We have been funded by Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council to deliver part of their Community Cohesion and Resilience Programme which aims to bring communities together to improve cohesion, reduce divisions in places facing the worst extremism challenges and improve the capability of places to tackle the extremist narratives and ideologies that are driving our communities apart.

The aftermath of the 2024 Southport incident shone a light on the divisions we face so we are completing a series of focus groups and following with a Citizens’ Jury in the Higher Croft area of Blackburn to both learn and suggest ways to tackle the divisions this community faces. Our expert speakers include ARC Blackburn who work with asylum seekers and refugees, a reformed far right activist, Prevent who work with individuals at risk of becoming involved in terrorism and Blackburn’s Interfaith Forum. Our Jury panel of community members will then make recommendations based on this information of how Higher Croft can be more cohesive.

We are also planning an event for the people of Higher Croft to bring everyone together, with food prepared by community members from their home country allowing people to share stories and get to know one another better.

The project will have a video report to show the journey of the project and highlight specific learning points.