COMMUNITY RESEARCHER REPORT FOR ELLACOMBE

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1 COMMUNITY RESEARCHER REPORT FOR ELLACOMBE 1 P a g e

2 Background to Creating Changes and Community/Action Research Creating Changes is a new opportunity for people in certain parts of Torquay to pick up the skills to become more active in their communities and to bring about change in those communities. As part of this program the South West Foundation is running a series of activities funded mainly by the Health Lottery and aimed at working with people who live, work and are active in certain communities in Torquay. Some of the work in Ellacombe has been funded via a grant of 2,500 from Community First via the local partnership. The Community Researcher Programme used in Creating Changes has been designed and delivered by South West Foundation for the last 4 years and is part of our successful programme of investing in communities throughout the South West. Community Researchers create changes using information gathered from their communities. They work from the standpoint that community members themselves have the skills, knowledge, passion and ability to help to bring about positive change in communities. It works from the premise that all community development is asset based, you just need to find ways of releasing those assets whether they are people s skills, passions, knowledge or existing community resources that can all help to improve activities, services and the environment for the local community. The Creating Changes Programme continues. Please contact South West Foundation for more information. South West Foundation Tel: Or Info@southwestfoundation.org.uk 2 P a g e

3 Research into Ellacombe Park Introduction The research was undertaken by Carol Bishop a local resident in Ellacombe with support from Sarah Warren who also lives and works in Ellacombe. Carol was also assisted by one of her friends to undertake some of the interviews. This research forms part of Carol s training as a Community Researcher through South West Foundation Background to Ellacombe Set behind the seafront in Torquay initially Ellacombe was an area of grand villas and terraced houses for the tradesmen and this mix of housing is still present today. However, Ellacombe does have challenges: 32.4% of residents in Ellacombe are dissatisfied with the area in which they live compared to the much lower 14.5% for the Torbay average Ellacombe ranks within the top 10% of the most deprived areas in the country Ellacombe is listed within the top five crime hotspots in Torbay Ellacombe is also listed within the top five Anti-Social Behaviour hotspots in Torbay Almost 40% of children in Ellacombe live in poverty The population of Ellacombe has a clear younger person bias when compared to the Torbay wide profile Almost a third of Ellacombe residents age 50 or over live alone Methodology for this Research Training was provided by South West Foundation s Creating Changes course and took place in November We decided to find out about people s feelings around Ellacombe Park because we are local residents. The main method of research was through semi-structured interviews through a questionnaire that we designed. There were 8 questions on the questionnaire plus age and gender questions. People were also asked specifically about the closed off Pavilion area in Ellacombe Park and on their views of a specific eco building called an earthship as this idea has been put forward previously by a former member of the Neighbourhood Partnership. 3 P a g e

4 Numbers of people Interviewed We spoke to 46 people from Ellacombe Female 31 Males 15 Age of people taking part in the individual research 10 and under yr olds Because of time restraints we were not able to interview people over 75 although we did identify this as a gap. From this small scale research we had hoped to gain the views of a small cross section of local residents, parents of pupils at Ellacombe School. The research was limited due to time and family responsibilities, and weather as there were less visitors to the park to interview than we would have liked. Do people use Ellacombe Park? 30 people said yes they do use the park 16 said no they do not use the park Why do People use the Park? People used the park mainly because it was near to the school and they could take the children in on the way back from school. Many people identified that there was nothing in the park for the parents and they really just used the park for their children. 26 people identified that they used the playground and swing area 18 people, identified that they used the MUGA/football area 23 said they used the pathways 8 people did not respond to this question Of the people who did use the park most identified that they used it as a shortcut, a place to play football or because it was fun Would people use the pavilion area if it was improved? 44 people including those who do not currently use the park said they would use it if the fenced off pavilion area was improved Only 2 people said even if it was improved they would not use it 4 P a g e

5 The quote below reflects some of the overall feelings that were expressed about the park I don t find it (the park) a friendly or clean place. Most of my friends don t like it either. The role of an Eco Building People had the concept of an eco-building explained to them and were asked if there was an eco-friendly building would they prefer this to regular building. 33 people were in favour of an eco-building 8 wanted a regular building 8 did not have a preference but mainly said that if there was anything at all there they would use it as it was better than it is at the moment People were shown a picture of the proposed Earthship Model and were asked what they thought of this 35 people identified that if there was an eco-building they liked the idea of the Earthship model 5 said they did not want an Earthship style building and 6 did not show a preference Which facilities would people use if there was a community building in the park 44 people said that they would use the toilets 43 said they would use a café 25 said they would use a youth club 23 would use an afterschool club 23 would like to be able to use lockers for bikes or buggies 20 would be likely to use arts and crafts activities 18 would use a toddler club 17 would use a music workshop 16 a gardening club 15 a dad and kids club 13 an over 50s group 9 quiz events 8 changing rooms 6 CV workshops 5 P a g e

6 Overview From the people interviewed and their overwhelming support for activities to take place in the park, the issue around the lack of toilets was identified as a problem, in that children could not stay and play for very long in the park as they to go home to use the toilet. Similarly with older people and parents this could be quite an issue and cut short the time that people could stay in the park. The café was another popular idea and even people who do not currently use the park identified that they would use a café. Overview 98% of the 46 people interviewed wanted the hut/pavilion area in the park to be turned into a building for the local community. 35 liked the idea of an Earthship design. The majority of the people who said they did not use the park said that they would like to see the pavilion/hut area rebuilt and out of these 10 preferred an eco-friendly design with 9 saying that in particular they like the Earthship design. This small-scale research indicates that most people in the community did have a preference for an eco-style building. Those who did not actively support the idea of an Earthship just wanted there to be something available as a community building where they could access a toilet and activities. Possible Benefits If a community building is made available it may have wider community benefits for example secondary research shows that both crime and antisocial behaviour is reduced when additional activities are made available and when public areas become more widely used. This is because increased activity makes it more problematic for crimes to be committed and vandalism is harder to undertake without being seen by public. People in Ellacombe would like Community Spirit to be restored. Having a place to meet would enable this to happen. Having a place to meet is essential for a community. Without this there can be no community. Audrey Cloet: 2013 One of the founder members of University of the Third Age in England 6 P a g e

7 Further Action It is recommended that further research be undertaken by the Community Researchers to include even more people and gain more focussed ideas on the future activities for the area The results of the research need to be presented to those people in power who can bring about change Clarification should be sought via the local councillors as to what has happened to the money allocated to improve the Pavilion in Ellacombe Overwhelming support to show that a new community building would be welcomed and could help to play a major role in reducing crime and restoring community spirit to the area People show support for an eco-building. The Earthship is one of the current models of achieving this with reasonable costs - more investigation is needed to see if this model is viable for Ellacombe 7 P a g e

8 Appendices 8 P a g e

9 CREATING CHANGES COMMUNITY RESEARCHERS AMANDA WARREN JULIE RECHAD ROB RECHAD SARAH WARREN CAROLE BISHOP CHRISTINE O DRISCOLL With Support For Research interviews from ALLY IMOGEN And friends and families of the group Thanks also to the further 6 people mainly from Ellacombe attended one or more of the training sessions. There is also a research report available for Chelston. Please do contact us if you would like copies of either report. South West Foundation Info@southwestfoundation.org.uk 9 P a g e

10 NEWS ITEM FROM 2012 CONCERNING MONEY THAT HAD BEEN SET ASIDE FOR THE IMPROVEMENTS IN ELLACOMBE - with thanks to the Herald Express Deprived ward cash to fund Parkfield overspend Thursday, March 01, 2012 Herald Express Follow A ROW has broken out over how an overspend on the flagship 3million Parkfield youth centre is being funded with money originally earmarked for one of the most deprived wards in Torquay. Ellacombe councillors have reacted angrily to the news money from a youth project in their ward could be used to pay for the 70,000 overspend at Paignton. 1. DISGUSTED: Cllrs Julien Parrott and Cindy Stocks at the old Ellacombe Bowling Pavilion Andy Styles 10 P a g e

11 Lib-Dem Ruth Pentney raised concerns about the finances at Parkfield in Paignton. "This is supposed to make us 100,000 a year, how is this going to be made up?" she asked at an overview and scrutiny board meeting. Changes to the layout to avoid a badger sett caused the extra expense in building the Paignton centre, councillors were told. Chief finance officer Paul Looby said the money would be found from the council's overall building programme for youth. He said it may mean the Ellacombe pavilion plan may not go ahead as planned. Mrs Pentney said Ellacombe was one of the more deprived wards in the Bay and described it as 'robbing Peter to pay Paul'. Ellacombe councillor Julien Parrott asked for clarification as he said the money for the Ellacombe project had been bid for by children. He said after the meeting: "The former bowling pavilion has fallen into disrepair, but could be used for youth facilities for children who don't use Parkfield because of the problems getting there and the cost. It would be outrageous to take the money away from here to use for Parkfield." Ellacombe councillor Cindy Stocks said after the meeting: "I am absolutely disgusted at this decision. The money was claimed as a grant from the TOFFY fund for a project in Ellacombe and legally cannot be spent on anything else. It should be returned to the TOFFY fund if not used in Ellacombe and not diverted elsewhere. "Once again Ellacombe children who live in one of the top areas of deprivation in the Bay are sidelined and deprived of local facilities for the benefit of children from more affluent wards and visitors. If officers have decided the current building in Ellacombe Park is beyond repair I believe the money should have been banked until sufficient match funding was raised to build a new youth centre in the vicinity or better still a community centre for all ages to use." The council says the TOFFY money has been spent in Ellacombe on the multi-games area. A Torbay Council spokesman said: "In 2009 Torbay Council allocated just over 200,000 for a multi-use games area and new pavilion for Ellacombe. The fund also included 27,500 of TOFFY funding a separate fund provided by the council for community youth projects. The games area has been built, costing approximately 140,000 including all of the TOFFY funding and an additional 15,000 has been spent on new fencing. 11 P a g e

12 However, the remaining 70,000 intended for the new pavilion was set aside until more funds became available. "In the meantime there have been some additional costs associated with the build of Parkfield youth facility, which has the potential to create an overspend such as improving drainage. Any overspend will need to be covered by the youth service capital budget, which includes the 70,000 not spent. Read more: Parkfield-overspend/story detail/story.html#ixzz2nMg3rHXk Follow on Twitter thisisdevon on Facebook Earthship Sample designs For more information on EARTHSHIP BUILDINGS go to 12 P a g e