In July 2010, the Big Lottery Fund launched the £200million Big Local Programme pinpointing areas that have previously been overlooked for funding and investment, that face a range of different issues from the decline of industry to high levels of unemployment and crime, or a pressing need for new support services or activities.
Shadsworth with Whitebirk was awarded £1million to be spent over 10 years to make sustainable improvements to life within the Ward. In October 2017, an additional £100,000 was awarded to Shadsworth with Whitebirk which came from the investment return on the Big Local endowment, which is managed by Local Trust to provide funding for the programme, which runs until 2026-27.
The Ward has 3,334 households and a population of 8,511. The ward is made up of predominately White British people with approximately 13% coming from an Asian (Indian and Pakistani) heritage. More recently some people from Eastern European countries have been moving into the area. 58% of the housing in the Ward is rented of which 45% is social housing the majority of which is managed by Twin Valley Homes, the Borough’s largest Social Landlord. (2011 Census data).
Shadsworth with Whitebirk has 1,571 households with no adult in work and compared with the Borough, it has a much lower proportion of its workers in managerial, professional or technical occupations. The Ward has 1,151 households in which somebody lives with a long-term activity-limiting illness and 906 residents provide unpaid care for someone with an illness or disability. Big Local is more than just a grant giving programme and it also includes support to develop social investment and social entrepreneurship.