Community Development in Hollingbury
Hollingbury
Hollingbury is found in the North of Brighton. Situated on the side of Hollingbury Hill.
Residents are treated to: wonderful views out to The Downs, a good constant dose of fresh air and a
good work out whenever they go out!
Community Development Project
Together is involved in a Community Development Project in the Hollingbury area.
The Trust for Developing
Communities (TDC) is delivering the project.
The project has been lead by Linda Saltwell - TDC Community Development Worker. Working just 12 hours a
week!
Ellen Robinson from Together committee has worked alongside as a trainee.
Nov 06-April 07 - We surveyed the Stanmer Heights, Birchgrove
Crescent and Rodmell Place flats in Hollingbury to get people's views on what services were provided
and what they wished to have in the area.
The results of the survey were presented in a newsletter and distributed to the local area.
The newsletter looked like the photo opposite but was printed on yellow paper.
Click here to view the newsletter as a pdf file.
A Steering Group was set up of interested local people and local
service providers to facilitate the community development work.
April 2007-2008 - We worked on issues from the survey:
- Hollingbury Youths needed activities & somewhere to go locally;
- Services for children under 5 needed more publicity & better communication with each other
- Information about what's on & local issues needed to be publicised to Hollingbury.
Hollingbury Youth Meetings started 16/04/07 for interested parents &
the youth service providers for the area to meet to provide for the youth of the area.
Hollingbury Under 5s Network started on 24/04/07 for parents &
carers of under 5s and the service providers in the area to meet & work together to provide the best services
possible for the area.
Newsletter Training began in Jan 2008 with a view to producing
a local Hollingbury newsletter to spread community news, information & what’s on in the area.
The Steering Group had an overview of all the community work, was
the place where local people could raise issues & where the service providers worked with
them to solve them.
Linda worked hard to highlight the needs in Hollingbury and facilitate all groups
working together.
April 2008-2009 & April 2009-2010 - The Community Development
Project was funded to continue its work in Hollingbury: to support & strengthen
local groups & to work on the issues raised in the area.
For info on all community meetings times & dates please visit Hollingbury.info
What's Been Achieved & Worked on from April 2007 - 2010:
2008 -The Battle for New Pedestrian Refuges on Carden Hill
First Carden Hill Pedestrian Refuge was to be built in the wrong place!
at a point where local people didn't cross the road whilst local people struggled to safely cross just up the road at the junction of Keymer Road, County Oak
Avenue & Carden Hill.
Local people only found out about this at the last minute & when they pointed
this out they were told that it was too late as everything had gone through planning 2 years before & was now
a legal contract between the council & the developer, Ashley House Plc who were building the new medical
centre for the NHS PCT.
7th March 2008 - Kerb-Side Meeting to Agree a Solution
Local mums pressure group - Hollingbury United Mums For
Road Improvement (HUMFRI); Hollingbury Under 5s Network (HU5N);
Linda Saltwell & Ellen Robinson our Community Development workers; the Police; Local Councillors: Geoffrey
Theobald & Brian 
Pidgeon; Local Residents & Service Providers with the help of a 400 signature local
HUMFRI petition all joined together to get the new traffic island built in the best place for local people
crossing Carden Hill by County Oak Ave.
Ashley House Plc, the NHS and B & H Council employees were also at this roadside
meeting & worked out how & where the traffic island would be built.
They contributed workers and money to make this happen!
They also completed all the planning work as quickly as possible so that the refuges could be built on time.
The community is very thankful for this safe crossing point! Community power won!
It just goes to show that we can make changes when we work together even when we're told at the start
that nothing can be done!!
Second Pedestrian Refuge on Carden Hill nearly didn't
happen!
This pedestrian refuge was to be built by the plumbing shop but was nearly cancelled at the last minute
because the 
planned
site for it was unsuitable. HUMFRI fought again to have a refuge at this end of Carden Hill
as it was such a difficult place to cross the road and many people felt like they were taking their lives in
their hands when they crossed.
The developer, Ashley House Plc agreed with HUMFRI as they had
to cross the road many times when building the medical centre and they knew how dangerous it was.
All parties worked out the most suitable sight for the second
refuge and the refuges were built immediately afterwards.
The new refuges were finished on 30/06/08.
25th March 2008 - The Steering Group
became Hollingbury Local Action Team or LAT with an added focus on
environment. The Steering Group had been taking on issues that arose within the community and decided that a Local Action Team was what the area
needed. Hollingbury Local Action Team
is a friendly community group open to everyone in the local area and
supported by the police & local service providers. Local issues and problems affecting people’s safety and
environment are brought to this meeting and we work together to find solutions.
Local Action Team successes to date:
Community NoticeBoards for the Community Centre & the Gathering Place
Bins for Rubbish & Dog Mess in the dog mess hotspots.
Drop kerbs on Cuckmere Way & Elsted Crescent
on footpath beside the Stanmer Heights Flats.
Problem Off Road Biking Solved in Carden Park and the top field at the
back of the Stanmer Heights flats.
Repainting of Yellow School-Keep-Clear markings and ZigZags outside Carden School
Working with Hollingbury Tenants & Residents Association we got:
Overgrowing hedges trimmed back off footpaths
Yellow highlights painted on steps to help
those in our community with visual impairments.
Hollingbury residents have given
Hollingbury LAT
3 Main Objectives For the Year:
1. Increasing Road Safety Around Carden Primary School on
County Oak Avenue
Click to view pdf of Hollingbury LAT News Oct 08
14/10/09 – Public Meeting to discuss the parking problem at
Carden School and work on solutions.
30 local residents & parents attended.
The solutions prioritised the safety of pedestrians especially children going to and from school.
Solutions Included:
- Double Yellow Lines with a Loading Ban the LAT is working with the council to get
this on the school side of County Oak Avenue & on the corner of Denton Drive -
Ongoing
- 20mph speed limit on County Oak Avenue with signs designed by the
children - Achieved 26/02/09
- Traffic Wardens & Police to patrol the area & enforce the parking
restrictions - 2x a week since the Public Meeting
- Carden School & Council's School Travel Officer to work on setting up
schemes: Car share, encourage more walk to school, set up walking bus and park & stride schemes -
Ongoing
2. Working on the redevelopment
of Carden Park Playground
Sept 2008 – Hollingbury Active Parents for Park
Improvement or HAPPI was formed.
This community group met often with Community Development Worker Linda Saltwell and B & H City Council Neighbourhood
Manager Sam Warren to work on choosing a playground company to work with us on the project and to start applying
for funding for the project.
Sam & Linda worked hard to make sure that everything we did as a community group was within council
guidelines. We are the first Community Lead Park Redevelopment Project in Brighton & Hove,
normally the City Council does it all so we had to follow the same legal guidelines.
This is especially important as the council owns the land & will be responsible for the play
area once the redevelopment is complete!
20/01/09 Carden Park Tender Document went out to Play Companies.
End Jan'09 Some Play Companies visited Carden Park & members of HAPPI
23/02/09 Evaluation of Tenders Meeting - HAPPI, Sam &
Linda met to go through all the information & plans sent by interested Play Companies.
We marked companies on specific criteria & by the end of the meeting we had choosen 3 Companies to invite to
do presentations.
30/03/09 Three Play Companies did Presentations.
HAPPI, Sam & Linda
marked them on specific criteria & we agreed unanimously on the play company for the job.
HAPPI chose Kompan as the play company they wished to
work with on this project.
Kompan was selected using strict council criteria but also because the group felt they were the best company to
work with a community group and offered the best approach to consultation with the community.
21/04/09 – Hollingbury Active Parents for Park Improvement (HAPPI) became a fully
constituted group
with a bank account and ready for action!
Now all we needed to do was raise the £100, 000 needed!!
24/04/09 – Brighton and Hove Council decided to grant Carden Park £50,000
worth of playbuilder money.
Click here for more info on playbuilder.
Playbuilder Money is to be spent on park equipment for
ages 8 -13 and landscaping of the playground area.
There is strict criteria
concerning how the money may be spent.
The money must be spent & the play area open for use by 30th March 2010!
19/05/09 – HAPPI met to apply for grants to try and raise the rest of the
money to make the park a great space for the Hollingbury and wider Brighton & Hove community.
01/06/09 - Timetable Worked Out for the Design & Building of the Park!!
HAPPI, Kompan & B&H Council Parks Officers Organized:
16 June 09 - Park Presentation to Carden Primary School in Assembly
16 June 09 - 10-noon Consultation at Carden Tots & at the Play Bus Event in Carden Park
18 June 09 - Consultation with Carden Primary School Council
18 June 09 - 3-7pm Drop-in Consultation at Carden Park & the OBC Community Centre
11 July 09 - 11:30am-2:30pm Park Designs on Display at Carden Primary School's Fete
13-20 July 09 - Park Designs on display in the Community Centre & Library for feedback
20 July 09 - Cut off for feedback - Designs will be signed off by the council
September 09 - Building Work Beginning - if all goes to plan!!!!
3. Working on Increasing Awareness of How Safe
Hollingbury Is
Jan 2008 – Newsletter Training began provided in Hollingbury by the
Working Together Project. It was an excellent course & lots of fun!
By the end of the course our first
newsletter was well underway!
Newsletter Team Meets: Most term-time Wednesdays
9:15-11:30am at The Gathering Place, Orchid View
Everyone's Welcome to Come Along & get invoved how they wish:
gathering info, writing articles, learning to use: email, publisher & paint.net or come for a chat & a
cuppa!
Please click the link above to check the dates we are at the Gathering Place.
Hollingbury Under 5s Network or
HU5N
Hollingbury Under 5s Network consists of: Local Parents & Carers & representatives from: Together Charity,
Carden Tots, Jumping Gym, Hollingbury & Patcham Children’s Centre, Carden Primary School, Adult Learning,
Community Learning & Hollingbury Library.
The Network welcomes newcomers & is open to anyone who looks after a child under 5 or provides a service
for those with children under 5 years old.
Our aim is to work together with parents, carers & their children under 5 to get the most out of
Hollingbury.
HU5N was involved with the Pedestrian Refuge Battle (see above) from the
start & worked hard to make sure that children & pedestrians could get safely across Carden Hill to access the
new medical centre, Carden Primary School & Nursery, the Hollingbury & Patcham Children's Centre etc.
HU5N has organized Two Free Get Together Events to promote the group,
offer tasters of Carden Tots & Jumping Gym, to show what's on offer in Hollingbury, to provide a free lunch
& to offer the opportunity to meet others with children under 5 years old.
The Free Get Togethers have had a good turn out and those that have attended have found them enjoyable,
informative about what goes on locally and have commented on how friendly the community is in Hollingbury.
Hollingbury Youth Meeting now Hollingbury Youth Partnership
Works on providing activities & a place to go for the youths of Hollingbury.
Hollingbury Youth Partnership with Brighton & Hove Council's Youth & Connexions run the Hollingbury Youth
Club, "The Carden Park Crew".
30/01/08 The Carden Park Crew Youth Club started.
It's open term-time Wednesdays 7-9pm for Ages 11-18 years at Old Boat Corner Community Centre (in the hall).
It was initially free but the youths attending voted to pay 50p a visit to cover biscuits etc!
Different activities are on offer every week including DJing, costume making, sports, photography & trips
out plus holiday outings & the chance to be in the Youth Arts Fringe
29/04/09 Carden Park Crew were consulted on the redevelopment of Carden Park -
they chose a piece of equipment that they'd like in the park & applied themselves for the money needed.
How To Get Involved:
If you provide services in the Hollingbury area
If you provide any activities/clubs in Hollingbury
For Local residents or those with interest in the local area
For those who would like to raise issues concerning the Hollingbury area
This project is for you.
To find out more about Hollingbury Under 5s Network, Hollingbury Local Action Team,
Hollingbury Youth Partnership, Hollingbury Hello Newsletter & Carden Park Playground Renewal Project:
For info on all community meetings & issues please visit Hollingbury.info