Barrowmead Project Ltd, Bristol
Well-being - Lawrence Weston Health Steps

The Barrowmead Project Ltd is based in Lawrence Weston, an outer city local authority housing estate in North West Bristol with a population of around 9,000.  Our area is in one of the top ten most deprived wards in the UK and suffers from high levels of poverty, physical and mental illness, isolation and unemployment.

In 1999 a consortium of three community groups, Lawrence Weston Drugs and Alcohol Project (LDAP), Severn Four Credit Union and Action on Health, approached Bristol City Council (BCC) for some operational accommodation and were offered a shop on Barrowmead Drive in Lawrence Weston.

The consortium formed an umbrella organisation to take responsibility for the lease on the shop.  It was named the Barrowmead Project and became a Company Limited by Guarantee.  The Barrowmead Project acted as fund manager of New Opportunities Fund (now Big Lottery Funds (BLF)) to the delivery partners of the Lawrence Weston Healthy Living Programme.  These delivery partners were:

• Lawrence Weston Alcohol Project 
• Severn Four Credit Union 
• Lawrence Weston Community Transport 
• Heart Health - managed by the Rock Community Centre 
• Generic Counselling - services bought in from Barnardos 
• Lawrence Weston Out of Schools Activities. 

The Barrowmead Project was responsible for the monitoring and evaluating of BLF funds.  The Barrowmead Project also directly delivered a volunteering service, allotment gardening project, cooking skills for older people, parents and for children and worked in partnership with other community organisations to deliver larger events such as a healthy eating roadshow for schools and volunteer celebration events.

The Wellbeing Fund will allow the Barrowmead Project Ltd to continue to deliver a range of services in the area including groups to improve mental wellbeing, a befriending scheme for older people, healthy eating activities and information, Lean and Green gardening group, cycling for families and a programme of heart healthy activity including gentle exercise, yoga, children’s dance classes and a healthy eating group.