What is Comeunity?

Comeunity is the Neighbourhood Management Programme for South and Central Yarmouth. Neighbourhood Management is a way of improving services in order to raise the quality of life of people living in deprived neighbourhoods. The programme involves working with communities and local service providers - like the council, police, education, health and environmental services. Residents are at the centre of decision-making, ensuring that solutions are owned locally, rather than being imposed. Increasingly, neighbourhood management is seen as one of the best ways to improve neighbourhoods.

Comeunity is not a capital funding programme. It is about setting up processes which ensure that services improve to meet the needs of local residents.

We are based at the Neighbourhood Centre at 143 King Street. To contact us please go to the Contact Us page or pop into the centre. We are open from 9.30am to 4.30pm Monday to Friday. Find Us

We welcome your thoughts, ideas and involvement!

The Comeunity Programme is supported through the Neighbourhood Element of the Safer, Stronger Communities Fund.

COMEUNITY PUTS GREAT YARMOUTH ON THE MAP!

Comeunity has once more shown to be a true flagship initiative for the Borough and its residents.

During the Conference of the International Journal of Neighbourhood Renewal, Comeunity once again showed its success in engaging and empowering local people and was awarded "Best UK Neighbourhood Renewal Programme for Local Impact".

Michael Blank, Resident Chairman of the Comeunity Board, accepted the award from Raymond Holden, Editor of the International Journal of Neighbourhood Renewal, on behalf of the Board and Comeunity Team.

Southern South Yarmouth Community Week of Action 21-25 September 2009

Comeunity, the Neighbourhood Management Programme for South Yarmouth, together with a range of partners, including Norfolk Constabulary, Great Yarmouth Community Housing and the Borough Council, Great Yarmouth Borough Services, Children Services, Voluntary Norfolk, GY Library and Community Connections, will be running a week of action in the southern part of South Yarmouth from Monday the 21st to Friday the 25th of September. This will take in everything from Queen's Road south towards the harbour (the Barracks Estate and surrounding areas).

The project marks the start of an ongoing piece of work which will see agencies and residents working together to develop an action plan for the area to shape services and activities over the coming years. Over the past few years this has successfully been done on the Middlegate Estate, and this initiative sees the rolling out of this type of coordinated approach to service improvement and project development for the area.

The activities for the week are as follows:

Day 1 - Monday 21st - Environmental Education Day # 1
We will start off the week by doing rubbish bag searches, flytip, dog fouling and abandoned vehicle investigations around the area. We will also be looking at other cleansing issues and monitoring this throughout the week.

Day 2 - Tuesday 22nd - Housing and Advice
Based in and around Peggotty Road Community Centre, Great Yarmouth Community Housing and various other agencies will be providing housing, benefits and other types of advice and support.

Day 3 - Wednesday 23rd - Health and Wellbeing
Based around the shops on Barkis Road, a range of agencies will be on hand to provide residents with information on healthy eating, exercise and other services. We will be distributing goodie bags around the area and making healthy smoothies. The mobile food store will be making its weekly stop at the shop instead of the Community Centre as part of this activity.

Day 4 - Thursday 24th - Youth and Community
A team of workers will be collecting Bright Ideas from people at various key locations around the neighbourhood. We will be looking at activities for young people, supporting the future development of Greenacre School, looking at activities to support people in the area to get on well together, promoting community facilities and activities, and gathering ideas for future community projects.

Day 5 - Friday 25th - Environmental Education Day # 2
We will finish off the week by looking at bin collections and other bin-related problems in the area. We will also be raising awareness of bin fires on the day, along with reviewing all the work that's been done throughout the week.

As part of the week of action, the South Yarmouth Safer Neighbourhoods Team will be based at the shops on Barkis Road throughout the week so residents can drop by and discuss issues in the area and help them set future neighbourhood priorities.

We would like to invite all residents in the area to come along, get involved, and help us shape services and activities for the area for the future!

For any enquiries about this, please visit the Neighbourhood Centre at 143 King Street or phone us on 01493 845 929 or click to download the flyer

WNF Small Grants Programme

Working Neighbourhoods Fund, in partnership with Voluntary Norfolk, launched a small grant programme on Wednesday 09 September 2009. The WNF Small Grants has £100,000 per financial year available to enable voluntary and community groups to tackle worklessness and low levels of skills and enterprise in Great Yarmouth. The fund is expected to run until March 2011.

The first two funding round deadlines are:

Monday 26 October 2009 at 1700 and Monday 01 February 2010 at 1700

Additional objectives:

• To offer organisations which were unable to access or were unsuccessful in the wider WNF commissioning, the opportunity to access funds.
• To develop a partnership culture in delivering the outcomes of the programme.
• To be shaped and designed to meet local need.
• To enable organisations to impact on Local Area Agreement priorities.

There are two grant bands available:

BAND 1: Organisations with an annual turnover up to £100,000 can apply for a grant of £1,000 to £5,000.

BAND 2: Organisations with an annual turnover between £100,000 and £200,000 which works in partnership with a smaller organisation (annual turnover £50,000) can apply for a grant of £5,000 to £10,000.

If you are interested in applying or would like more information visit www.voluntarynorfolkgy.org.uk/index.php?id=nvs

New Benefits Advice Service at Neighbourhood Centre

Great Yarmouth Borough Council's Benefits Department will be offering a drop-in advice surgery at the Comeunity Neighbourhood Centre each Monday from 10am to 1pm. If you need help with your rent or Council Tax then pop in for some free advice.

For more information about the benefits available visit the borough council website at www.great-yarmouth.gov.uk/advice-benefits

To download a benefits application form: Application Form.

CAB presents free "Financial Maze" training programme

Do you work with people who find it difficult to manage money? Would you like to help them? If so, this course could be for you. It's free and will give you lots of tips and ideas for helping people think about their financial worries and ways to help them plan better. The course is not about debt advice; it is about stopping problems before they start.

If you would like to attend, please email Marion Morse on training@yarevalleycab.org.uk or phone 01953 606 219 or 01493 845 453 for more information or to obtain a booking form.

Victoria Place Grey 2 Green

On Friday the 19th of June, local residents, along with the Comeunity Team and members from Great Yarmouth Borough Council, completed the final phase of the Victoria Place Grey 2 Green project, which has been developed over the past 18 months. The resident-led project, which was developed in partnership between Comeunity, C.J. Yardley Associates, Great Yarmouth Borough Council, Norfolk County Council and Norfolk Constabulary, has seen the installation of 2 new alley gates, an upgrading to the lights, landscaping and resurfacing works all taking place as part of the project, with each partner delivering a specific component. A contribution was also received from the Hippodrome Circus, who installed a new wooden gate.

During the planting day, more than 50 new plants and 2 new trees were planted to help "green up" the area. Refreshments were provided courtesy of the Duke of Wellington Pub and Comaki Take Away, which ensured that everyone involved could keep up their strength to complete the work at hand.

The Comeunity Team would like to thank all local residents and partners for their time and commitment towards the Victoria Place Project.