How We Did It: Shaping place-based learning into a localities approach
As part of our How We Did It series for New Local members, we sat down in conversation with Sarah Crampton, Director of the North Paddington Programme, and Christine Mead, Head of Neighbourhoods and Partnerships at Westminster City Council to discuss their hyperlocal approach in North Paddington and what changes when a council works with the community in a place rather than simply delivering services to it.
The context
In 2023, Westminster City Council launched a four-year, place-based programme with a one-off £20m investment to make physical improvements in the area, decided in conversation with local communities.
North Paddington was chosen as a focus area because data showed high levels of deprivation. It also offered a chance to pilot a different way of working in place, shaped with the people who live there.
By investing in relationships before projects, alongside a funding commitment, the council has improved the physical environment, changed its own ways of working and is now taking that learning into a wider localities approach.
The solution
The work progressed through three phases:
- Phase one: Establishing trust and consulting – the community development team built trusting relationships through conversations and a consistent presence on the ground.
- Phase two: Testing new approaches – starting projects, working with residents and testing new ways of working.
- Phase three: Enhancing delivery and systems change – working out how to sustain the improvements without the same level of funding the pilot enjoyed.
In phase one, internal officers focused on building strong governance, securing the leadership support needed to make things move at pace while engagement officers embedded across North Paddington began building key relationships. A newly established partnership board played a critical role in bringing the work to life, by bringing together strategic partners and grassroots residents, alongside the voluntary and community sector (VCS), community partners, the police and the NHS.
The difference it made
- Closer relationships with the council: more residents know who to speak to and see officers working in place. These relationships are vital in moments of crisis, and people now share concerns earlier, so issues can be addressed before they escalate.
- Stronger local networks: residents, VCS, schools and services work together more regularly around local priorities. The partnership board is still running and partners see value in it.
- Community insight shaping decisions: local voices influenced funding, priorities and the way the programme responded. Internally, the council recognised that a blanket approach to services doesn’t work in every area.
- Visible change in neighbourhoods: from Lydford Community Hall to playgrounds, canal-side public space, new seating, updated shop fronts and £10m of investment in VCS spaces.
What made it work
The pilot benefited from strong leadership backing from the council. It was seen as a corporate priority, so senior buy-in came quickly. Different services had the opportunity to convene and overcome issues together.
Maida Hill, one of the first projects to move from conversation into delivery in phase two, stands out as an example of this collaborative convening. It is a small but much loved and used public space on Harrow Road and one of the only public realm spaces on the high street. But there are challenges: several different groups use the space, there are anti-social behaviour issues, and capital works were happening at the same time. At the peak of activity, the only way to deliver improvements that worked was for the council to collaborate internally and with external partners and neighbourhood forums.
Challenges and the approach to navigate them
At the outset, the team had little grounding in the local community and didn’t yet fully understand what their residents’ needs and challenges were, and what they valued most about where they lived. The team tackled this by investing in relationships and being visibly present, including opening an office on Fernhead Road, closer to the community.
Working in place also made the council think about how it operates alongside other institutions:
“When you work in place, it’s not just the council that’s the main institution. You’ve got schools, you’ve got the NHS, you’ve got the police, and you’ve got a huge VCS sector as well. So it really did make us think about how we were operating, how we were sharing information, how we are collaborating, how we are thinking about challenges together in a different way.”
The programme didn’t fully break down silos but left the council better placed to work in partnership.
What others can learn from the process
Successful place-based working needs early buy-in from directorates and frontline staff, clear communication of objectives from the outset, and a focus on shared outcomes rather than individual themes. The work was split into themes such as crime and safety, housing, and communities and employment. You want to make sure that you have shared outcomes that cut across these themes, so you don’t recreate silos. Also invest in bringing frontline staff with you, building their understanding and involvement to get the most from the programme. Communities must be at the centre of investment decisions, backed by a clear picture of existing funding and provision so that gaps are identified and duplication avoided. There was a push to deliver quickly, but mapping what is already funded is key to having informed discussions with the community about where to invest. Lasting change depends on collaboration across services and organisations, because a place team cannot deliver it alone.
The case study highlighted the value of a patient, long-term and iterative approach to engagement. Key lessons included: involving communities in investment decisions rather than starting with predetermined plans, moving towards more localised decision-making, and engaging with conversations already happening in the community to get decisions right first time.
What’s next?
North Paddington has shown what is possible when councils work with communities, partners and colleagues across the council around place. Westminster is now building on this to develop a localities approach, focusing on the areas where it can add the greatest value.
The focus now, as the programme moves into its third phase, is on building capacity and relationships so the improvements are sustained, and on delivering more efficiently, potentially with less funding.
Photo by Andy Kennedy on Unsplash.
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