Brighter Futures Annual Report 2024-25

Celebrating

The wards which make up the areas of deprivation are officially described as being in the worst 20% of deprived areas nationally. However, none of the Brighter Futures partners would want residents to focus on this aspect of the place where they live – and all put a great emphasis on the Brighter Futures’ ethos of “love where you live.”

To support this message and to increase personal self-esteem as well as pride in the area and a sense of belonging, there are many initiatives over the course of the year – local playdays like NewYear Wishes in Grimsbury are all designed to enhance community cohesion through shared positive experience. They build and reinforce a sense of pride in the neighbourhoods.

Community groups offer positive family experiences throughout the year, allowing people to spend time together relaxing with their family and community, without the stress of a huge price ticket that some commercial attractions bring. 

Children can go back to school after a holiday with stories of the experiences they shared during that time – able to join in the conversation about, for example, the Pantomime, because they have been able to access tickets at the Mill through their community scheme, or have attended a show at The Hill community centre.

Bridge Street Garden Eid celebration

We’ll go down to the canal to learn some more about celebrating! This year the Community Garden held an Eid Celebration which welcomed everyone to celebrate the Muslim festival. 

In April, Bridge Street Community Garden hosted a lively Eid celebration attended by more than 100 people, most of whom live within walking distance, including many from Grimsbury.

The gathering brought together local residents to share homemade dishes, enjoy music and connect with one another.

A South Asian man who attended said he was very happy to be part of the event and to taste food that reminded him of home.

During the celebration, visitors walked around the garden collecting herbs such as mint, parsley, oregano, rosemary and sage to take home, something that regularly happens at the community garden, which is open to the public.

The event was supported by volunteers who helped with decorating, setting up gazebos, tables and chairs, and tidying up afterwards.

Musician James Stevenson led a lively drumming workshop, while Sunrise Multicultural Project and The Banbury Larder helped spread the word and contributed delicious food to share.

Events like this highlight the importance of community spaces such as Bridge Street Community Garden. 

One attendee, a young woman from East Asia commented

"It was my first time attending an Eid celebration. Thanks to the Bridge Street Garden, I’m able to experience the vibes, make new friends from other cultures, participate in the drumming session, and taste the authentic South Asian home cuisine. It was a magnificent and memorable afternoon indeed, and hope there will be other activities to attend there in near future!”

Maintained by volunteers who meet most weeks to collect rubbish, weed, mulch, water, plant and care for the site, the garden offers a welcoming environment where people from different backgrounds can meet, talk, celebrate and connect with nature.

The garden is run by Banbury Community Action Group and continues to host a regular programme of wellbeing activities, including art, dance, music, gardening and nature-based workshops, many of which are open to the public. With continued support from funders, this community-led space remains a place where people can come together, share experiences and build connections through nature.

Winter Wishes and New Year Wishes

Visiting these events is such a pleasure! Winter Wishes began as a single afternoon of Christmas themed activities at the Sunshine Centre in Ruscote. Families and older people were welcomed to the Centre to enjoy hot drinks and refreshments as well as free or low-cost activities which celebrated the festive season and encouraged families to participate in entertainments and have fun together, reinforcing positive family and community relationships.

While people were enjoying the festivities they were asked in a very low key way, what they wish for in their communities in the coming year – including more of the things they already value, or changes they would like to see. This information is invaluable for community leaders and groups which support people living in the area.

Winter Wishes has seen two kinds of expansion, and the event itself has grown and no longer takes place on one day or in one location, but now a number of community venues and groups host celebration events throughout December. 

These include The Hill, Sunrise Multi Cultural Play Project and St Pauls Church hosting a Christmas carol concert, pantomime, Christmas meals and fun festive activity sessions for the whole family. 

The Christmas Tree festival which takes place at The Hill community centre is now an annual event, allowing all BFIB partners to decorate a tree to celebrate their service, project or organisation and gives the community a spectacular to visit on the build up to Christmas. 

The tree festival is a very visual example of the partnership who work together to support the community in so many different ways, from Thames Valley Police, CDC and OCC Trading Standards to grass roots

community groups.  Across the Winter Wishes events, over 600 residents are engaged and their feedback really does make a difference, helping shape programmes and initiatives in the new year.

“Me and the kids look forward to all the winter wishes events that now take place, it makes our December so magical” 

“Winter wishes events are all so affordable or free, which at the moment is a great help, especially at an expensive time of the year”

“We love getting the opportunity to leave wishes for the future and having our say about where we live”

“It’s amazing to see all the groups working together, we see so many faces we know at the events taking place”

Grimsbury now hosts its own New Year wishes festival at Grimsbury Community Hall where the community come together to share food, good times and to share their wishes and aspirations for the new year and for the community they live in. Sharing good practice from the North Banbury partnership, Grimsbury partners will now be encouraged to hold a number of events to engage more residents and link the wishes initiative to groups that meet regularly in the different community venues. In this way, both the celebrations are inclusive and represent a celebration of what the community have and value, as well as their potential to make things even better in the future.

“It’s so good to see things happen when we have been involved in making wishes, we wanted to have community notice boards in a number of locations in Grimsbury, where all the activities going on could be promoted.  We now have 3 notice boards and it’s so nice to see all the activities and events coming up where we live”

“Grimsbury feels connected, groups working together and who know where things go on and who can help”

“The Grimsbury Community Centre has so many activities taking place each week and lots of services using it now to help us”