b inspired, Braunstone

b inspired’s Talk Time Older People’s Social Group (Credit: b inspired)

For 25 years, b inspired has been transforming underused assets into community spaces in Braunstone (Leicester) and surrounding areas.

The charity has become a community anchor, championing the neighbourhood and its citizens to reach their full potential – promoting health and social wellbeing, and supporting community businesses to bring activities to life that harness local strength and respond to real need.

b inspired provides numerous support services itself, as well as acquiring and operating local buildings.

The origins

Initially called Braunstone Community Association (BCA), the organisation was set up in 2000 by the Braunstone Partnership (a group of local residents and organisations delivering on a government investment via the New Deal for Communities – NDC).

They launched much-needed services for health, social care, employability, youth support and activities, by regenerating facilities and supporting local delivery partners. This attracted further investment, including from Sport England, Football Foundation, National Lottery Community Fund and the European Union.

Ahead of the programme’s end in 2010, local resident and programme manager Angie Wright came together with colleagues, residents and a range of partners (from health and housing to policing and children’s services) to plan a successor to the work.

They wanted to carry forward the legacy, and ensure Braunstone had a long-term vehicle for community-led regeneration, with local residents’ needs and services at the heart.

So, b inspired was born as a charity and a re-brand of the original community association.

The charity evolved from a time-bound programme focus to a long-term neighbourhood focus, governed by a representative board of stakeholder organisations and residents.

Stewarding spaces to activate services

The first building they acquired, with funds from the NDC, was an old Post Office and Shop on Wellinger Way in 2000. It became a drop-in project office and then developed into the Neighbourhood Support Team’s home.

b inspired (as BCA) then catalysed a series of assets into community use through various means: from convening resident consultations, to enabling partners through NDC funding, to holding the keys themselves.

Between 2000-2010 this included:

• Opening Gallards Hill Neighbourhood Support Hub as a community employment and training hub (B-working), which today is the home for the Neighbourhood Support Team 

• The Six Streets: 178 properties set for demolition handed to Leicester Housing Association from Leicester City Council to be renovated and re-let

• Braunstone Health & Social Care Centre (an award-winning purpose-built building on derelict land that was unsuitable for housing)

• Renovating a local old library building into an integrated hub with library, adult education and community space, with environmental features like a ‘grey water system’ and other energy efficiency measures.

…and more (explore their 25th anniversary story). 

“When shops, centres or services close down, who gets to determine what happens next?

We’re demonstrating how moving them into community hands is a win-win, both for local residents and for the council, who want to see a thriving, healthy Braunstone.”

— Angie Wright, Chief Executive Officer, b inspired

Health, social care and wellbeing

In 2017, the Braunstone Health & Social Care Centre was officially signed over to b inspired, who’d been stewarding it since the NDC programme. Today it includes a large GP service, pharmacy, cafe, offices and 20+ clinics.

Transforming the Grove — a catalyst for community enterprise and young people

In 2019, b inspired took on The Grove Community Hub with a 25-year lease through a Community Asset Transfer from Leicester City Council, after bringing the local community together to decide what they wanted and needed from the building.

They secured it with capital funding from Garfield Weston Foundation and Power to Change, and a crowdfunder. The Grove had been closed since 2015, after 50 years run by the Council (as a community coffee bar, then adult learning service, then youth/sports centre).

b inspired has since refurbished and transformed The Grove into a vibrant multiuse space where local groups, activities and services flourish. This was supported by a £1 million investment through Power to Change’s Empowering Places programme, designed to catalyse community businesses to create lasting change in disadvantaged areas like Braunstone.

The Grove is now an incubator for social enterprises, including a new community cafe and bar, football and dance academies – and a ‘pre-loved’ shop selling affordable second-hand clothes and goods, housed at Wellinger Way.

Retrofitting was done in stages, with energy efficiency measures like triple-glazing and solar panels undertaken in 2024 thanks to a £400,000 grant from the government’s Youth Investment Fund – along with a new basketball court, multi-purpose room for youth activities, performing arts space and secure bike storage and maintenance facilities.

Long-term community empowerment

This is just a snapshot of the wide range of services and spaces that b inspired has brought to life with the local community. Many were acquired from the city council through asset transfers or below-market sale prices, including old social services buildings, an empty post office and an abandoned row of shops.

b inspired’s financial sustainability comes from a mix of trading income, rental income and assets. They focus on making rent affordable for local health services, creative enterprises and community businesses to be there for the long term.

“The partnerships and mutual trust have been so vital in this journey — with the council, housing associations, businesses, community groups and funders.

After 25 years, we’re here to stay. I grew up in Braunstone, and hope future generations will ‘b inspired’ to bring their own ideas to life. Having community stewardship of assets is crucial for that to happen.”

— Angie Wright, Chief Executive Officer, b inspired

Want to know Angie’s top tips for other community asset developers?