Our Basildon Our Partners
"For me it is very simple - Basildon is my home."
Angela Smith MP
"On a car journey around town I am pleased to see how many green places we pass. I have lived in other places where this is not the case and I am grateful I now live in Basildon."
Sue Randle, Secretary of CHASE
The Our Basildon, exploring past, present and future project team works with a large number of community partners and organisations, without which the whole project would not have been possible.
In the early days of the Basildon Heritage Trail Project when it was little more than an idea there were very limited resources and initial funding came via a £200 grant from Basildon Council's Arts Development Award Fund.
Funding is one thing and active support is another and they usually come as a package. Due to his sheer dedication and hard work Vin drew support from the decision makers of Essex County Council and our own Basildon District Council who have been involved very much from the start. The path has not always been smooth but both Local and County councils have worked in partnership with Vin and the rest of the team, changing as teams do, inspired at having a real opportunity to make a positive difference for a town that has its own compelling way of captivating you.
With support assured a successful Heritage Lottery bid brought in funding for £50,000.00. This ensured a pilot project could go ahead with the five primary schools that took part in the Pilot Project: St. Anne Line, Laindon Park, Cherry Tree, Bardfield and Pitsea Junior schools and Vin could start to plot the Trail and bring his ideas to life.
With additional funding from Veolia ES Cleanaway Pitsea Marshes Trust for £18,250.00 plans were made to bring in a project manager to work with the small heritage team and finally bring all aspects together ready for the launch and expand the potential of the whole trail concept.
Following the renaming of the project from just the 'Basildon Heritage Trail' to 'Our Basildon', of which the Trail is one part, numerous possibilities are emerging.
Volunteering is an important aspect to this project without which it will not grow; we rely heavily on support from our colleagues within CHASE whose volunteers currently man our hub every Wednesday. Vinvolved Team and the Basildon, Billericay and Wickford Volunteer Service (BBWCVS) have been of enormous support during the launch of the Trail and our partnership with them will be mutually beneficial offering potential opportunities to volunteers via the project to gain skills and qualifications while benefitting from the knowledge and experience of those who want and can offer their free time.
New Campus Basildon (NCB) is one of our newest partners and we are delighted to have the opportunity of working them as a team of individuals who are open to new opportunities and giving their students a real experience inspired by the community in which they live. NCB are ensuring that all students have a rounded, post 16 education that is going to help them enormously when they eventually leave or go on to higher education. The students we have met as part of this project are attentive, willing to take part and most of all have a deep interest in their town and concern for the negative publicity and stereotyping the area has attracted. They are fully behind us as we aim to raise the profile of Basildon in recognition of the positive while acknowledging the not so positive hurdles to overcome. NCB Students have taken part in conducting public surveys, distributing information and holding a meeting with older residents in their town to find out 'what makes Basildon home' for them.
We are looking forward to developing the projects inspired by the Trail in our work with the NHS South West Essex and engaging with the wider community through our health & wellbeing project and helping to raise the profile of Basildon through continuing future partnerships.