Near Neighbours

Near Neighbours in a nutshell

This initiative brings people together who are near neighbours in communities that are diverse, so they can get to know each other better, build relationships as people and collaborate together on initiatives that improve the local community they live in.

Funded by the government, Near Neighbours is run by the Church Urban Fund and hosted locally by Bradford Churches for Dialogue and Diversity.

Near Neighbours has two key objectives:

1. Social interaction - to develop positive relationships in multi-faith areas i.e. to help people from different faiths get to know and understand each other better.
2. Social action - to encourage people of different faiths, or no faith, to come together for initiatives that improve their local neighbourhood.  

What’s happening in Bradford?

Up to March 2012 groups in Bradford received grants totalling approx £130,000 with another £20,000 in the pipeline.  These have been for a variety of uses including: 

• supporting parents and toddlers groups,
• setting up community gardens,
• buying gym equipment for a keep fit boxing club for young people in Allerton, 
• purchasing a “Yurt” to be used as a neutral space where gatherings between different faith or culture groups can take place in a non-threatening way.
• setting up a “story telling” area in a church yard for the local community to share their stories
• providing sewing machines for a multi faith women’s group

Catalyst Youth Leaders

Alongside the grants programme a youth leadership programme, Catalyst, is running.  This is intended to identify young people from various communities and help to give them the skills and competencies they need to become the future leaders in their own communities and to have the confidence to work across any perceived divides.

Why is Near Neighbours needed?

Some places in England such as Leicester, Bradford, parts of Birmingham and East London have a number of different faith communities living close to each other.

These are often areas of deprivation and the people living there share common concerns – they want a better local community, but they don’t come together to talk or act on this as much as they could.

Yet, local people in local communities are the ones who are ideally placed to identify and develop solutions that can improve their own neighbourhood.

Separation can lead to misunderstanding and a lack of trust or respect for each other, which is not healthy for a local community. 

Near Neighbours builds on work the churches and their partners who live locally have already been doing.

Where is it working?

Near Neighbours is operating in parishes in Bradford, Oldham and Burnley. To find out if you live in an eligible area look on the website for a list of parishes: www.cuf.org.uk/near-neighbours/grants

Need more help or information?

Carlo Schröder is the Near Neighbours Coordinator for the North of England. He can be contacted on 07714 167923 or via email: Carlo

News Update

It has been an important year for BCDD and the Near Neighbours Programme.  BCDD has run the programme in Bradford, Burnley and Oldham.  60 grants have ben awarded up to 31st March 2012 to promote association between people and communities of different faiths and ethnicities.

These projects have included:

• 29 projects focussing on first encounters and everyday interaction
• 2 projects focussing on older people
• 3 environmental projects
• 5 projects bringing women together
• 6 projects focussing on the needs of children
• 10 projects foccussing on the needs of young people
• 2 educational projects
• 3 sports based projects