We are Westcliff: What’s the story so far?

In 2018 we invested over £9 million in the Westcliff estate to transform the area, bring much needed new homes, create a safer neighbourhood and support residents to take pride in where they live.

As part of this they opened The Arc, a community hub which hosts events, helps residents with employment, housing, financial support and also has facilities including a Post Office, The Arcafe, meeting rooms and provides fun social activities.

There are 2,000 homes across the Westcliff estate, meaning over 5,000 tenants have access to this.

In 2020 we were then awarded over £500,000 from the Safer Streets Fund. This was spent on improving the area, helping local residents to feel safer in their home and community. This involved bike register workshops, installing new communal doors, upgrading door entry systems, putting up stronger metal fencing, house alarms, and adding new bike pods.

To build on this investment and the work of colleagues, customers and partner agencies, they then launched the ‘We are Westcliff’ campaign in 2021.

The aim is to showcase the amazing work members of the community do every day and bring people together.

Local tenant Emma Smith commented: “The Arc is a great place. The staff are working hard to make our community better and you can see it improving with every passing year.

“Young people and adults on the estate have lots of opportunities to take part in free activities each week, including regular youth clubs and social groups. I have been coming to The Arc since it opened and have great friends here. I can honestly say I love Westcliff”

Fran Rhodes, our Regeneration Coordinator said: “The response so far to the We are Westcliff campaign has been fantastic.

“It’s lovely to shine the light on people who are making a difference, and to celebrate them with other local people is so special to see. We are so grateful for the work they do.

“The amount of people involved shows how much of an impact this project is making for the community and we cannot wait to do more. Thank you to everyone who has been involved so far.

“There are so many events coming up this year and we’d love for you to come along and get involved.”

To find out more about the We are Westcliff campaign, or to get involved, contact The Arc on 01724 298818 or follow them on social media.