detail was missed - even the napkins had bees on them! Everybody got into the fun spirit of the day - in the photos you’ll spot TDC Community Development Worker Amy Allison and volunteer Nick – they’re the ones dressed as caterpillars all in green.
The event was a huge success. Despite the drizzly weather the community centre was packed, with lots of local people coming along as well as others who had come from further afield to learn about bees, biodiversity and more. We counted 25 people on our nature walk through Craven Woods! A big thank you to everyone who came along and made the day so special.
On 12th May, a group of young people from Brighton & Hove headed to Goodwood Motor Circuit to race an F24 kit car they had built from scratch. This was a great collaboration between TDC, Sussex Police and St Giles Trust and the group achieved fantastic results on the day. TDC’s Claire Burchell co-ordinated the project, working with David Garrett who managed the project on the ground. David tells us more…
“Started in 2011, the Greenpower Education Trust Formula-24 races are won by the car completing the most distance in 90mins. The car’s young drivers built the kit car in an 8 week rush for the May 12th season opener. Quickly recovering from a difficult practice, the team finished their first race in 9th position in their class (out of 56 cars). They weren’t helped by a 30min red flag delay for a multiple car collision which saw some drivers leaving the track with the medical crew. A swift driver change after the restart saw the Kit car rapidly rise up the field as the sides of the sun-baked 3.8km Goodwood Motor Circuit were littered with retired cars.
A slower start to the second of the endurance races led to hopes the batteries of the electric single-seater would give the team a boost in the latter stages. With the car climbing from a frustrating 47th place to 13th in class, time ran out as the car was once again reeling in experienced rivals. With the 6 cars above all finishing within 0.01km race distance of our Kit Car, a 7th place finish was just out of reach.
Most of the competitors are from secondary schools who have been entering one or more cars for several years. That didn’t deter the team, who turned up with a carrier bag of tools and a no-fear given attitude. Part steel chassis, part reclaimed bath panel; the 80kg four-wheeler recorded an average speed of 20mph. Informed by ‘competitive research’ in the paddock, new gearing should see average speeds of 25mph+ at the next race on June 30th with the team targeting a top 3 finish.”
