Councils and housing associations
The Big Lunch and The Big Help Out are teaming up on 5-8 June for a weekend of friendship, food, fun and action – and everyone’s invited! It’s a great way to encourage your local residents to get to know one another and improve community connection.
Millions will come together to meet, eat and lend a hand locally in the UK’s biggest celebration of community.
Councils and housing bodies play a huge role in creating and fostering strong, connected communities – so do The Big Lunch and The Big Help Out.
With benefits such as safer, cleaner neighbourhoods, reduced social isolation and increased civic pride, these campaigns can help to ease pressure on other areas of the council too.
Supporting and enabling residents to take part and encouraging more people to join in can lead to a boost in local volunteering, engagement and an increased sense of belonging – creating lasting benefits to the community.
Hammersmith & Fulham is fully supportive of The Big Lunch because it fits with many of the councils’ values, such as encouraging civic pride, doing things ‘with not to’ residents and being a compassionate council.
Why it matters
0 %
of organisers said it made them feel a stronger sense of community
0.00 million
people were less lonely as a result
0 %
said they are more likely to get involved in community activities as a result
The power of bringing people together
Rewatch our webinar which explored the findings from the Belong Network’s evaluation of The Big Lunch and our wider communities programme. We reflected on 15 years of National Lottery Funding (2010-24) and discussed what works – highlighting the adaptability, flexibility and far-reaching benefits of The Big Lunch in helping communities thrive socially, economically and environmentally.
Things you can do
1) Invite people to join in
Spread the word by sharing the idea with relevant people, such as communities, neighbourhoods, highways, tenancy and customer involvement, and diversity teams. Encourage them to invite residents, local businesses and community groups in your area to get involved with the big do.
How to help
- Register your support with us so we can keep in touch, send you our toolkit and let you know about upcoming opportunities
- Signpost people to our free resources – we’ve got loads of tips and ideas to help people get involved
- Like, follow and share us on social media so you can keep your communities up to date with the latest news – you’ll find us @edencommunities across social channels
2) Run an event in your community
Lots of councils and housing associations host events, as well as encouraging residents to organise their own. It’s great for community engagement and encouraging inclusivity.
Our free resources can help you to organise an event for your residents, at a time to suit you during the Month of Community.
South Willesborough and Newtown Community Council held a community street party with a record number of local residents attending. Could your council do something similar?
3) Reduce red tape for road closures
If you’re a council, reducing red tape for road closures is a great way to enable and support people to host Big Lunches.
Council traffic managers and highways teams may receive an increased number of temporary road closure applications for The Big Lunch weekend (7-8 June). We recommend event organisers review our road closure guidance and reach out to their local council as soon as possible to ensure a smooth approval process and avoid any delays.
Help reduce barriers for street parties
- provide clear guidance and simple forms for road closure applications
- publicise application deadlines early and across all your relevant communications
- group multiple applications together under a single traffic management order if possible
- provide grants for communities unable to meet the costs, or linking organisers to local businesses willing to lend support
4) Cover the cost of insurance
If you recommend street party organisers take out public liability insurance, could you help with the costs?
In 2022 and 2023, Portsmouth City Council worked with us and our insurance partners Creative Risk to arrange and pay for blanket cover for street parties across the city. Have a chat with us if you’d like to find out more.
Council case studies
Belfast City Council
Keen to help communities make a difference where they live, Belfast City Council have made it easier for their residents to hold a Big…
Hammersmith and Fulham Council
Hammersmith & Fulham (H&F) is one of the smallest London Boroughs with a population of 183,544. The council has been supporting The Big Lunch…
Portsmouth City Council
Portsmouth City Council is a unitary authority representing the UK’s only island city, and one of the most densely populated areas in the UK…
Country specific support
If you’d like to have a chat about country specific participation and support, please get in touch with our Country Managers – they’d be happy to help!
Contact Grainne for Scotland and Northern Ireland Contact Lowri for Wales
