A new Community Plan has been launched for Falcon Lodge, an outer city estate with housing and employment challenges in Sutton Coldfield.

The Royal Sutton Coldfield Town Council commissioned The Pioneer Group in 2017 to develop a community plan with a clear a vision and set of priorities for the Falcon Lodge area.

The aim from the start was to enable the community to lead and shape their plan. Six months of in-depth research was conducted including a Community Conference to explore what key agencies and residents felt about the neighbourhood and what they’d like to see in the future.

The plan will seek to bring a range of improvements to the local area up to 2022 addressing the priorities identified by the community. So far twenty projects aim to make a difference to Falcon Lodge’s 2,000 residents.

Work through the Compass Support team has already started in 2018, including physical improvements to the community centre, new services such as family coaching, a youth offer and job club. A community forum has been set up to ensure residents have oversight of the plan and to hold projects to account. The projects are organised against three delivery themes of a safe and strong, prosperous and aspirational and greener and healthier Falcon Lodge.

Lisa Martinali, Director of Community Regeneration at Compass Support, said:

"We are now looking forward, over the next three years, to working with Falcon Lodge residents to deliver on our vision of a happy, healthy and connected community. We will work with residents to shape a community forum with a local chair that can oversee the programme and work with service providers to commit delivery"

Coordinating the project is new Community Centre manager, Liz Allsop, who will develop further the thriving community centre and keep residents abreast of developments via the Falcon Lodge #newsonapage newsletter.

Ifor Jones, Head of Communities at The Pioneer Group, said:

"One of the benefits of this plan will be that it helps to broker new investment through funders whether trust, public authorities or the private sector. Our fundraiser has already started working with local groups to bring this about."