Establishing a community orchard was an action in the town plan Advance Swaffham, published after a massive consultation effort to involve as many of Swaffham’s residents, visitors and businesses as possible.

The project name “Swaefas Swale” is made up of the Old English name of the people who gave their name to Swaffham (Swaefas’ ham) and the Middle English East Anglian dialect word Swale, meaning “shady place”, derived from the Scandinavian word svalr, meaning “cool”.

A Big Lottery Fund grant of £9,000 administered by Swaffham Town Council has allowed a group of volunteers to prepare the site, plant fruit trees, bulbs and other appropriate plants to create a haven for wildlife and an attractive place for people to visit.

Preparing the ground
The hard work began in October 2010 when up to 65 volunteers of all ages worked tirelessly throughout the winter months to get the site ready for the planting of 200 2-year-old trees.

The core group of volunteers has now become a properly constituted community group, supported by the Advance Swaffham Action Group via the Environment Working Group. Their first AGM was held in May 2011.

The project is improving the town’s amount of open space and recreation facilities which were significantly under-developed for a community of this size.

Swaefas Swale Community Orchard won the Environment and Culture category of the East Action for Market Towns Awards.

What next?

• Join Action for Market Towns for access to our valuable database of case studies (including a detailed study of this Award-winning project and contacts), policy and practice research, and much more (AMT members read the full case study here)
• Find out more about the Action for Market Towns Awards
• Tell us how you’re tackling environmental issues in your town in the AMT Forum

Concerned at the absence of local services from their town, they decided to take action after forming a committee and conducting a survey of local wants and needs.

Volunteers are now running a community office to offer a range of services, including a library, the use of computers, facilities to pay council tax bills or talk to the police. Without the office, residents would have to travel over 35 miles to reach a town with comparable facilities.

Local independent councillor John Blackie said the community service for Hawes had come a long way since its beginning:

“Richmondshire District Council used to bring an officer up one day a week, and we thought perhaps we could expand that to a five day a week offer.

“What we have now is the District Council of Richmondshire, the library of North Yorkshire County Council and a community centre. We have a police station for Upper Wensleydale, and a community minibus service based here, as well as a number of community organisations that are using us as their front desk.”

The community office allows organisations to share resources and office space, saving money and giving people in Hawes a greater level and range of services.

What next?

• Find out more about the Hawes Community Office {opens new window}
• Share tips on running community-owned enterprises in the AMT Forum

‘Civic Commons: a model for social action‘ found that people were not given the chance to use their skills, knowledge and ideas to participate in social action, and that creating these opportunities could save public spending, encourage innovative approaches to social problems and promote participation in the Big Society.

The report recommends combining traditional consultation models with training to help citizens develop the skills and confidence to carry out their ideas for social change, and refers to a current case study in Peterborough.

Citizen Power programme

The Civic Commons initiative, part of the RSA’s Citizen Power programme, currently enlists twenty-five local residents who have received advocacy training and been involved in a policy forum with local police chiefs and influential thinkers.

They are now establishing four citizen-led interventions to address anti-social behaviour in the community.

Report co-author Emma Norris said:

“We hope that this report will highlight the positive contributions citizens can make to their communities when given the right opportunities and support.

“As the Big Society agenda moves forward, it is crucial that we support all citizens – making sure that no-one is left behind and that everyone has an opportunity to contribute and have their skills, ideas and needs acknowledged.”

What next?

• Download the ‘Civic Commons: a model for social action’ report here {opens new window}
• Tell us what makes you volunteer or how best to manage volunteers in the AMT Forum

How to enter

Simply tell them in no more than 200 words what you would do with the money.

Don’t forget to send photos and any other supporting material.

Email your entry to project@whitestuff.com

Or post it to:

Community Project Competition
White Stuff
Canterbury Court
Kennington Park
1-3 Brixton Road
London
SW9 6DE

Deadline for entries: 7 February 2011

What next?

• See more details and Terms & Conditions on the White Stuff website
• Talk about your community projects in the AMT Forum