Youth work, sport, and community-led development came together in the spotlight in September, as the Blackbridge Community and Sports Hub in Podsmead welcomed Government Minister for Sport, Civil Society and Youth, Stephanie Peacock MP.

The visit showcased how investment and community ownership are transforming opportunities for young people in Gloucester — and how the Blackbridge site is becoming a national example of what’s possible when local people and communities lead the way.

From Grassland to Community Hub

Once an underused area of grassland in Podsmead, the Blackbridge site is now a thriving hub for sport, leisure and youth provision. The transformation has been driven by Blackbridge Charitable Community Benefit Society (CBS), incorporated to deliver the Blackbridge sports and community development and support further opportunities in the Matson and Podsmead areas of Gloucester, with key objectives including:

• Maintaining and improving physical, social, and economic infrastructure locally
• Advancing education, particularly around community and environmentally focused enterprise
• Holding land in trust for the community

Early support came in 2022 when Resonance Community Developers invested £100,000 in pre-development work, helping turn a long-term vision into a reality. This work built the foundations for a project that has since attracted major backing, including a £2.5 million Youth Investment Fund grant.

The Youth Investment Fund is funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and is delivered by Social Investment Business in partnership with Resonance, Key Fund and National Youth Agency.

Youth Investment at the Heart

The Minister’s visit shone a light on how youth services are being strengthened at Blackbridge, with Gloucestershire Gateway Trust supporting the future of youth work at the hub through £100,000 of funding over the next three years.

Young people themselves have been central to decision-making, including influencing the design of the hub itself. As Gloucester MP Alex McIntyre heard directly during the visit, young people like Bonnie, a Blackbridge Youth Club member, are passionate about creating spaces that encourage empathy, collaboration, and shared responsibility.

Nick Temple, CEO of Social Investment Business, called the hub “a shining example of quality youth work and co-production”, while the Minister praised it as a model of the Government’s Plan for Change: breaking down barriers to opportunity and giving young people safe, modern spaces in their own communities.

Fit Fridays and a Growing Future

To mark the visit, the Minister launched Fit Friday, a new weekly youth night that offers bookable sessions on the hub’s sports pitches, alongside a brand-new youth café. These complement existing Tuesday and Thursday youth clubs already thriving at the hub.

Debbie Etheridge, Head of Youth Provision at Blackbridge, said:
“We were delighted and proud — as an organisation, as a youth team, and on behalf of all the young people who benefit from using the Community and Sports Hub in Podsmead — to showcase what we’ve achieved together. It’s undoubtedly something to be proud of and having Stephanie Peacock MP and our supporters and stakeholders who have helped us on our journey here with us was the cherry on the cake.”

A Model for Community Ownership

The story of Blackbridge is about more than bricks and mortar. It’s about what happens when communities take ownership of their future. Bringing together a wide range of stakeholders – that that includes Gloucester City Homes (GCH) and Podsmead Big Local (PBL) – the ‘Podsmead Partnership’ plans and invests in a positive future for the neighbourhood,

This partnership fulfils a strategic role in the re-birth of Podsmead, with GCH investing long term in new and existing homes, PBL building a sustainable legacy to its work over the past decade, and Blackbridge CCBS developing as a community anchor organisation for local residents. Alongside investment from Resonance Community Developers and the Youth Investment Fund, the ongoing support of local partners, shows how investing with purpose can deliver lasting change.

As Mark Gale of Blackbridge CBS summed it up:
“The development of the new community hub, with all the facilities attached to it, will make such a significant difference to our community, helping to give individuals access to sport and leisure facilities that are badly needed.”

Blackbridge is now not just a hub for Podsmead and Matson, but a beacon of what’s possible when investment, partnership, and community voice come together.

About Resonance Community Developers

Resonance Community Developers (RCD) is a Resonance Ltd social investment fund. It was designed to support communities to create and own assets that meet local needs and help to build community cohesion, by investing in community-led affordable homes and facilities that benefit the whole community. 

The fund invests in: 

• Affordable homes 
• Sports and leisure facilities 
• Low-carbon and renewable energy generation 
• Other community assets 

Find out more:

For investors 

For community projects looking for investment 

About the Youth Investment Fund

Resonance is a proud Partner of the Youth Investment fund (YIF).

The Youth Investment Fund forms part of the Government’s ‘National Youth Guarantee’ to ensure every young person across England will have access to regular out of school activities, adventures away from home and opportunities to volunteer. The Youth Investment Fund, of over £300 million, is funded by the UK Government and delivered by Social Investment Business in partnership with National Youth Agency, Resonance, and the Key Fund.    

The Youth Investment Fund has been developed to create, expand, and improve local youth facilities and their services in the out-of-school youth sector, to drive positive outcomes for young people, including improved mental and physical wellbeing, and skills for life and work.    

The Youth Investment Fund will fund the building or renovation of 300 youth services and will increase the number of regular positive activities undertaken by young people in the targeted areas by 45,000 per year, by 2026/27.    
 

To learn more, visit www.youthinvestmentfund.org.uk