In Aftab Rahman’s living room, back in 2010, a quest began to document the rich heritage of the Bangladeshi community living in Soho and Handsworth in Birmingham. Legacy West Midlands was founded, now employing 12 people, and having supported over 2,500 through its sports, arts, heritage and youth programmes.
“We’re a diverse community; Indian, Bangladeshi, East African. You can see it through the shops, the colour, the vibrancy here.”
“Each neighbourhood is different. Lozells has a real community spirit because people have lived there forever – the same in Aston. In Soho there are more HMOs [houses of multiple occupancy], but no real community spaces until we set them up.”
That’s where Legacy West Midlands steps in. Building on their heritage roots, their initiatives tackle inclusion and deprivation, generate opportunities for young people, and enrich the community, with a particular focus on the physical and mental wellbeing of communities.
Nurturing connection and community
Aftab, who comes from a youth work background, is still a mentor for young people. This thread runs through Legacy West Midlands, always looking for opportunities to give young people.
“The people I coached then lead the badminton sessions now. People that have been coached bring their kids – this is legacy work in the community.”
Health and wellbeing is another priority for Legacy West Midlands. There are health MOTs, Zumba classes, and a football league, which has grown from six to 120 people across eight teams. There’s a men’s cycling group which has changed the culture in the community, building momentum among people who said they previously thought it wasn’t for them.
Aftab knows sport can be a foot in the door to engaging young people. “Take the badminton club – there’s 25 people building confidence, some competing up to county level.”
“We’ve helped some become Zumba instructors themselves. We give volunteers the money to train, then they deliver sessions back to the community to create that legacy. The same with football and badminton. They can pass the baton onto young people.”
But to create this culture shift, you need to be able to reach in. “It can be hard to get people here – people are surviving – they don’t always have extra capacity to get involved. You have to go to where the community is at.”
One way Legacy West Midlands have built their reputation and trust is through providing community sessions that aren’t found elsewhere locally. As well as this, their longevity. Being around for well over a decade means they have been able to support and nurture people through more than one generation.
Looking towards the future
At the moment Legacy West Midlands are the trusted tenants of the Soho House Visitor Centre, but they have bold ambitions to transform the church across the road into a multi-use community space. A walk around the premises shows why. It’s peaceful, despite being accessible from the main road. The road itself will be essential for driving footfall.
Aftab paints a picture of a community cafe spilling out onto the courtyard, local social enterprises renting office space, and a schedule of cultural events that draw people in from beyond Handsworth. “We want to make this a destination space. Food fairs, community theatre performances, events and seminars.”
It would be a huge feat, requiring work alongside the Church of England and many other partners, but the buzz it could generate is already tangible. And that’s not all. Legacy West Midlands have set their sights on becoming community asset developers, hoping to one day provide affordable housing for community members.
To achieve their dreams, dedicated resources and sustainable finance are needed. “It’s all about meaningful, long-term funding. You need funding for five to ten years to transform the neighbourhood.”
Aftab has thoughts on the role local and regional government can play, calling for a focus on social value and incentivising local businesses to support community initiatives.
“The council needs to look at its contracting and procurement. Instead of multinationals, can they do business with social enterprises in Birmingham? Can major businesses be encouraged to look at who they’re employing? How can we draw from a local pool, rather than bringing people from elsewhere in?”
He speaks of a more inclusive approach to business, and government support for community projects. ‘If you want to go fast – go alone. If you want to go far – go with a community group’
Growing the local social economy
Legacy West Midlands sees itself as an anchor organisation, with a wide and deep connection to the community and local businesses and community groups.
Now, they are playing a central role in growing the social economy in Soho and Handsworth and beyond. They are the Social Economy Clusters programme lead for the Birmingham Handsworth cluster. This programme is run by the West Midlands Combined Authority, supported by Power to Change. It invests in places where there is a need for social enterprise and where social economy activity is evident.
Through this, lead organisations, such as Legacy West Midlands in Handsworth, and Witton Lodge Community Association who are leading the Birmingham Perry Common, Wyrley Birch and Erdington cluster, both match-funded by Power to Change, bring together local stakeholders and the wider community to create a plan to grow the local social economy.
‘It’s been good to learn a lot about social enterprises in the area. We’re in touch with around 20. We’re seeing how others operate and are learning from each other. These are all largely social entrepreneurs driven by outcome not by profit. If they see a need they say, ‘we’ll fix it’.
It’s this same thread that runs through Legacy West Midlands, a real community purpose, and unbounded aspirations. Aftab says, ‘We set the vision, and the details will look after themselves.’
