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What is Comeunity?
Comeunity is the Neighbourhood Management Programme for South and Central Yarmouth (including Runham Vauxhall), improving services in order to raise the quality of life of people living in the neighbourhoods. Residents are at the centre of decision-making, ensuring that solutions are owned locally, rather than being imposed. The Comeunity team works with local residents and local service providers, including the Borough and County Councils, Police, Education, Health and Environmental Services. We are based at the Neighbourhood Centre in South Yarmouth at 143 King Street, and are open from 9.30am to 4.30pm Monday to Thursday and 10am-4pm on Fridays. We welcome your thoughts, ideas and involvement so get in touch today!
Latest News
Great Yarmouth Borough Council launches its Centre of Excellence in Community and Social Development
Great Yarmouth Borough Council is pleased to announce the launch of its exciting new enterprise CoSocial - A Centre of Excellence in Community and Social Development.
Building on years of recognised good practice in community and social development CoSocial will offer expert training and support to other local authorities and public bodies in supporting community-led solutions to emerging social issues, using practical “on the ground” experience from council staff in Great Yarmouth.
Great Yarmouth, on the east coast of Norfolk, faces a number of existing and emerging challenges, ranging from coastal flooding, high levels of seasonal unemployment and issues of rural connectivity. For a number of years the borough’s approach has evolved to facilitate more meaningful community-led responses to such issues. “The TS Warrior Skills Match” project is one such recent example, which received national acclaim by a visit from the Secretary of State for Communities the Right Honorable Eric Pickles MP and Baroness Helen Newlove at the launch of Great Yarmouth’s Community Alcohol Partnership in April. The project, led by local residents provides vocational training for young people for future employment opportunities in the local marine industry. Working closely with the local private sector, the project supports young people from more disadvantaged backgrounds to explore alternatives to alcohol and crime and build their aspirations for the future. It also embodies are far more intrinsic link between economic and community development.
Richard Packham Managing Director at Great Yarmouth Borough Council explains “we have often been asked to share our experience of community development with others, covering a range of varied and complex agendas, including; community cohesion and empowerment, localism, resilience, children and families, and skills and employment. In particular, others want to learn “how” to turn ideas into reality. We have a very good record of doing this in Great Yarmouth and the launch of our Centre of Excellence provides a platform to share this with others in a useful way.”
The Centre launches this month, with a number of clients including the University of East Anglia and Save the Children UK, already confirmed.
Rob Gregory, Strategic Lead at CoSocial explains “CoSocial is not about profit-making for Great Yarmouth Borough Council. Income generated from the centre will be re-invested directly back into communities through our existing neighbourhood management arrangements. In the spirit of the Localism Act and Open Public Services White Paper, CoSocial provides us with an opportunity to be entrepreneurial and look at the delivery of our current service in a different way.”
For more information please long onto the web-site www.cosocial.org.uk
HELP YOUR COMMUNITY IN AN EMERGENCY
The South Yarmouth Community Resilience Group are looking for residents to be more more involved in planning how to respond to emergencies by sharing and raising awareness of local hazards.
The group are looking to recruit Community Contacts to help:
The South Yarmouth Community Resilience Group
- Publicise information and raise awareness
- Support neighbours who may need assistance
- Provide local knowledge to Emergency Services
If you would be interested in becoming a Community Contact for your local area, please get in touch with the Neighbourhood Centre for further information.
For the local emergency plan to be effective we need local involvement so get involved today!
OPPORTUNITIES WORKING GROUP
The Neighbourhood Team have been out engaging with local residents on employment issues through three dedicated street forums and at the recent Comeunity Forum. The main concerns raised included not enough jobs in the town, particularly for younger people; more training to be made available and more permanent position created, rather than seasonal work.
These issues have been taken to the Board and it has been agreed to create an Opportunities Working Group to devise a delivery plan to tackle the concerns raised and to help shape the new neighbourhood-based community budget which will focus on employment services in the area.
We are looking for residents to join the group so if you have any thoughts on employment issues, we would love you to come and join us. The next meeting will be held at 2pm on Thursday 15th March at the Middlegate Hut.
For further details, please give us a call, email or pop into the Neighbourhood Centre. We look forward to seeing you!!
COMEUNITY FORUM - EMPLOYMENT & ENTERPRISE
Residents of South and Central Yarmouth are invited to attend the next Comeunity Forum on 24th January, 10am-12pm at St James Church.
The meeting will provide residents with the opportunity to take part in a workshop session to identify key "Employment & Enterprise" issues with representatives from the Borough Council, enterpriseGY, Job Centre Plus and to try and devise solutions.
The forum will allow residents to actively shape the support Comeunity and its partners can offer by suggesting ideas on improving the employment prospects for those living in the neighbourhood.
All residents in South and Central Yarmouth are welcome to this open meeting.
TARGET OPPORTUNITIES
Target Opportunities is a free, one-to-one support service to help residents make the most of the employment, volunteering and training opportunities available to them. The service has been successfully operating from the Neighbourhood Centre for a number of years, helping local residents improve their CV and assisting with job searches. Latest figures show that nearly 150 people have accessed the service over the past six months (April to Sept) with at least a third moving into employment or a volunteering opportunity. For further details please contact the Neighbourhood Centre or pop in and see us. UPDATE FROM THE BOARD
Following the last Board Meeting in September, members have agreed to focus on economic and skills issues within the neighbourhood. Activities being explored include working closely with enterpriseGY to help local residents start their own business and investigating ways to help local businesses grow. The Board will also look at initiatives to develop the skills of residents to ensure they have access to jobs particularly following the announcement of the Enterprise Zone in the borough.