We are creating opportunities for local people to live happier lives!

Welcome to your Heston West Big Local (HWBL).

£1 million has be kindly invested by Local Trust to help our community grow and flourish in the next 10 years and beyond. The programme was given the green light by Local Trust in 2012 and officially started in 2015.

Heston West Big Local is a partnership of local residents and local stakeholders. Members of the board have volunteered to steer the funding allocated to Heston West

HWBL is currently supported by Berkeley Academy.
They will help deliver the vision and programme, work with local people, support projects and activities and help secure further funding for the HWBL area.

Groundwork South supported HWBL from 2014 to 2018.
 
Heston West Big Local is a community group that aims to encourage, inspire and support local people to live healthier and happier lives. Heston West Big Local has been working on transforming the look and feel of the local community such as developing flowerbeds and community allotments. The group has been focusing on encouraging families, older residents and youth involvement with an outcome of creating an effective support network, a culture of volunteering whilst reducing isolation.
To date, the Big Local has engaged with around 2200+ local residents and work with vulnerable families from all walks of life, including young people. The group also work in partnership with local schools to help encourage and increase youth participation and family involvement through community cohesion. 
 
Through youth work, local young people have been involved in the development of community mental health projects, including an art social drop-in club, and have ran campaigns and community events to raise awareness of certain issue that matter to them, including a set of films aimed at preventing knife crime. 
 
Through intergenerational projects, such as the family walking football club, the group have worked to reduce isolation and loneliness, bridge the gap between the youth and elderly and also improve people’s health and wellbeing.
 
Heston West Big Local delivers weekly activities aimed at bringing communities together and improving cohesion such as family cooking and fitness sessions, volunteer opportunities provided at an allotment and an art social club. 
We also organise regular community clean up days, trips and community social events to help build meaningful relationships, feel pride in the area and better connected to the local community.

Recently, in partnership with Cranford Community College, Heston West Big Local supported over 1000 households with weekly food parcels during the COVID-19 crisis supported by volunteers, community groups and staff. 
 
The group brings together people from all walks of life and encourages local residents to volunteer and provide educational and employment opportunities to young people.
 
The organisation is steered by local residents and stakeholders to identify the needs in the local community to help shape and improve the local area.
 
‘Bringing it all together’ the Heston West Big Local way. ​
In April 2018, HWBL appointed Berkeley Academy as the Locally Trusted Organisation to administer the Big Local grant funding.

Berkeley Academy is an outstanding school (Ofsted 2014) and is situated on Cranford Lane in Heston. Berkeley is part of the Cranford Teaching School Alliance, an outstanding partnership for teacher training and staff development and a Teach First Partner School.

The school has a mission of ‘Transforming the Community’. Berkeley is thoroughly integrated within the local community and is focused on driving improvement within and beyond our local area. The school ensures that the young people of Berkeley and its surrounding areas achieve as highly as possibly in every educational and social field.

Our Vision
Bringing it all together – Heston West will have a strong and authentic identity reflecting everyday local life. 

It will be a place where residents have pride in their community and have access to great opportunities to develop their work and life skills and experiences. Our main focus will be improving and transforming the look and feel of our community.