When Grapevine community organiser Michelle knocked doors in the Grove Farm area of Nuneaton, she didn’t expect to find a campaign already underway. Sheila explained that she and fellow resident Pam had, for some time, been trying to get the bus shelter on Thorntons Way reinstated.
It had been taken away three years earlier without a local consultation, a casualty of the pandemic and lacking funding for its maintenance.
For residents like Pam, the loss was more than an inconvenience. Waiting for the bus in the open, sometimes for fifteen or twenty minutes at a time, meant standing exposed to the hot sun of summer and wind and rain in winter – often laden with shopping from the walk back from Aldi.
Without anywhere to shelter, or even to sit after walking up the hill, many people simply stopped using the bus altogether – cutting them off from the rest of the town.
Sheila’s health meant she couldn’t take an active role beyond her own front room. But her passion for the cause never wavered and she stayed closely involved throughout.
Michelle saw the potential to turn two residents’ frustration into a wider community effort. She kept door-knocking, handed out leaflets at the bus stop itself to hear directly from people affected and used social media to recruit others eager to help.
The group grew: Sofia took on correspondence and became the spokesperson in meetings with council officials. While Pam worked the phones to keep everything on track. Paul and Gwyn helped too. Ward councillors Chris Watkins and Kath Price, and Warwickshire County Council community development worker Chris Florance, also lent their support to the campaign.
The result was the reinstatement of the bus shelter – a small addition that has made a noticeable difference to daily life in Grove Farm.
Sofia, reflecting on what the bus shelter campaign achieved, put it simply: “The bus shelter offers peace of mind and increases my confidence using the bus service. It also demonstrates and builds faith in the power of community.”
The change has reached further than transport. “I feel a sense of community,” Pam explained. “With the new noticeboard, I can see what’s on at the theatre, and I can easily go into town because I no longer fear waiting for the bus. I am very happy.”
With Michelle’s help, this team of residents have become the Friends of Grove Farm and now share the keys to the new community noticeboard with the town’s Abbey Theatre venue. They’ve also delivered three successful community fun days with free activities for families at the Kingswood Tavern.
These wins have given the Friends of Grove Farm, now a formally constituted group, real momentum. Now they are campaigning for improved playground facilities in the area – proof that when neighbours organise together, one small win can grow into greater ambition for lasting change for the whole community.
Shifting Power
More about our Shifting Power work can be found here. Read our five-year strategy here.