The Power of Community Panels

In early 2023, as part of the Active Calderdale community led approach community panels were established in priority neighbourhoods in Calderdale. The purpose of the community panels are to enable decisions on investment to be made with and by the community, giving communities more power in decision making processes. Community panel members are made up of people from within the respective priority neighbourhoods we are working in. They include ward members and local residents and representatives from local organisations.

To be eligible for the panel, applicants needed to live or work in the local area and have good knowledge of the things that could help the community be active such as streets, parks, greenspaces and local sport and physical activity opportunities.

Panel members were responsible for reviewing and commenting on investment proposals using their local knowledge to identify if proposals meet the needs of the community. In the absence of getting every resident involved in the process, community panel members are to provide a voice for their community.

Here we get a sense from people involved in community panels on how they feel they benefit them, and their communities.

The Impact of Community Panels

"I live in the park ward area with my husband and 3 children. My children attend St Mary's Catholic Primary Academy. We walk to and from school every day. We visit People's Park often, and each Sunday morning we attend the Junior Parkrun. We work hard to keep our streets and community clean and our family have been completing regular litter picks in the area. We also attend St Mary's Catholic church each Sunday. We care about our streets and community and want a community to be proud of. We are an extremely active family and would like to see activity opportunities increase within the area.

The community panel allows locals to represent their area. It allows them to introduce physical activities in areas that most need it. Focusing on essential activities that may be lacking in the area. It also gives opportunities to minority groups and will hopefully make individuals more informed about what activities are available to them."

Park Ward Panel Member

I think the key is that local people from the community are more likely to know what would work in their community. An inner-city suburb with little access to green space would have different locations available to them than a rural area like Calderdale with the canal, footpath network, hills, cricket pitches, etc. Similarly, the time available for people to exercise is different for those working 9-5, those on shift work, those who travel to work and those who are less able, needing support in some way. Representatives of all these different communities need to have their say so that a “patchwork quilt” of activity rather than “one size fits all” can be developed.

Helen - Community Panel Member

My motivation for joining the panel was to learn about the different types of initiatives being developed in my community. I also wanted to share some of my experience and contribute some of my time to improve wellbeing in Cornholme.

I think the panel is very much ‘the voice’ of the community and we can offer our own opinions on a wide range of proposals. I think it’s important to engage the local community, as this approach ensures that investment decisions are judged fairly and different viewpoints considered.  

We recently discussed a proposal to develop some land near Vale Church into a ‘Growing Project'. I was able to voice my support for this idea but raise concerns about sustainability and ongoing management.

Jim - Cornholme Community Panel Member

As a local person (with involvement in several Sowerby Bridge voluntary groups) I can easily relate to the various proposals that come forward. The process gives visibility of the potential interfaces/benefits between a new proposal and other local activities. 

Knowing about projects like Cindy's Silver Stompers and Table Tennis at Foundry Street meant that I was able to promote these directly to our Memory Lane Cafe members. 

Chris - Sowerby Bridge Community Panel Member