Market Hall - Ledbury
Sikh Temple - Smethwick
About us
From the sprawling urban areas of Birmingham, Coventry, Solihull, Wolverhampton and the Black Country, to heritage centres such as Stoke-on-Trent and Stratford-upon-Avon to the rural setting and it’s picturesque market towns and villages such as Ledbury and Ludlow, the West Midlands is a region rich in diversity.
The work of the regional team centres on the four core values of the DTA, supporting existing member trusts, assisting additional communities who wish to consider the development trust approach, persuading others within the region of the value of the development trust movement and running the organisation within the region effectively. This last is most successfully achieved by facilitating regular communication and sharing of best practice between members and other interested community groups, of which the quarterly regional network meeting is a core component.
Current activity in the West Midlands is predominately focused on supporting community groups and regeneration partnerships who feel that the development trust concept of community enterprise and asset development is the best way of sustaining and strengthening existing regenerative activity. Several groups are now in the process of becoming, or looking to become, development trusts and members of the movement. It is through this continued growth of regional strength that the DTA can expect to make a real impact on the region. Significantly, we are generating significant interest amongst rural partnerships who are increasingly taking a keen interest in our movement.
Specific recent work has included a procurement pilot which is helping member groups more effectively enter into contractual relationships with the local authorities and other statutory agencies. In addition, a recently contract won in partnership with other agencies should result in the application of the community enterprise healthcheck across a range of deprived and diverse communities across Birmingham and the Black Country, helping them to benefit from the expertise within the development trust movement.
List of Full Members:
All Saints Action Network Ltd
Bewdley Development Trust
Colebridge Development Trust
Friar Park Millennium Centre
Greets Green Community Enterprises
Ledbury and Area Development Trust
Moseley Community Development Trust
North Smethwick Development Trust
Old Hall People’s Partnership
South Wye Development Trust
WATCH Ltd
Witton Lodge Community Association
Emerging Membership
This category was formed in June 2006 to enable organisations with a clear commitment to establishing a development trust access to support and advice through the DTA. We currently have five emerging members: Stourport Forward, Moat House Community Trust, Stour CIC, Heartlands Older Peoples Forum and Kings Norton 3 Estates CDT.
Associate Membership
The region currently has 5 associate members.
Community of Identity Membership
We have two members in this new category: Burslem School of Art and Camp Hill Community Association.
Annual Membership Survey
The DTA has published its annual survey of members. The information yielded by this survey is extremely valuable in terms of informing on the breath and depth of development trust activity across the country.
Community Diversity
Our latest publication on Community Diversity has been published. Bonds & Bridges: A practitioners guide to community diversity.
Links
The DTA in the West Midlands works with a variety of partners:
Birmingham & Solihull Social Economy Consortium (BSSEC) is a practitioner-led network of agencies and enterprises involved in the social economy in Birmingham and Solihull.
i Social Entrepreneurs has been a trusted partner at the forefront of social enterprise support and has been committed to social firm development in the West Midlands since 1998.
Regen WM The mission of RegenWM is to promote and develop regeneration excellence in the West Midlands.
Regional Action West Midlands (RAWM) was established in 2000 as the regional strategic network for the West Midlands voluntary and community sector.
