A major three-year initiative to tackle rising loneliness and social isolation in Stonehouse, Cinderford, Mitcheldean, Cam and Dursley will be launched following a £900,000 investment from The Summerfield Charitable Trust.

Building Connections: People, Place & Partnership will be delivered by three Gloucestershire-based charities – Forest Voluntary Action Forum, GL11 Community Hub and All Pulling Together. The initiative is designed around a simple but fundamentally important concept: that people need places, and places need people. By investing in both, the programme will help residents feel more connected, confident and able to shape what happens in their own neighbourhoods. These five towns and villages have been chosen because they show some of the highest combined risk factors for loneliness and isolation in Gloucestershire, but also because of their potential.

The initiative will seek to ensure that every resident has somewhere to go, people to meet, and a reason to participate, reducing loneliness, strengthening and sustaining capacity for connection. The initiative responds to challenges experienced across rural and semi-rural communities, where social isolation, limited transport and uneven access to activities and support can make it harder for people to participate in community life. At the same time, each area has active residents, trusted local organisations and community spaces with the potential to do more when they have the right people, resources and relationships around them.

Building Connections has been shaped with communities rather than designed for them. It will build on existing strengths and create the time and capacity to listen, test ideas and respond at the pace of everyday life. Its delivery model recognises that a welcoming building alone does not create a connected community; trusted people are also needed to reach out, open doors and help residents turn ideas into action.

David Owen, Chair of Trustees at The Summerfield Charitable Trust, commented:

“The Summerfield Trust is proud to make this landmark investment in Building Connections. The evidence is clear: people need places, and places need people. This programme brings both sides together in a genuinely transformative way.

By supporting a community‑owned ecosystem across Cinderford, Mitcheldean, Stonehouse, Cam and Dursley, we are backing the residents, volunteers and organisations who hold their communities together. Their insight, their energy and their determination have shaped this proposal from the ground up.

“Our nearly £1 million commitment reflects our belief that every person deserves somewhere to go, people to meet, and a reason to participate. This is a long‑term, place‑based investment in the things that make life meaningful – connection, belonging and shared purpose.

“We are delighted to stand alongside FVAF, GL11 and APT as they help local people create the welcoming, resilient and inclusive communities they have told us they want and deserve.”

People and places working together

A Community Partnership Facilitator will support work in the Forest of Dean, alongside Community Buddies in Cam and Dursley and Stonehouse and locally based Partnership Builders. These roles will work at neighbourhood level: connecting residents with community spaces, offering one-to-one encouragement or personalised invitations, supporting volunteers and local leaders, and helping groups develop activities that reflect what matters locally.

Community Chests will place practical resources directly within the participating areas. Over four years, £60,000 will be shared across Cam and Dursley and Stonehouse, while Cinderford and Mitcheldean will each benefit from £125,000. Residents, groups and local organisations will be able to use this funding to test and grow neighbourhood activities through micro-grants and small-scale events, ensuring that local ideas can move from conversation to action.

The three partners will also learn together, sharing insight and measuring what changes for residents, volunteers, community buildings and the wider local system. This joined-up approach is intended to reduce duplication, strengthen local capacity and help successful ideas endure beyond the three-year investment.

Matt Lennard, Chief Executive of Gloucestershire VCSE Alliance, said:

“Building Connections is a great example of what can be achieved when funders, charities and communities work together around a shared vision. This investment recognises that lasting change comes from trusting local people, strengthening local partnerships and building on the assets that already exist within our communities. We’re proud to support this collaboration and look forward to seeing the positive impact it will have across Gloucestershire.”

A lasting local legacy

Building Connections is expected to benefit residents who are isolated or less likely to take part in community life, as well as volunteers, local leaders, community organisations and the buildings that bring people together. Its focus is not simply on increasing activity, but on strengthening belonging, confidence, relationships and the ability of local people to contribute to their communities.

Chris Brown, Chief Executive Officer of Forest Voluntary Action Forum commented:

“We are incredibly grateful to Summerfield Charitable Trust for investing in Building Connections. This funding will help communities across Cinderford and Mitcheldean to create more sustainable and welcoming spaces, strengthen local partnerships, and give more people opportunities to connect, contribute and belong. We passionately believe that power, decision-making and resources should sit as close as possible to residents and grassroots organisations, and this investment marks another important step towards building stronger, fairer and more empowered communities.”

By the end of the programme, the partnership aims to leave stronger neighbourhood networks, better-used and more sustainable community spaces, more confident volunteers and local leaders, and established ways for residents to influence local activity and investment. Learning from the different communities will also help partners understand what enables connection to grow across other rural and semi-rural parts of Gloucestershire.

Jacky Edwards, Chair of All Pulling Together CIC commented:

“All Pulling Together are delighted to be part of the Building Connections project and are very grateful to the Summerfield Charitable Trust for making the investment possible. At APT we believe strong communities can be built when our local people have the confidence, skills and opportunities to shape what they need, where they live. We are excited to work alongside our residents and local organisations to strengthen our community.”

The investment forms part of The Summerfield Charitable Trust’s Connected Society theme and reflects its unique approach to strategic, community-led funding, as it spends out its funds. Working with Gloucestershire VCSE Alliance, the Trust is supporting co-produced proposals that shift power closer to communities, invest in trusted local relationships and create lasting social change.