Coallville CAN is showing how local people can take back control of their community spaces and inspiring local pride.
An interview with Deana Bamford and Ian Wilson
Coalville C.A.N. is one of the most inspiring examples of community innovation in England today. In this interview its founders explain the background and what has been achieved so far.
Coalville's history is a rich story of industrial innovation, a story that resonates with many towns across England. Founded in the 1830s with mining as its backbone, Coalville thrived on advancements in both the mining and railway sectors. This spirit of innovation soon extended to the brick and mosaic industry, and later to companies like Palitoy, which became known for manufacturing toys that delighted children across the country and world.
Social innovators of the time like George Stephenson and George Smith were ahead of their time caring for people and fighting for the rights of others.
At its peak, Coalville was celebrated as a pioneering town, even drawing national attention for its modern shopping precinct—a place where people could shop free from the bustle of traffic. This was founded on a working class economy and culture based on mining and the self confidence, self belief of the time.
Today, though, the town’s self-narrative leans more towards nostalgia, remembering "what was" rather than looking to "what could be." The focus has shifted from local ingenuity to waiting on external forces—developers or government—to revive the town centre with little thought for the community. However, this sentiment also reflects a desire for a revival, for Coalville to reclaim its innovative spirit. Many residents wish to reimagine Coalville as a place where creativity and progress flourish once again, transforming the town’s legacy into a forward-looking story written by the community itself.
Coalville's town centre faces challenges familiar to many high streets today. While the outskirts of the town has thousands of developer built new housing developments. Houses build with no sense of a community hub or life beyond the boxes and connecting with neighbours. Economically the area has wages close to the national average income, a manufacturing sector as well as being in the logistics triangle we also have areas of economic deprivation and significant underlying issues: a town centre struggling. Most of the newer residents have to drive to reach neighbourhood services and so with poor public transport links once in the car it is not much more of a journey to go further afield for what they see as better shopping and entertainment options.
The heart of the issue is not only economic but also about the community’s sense of agency and connection. There is a sense of disconnection and fragmentation. New housing developments lack communal spaces where people can casually connect, and many residents find themselves commuting or working in environments—like warehouses or remote home offices—that offer limited opportunity for social interaction. The spaces to connect have a price of entry either as consumers or signing up to a set of values or tenets of faith. The result is a town where people feel isolated, caught in routines without much room for organic connection, which is essential for a thriving community.
Like every town centre our holds potential. There are vacant spaces and locations that could serve as hubs for innovation and connection, yet high rents and boarded-up storefronts make them inaccessible. Coalville needs not just physical revitalization but a boost in collective self-belief—a shared conviction that the community itself can shape a positive future.
A couple of additional thoughts, Coalville is a new place (well 1830s) surrounded by towns and villages with long histories. We are over 92% white British and 95% white, though given the industrial history many people moved to the area following the work, being welcoming to new people to the area is a core value. During the miners strike most of the local pits worked so we have an interesting history of working class community without the political expression of these values found in most other coalfields and this is still raw.
Deana: Setting up Coalville CAN was inspired by a transformative moment when Ian introduced the concept of a Community Benefit Society (CBS) during a talk on co-operatives. For someone with over two decades in the local voluntary sector, the idea of a CBS was a revelation—a model that felt like it could bring genuine, sustainable change to communities across neighbourhoods, in our towns and villages as well as cities. Yet, it was also surprising to realize how few people seemed to know about it.
During the lockdown, however, new opportunities for online connection opened up, and it became clear that others were not only aware but actively setting up CBSs and similar initiatives, like Community Land Trusts all across the country.
Initially we planned for TH!NK FC our social enterprise already set up and dedicated to Levelling the Playing Field by sharing tools for community thinking and problem-solving—to incorporate CBSs into new workshops. However, merely talking about these models didn’t feel impactful enough. It became clear that the best way to make real and share the idea was to set up a CBS ourselves. While initial efforts in Coalville, collaborating with various groups, didn’t quite get off the ground, the experience led to a valuable realization: if this was going to succeed, we had to take ownership and make it happen.
So we decided to devote a minimum of 15 years to seeing where we get too!
The decision to establish Coalville CAN in Coalville was also motivated by a comment from a National Lottery funding officer: “If you can do it in Coalville, you can do it anywhere.” Coalville’s perceived distinctive challenges and the existing connections to it made it the perfect proving ground. The journey of Coalville CAN speaks to the importance of taking bold steps and leading by example when introducing new models for community empowerment, demonstrating that real change often starts with a few dedicated people willing to turn ideas into action.
Discover more at: https://www.thinkfc.org.uk and https://coalvillecan.coop
Ian: This call to action—“If not us, then who?”—captures the essence of community-led change. The realization that no one else seemed ready to step up to create the impact we wanted to see and felt was needed made clear the next steps. Instead of waiting for an outside solution, it became clear that the power to initiate change lay within the community itself. Inspired by examples of so many others, it became obvious that every community, including our own, holds the potential to make a difference.
The journey from inspiration to action is a bold step. It's easy to be inspired, to see great work being done elsewhere, but acting on that inspiration is where the real challenge and opportunities lie. You understand that change isn’t about waiting for the right moment or the right people to come along; it’s about committing to action with the resources and passion already present.
By moving beyond talk and into action, we're not just making a statement—we're setting an example for others to follow. Our efforts invites every community, you don’t need to be ‘special’ to create lasting impact; it just needs people willing to take the first steps. This is how change takes root: when ordinary people decide that they can.
Being a CBS is very important to us and we believe passionately in this as a model for citizenship and community action. However people can make a difference with any legal structure and culture beats structure in making a difference.
The core attraction is it is democratic and exists to benefit a community, not just the members, using a strong basis of values and ethics. The key parts for us are it is one member one vote and anyone who shares our commitment to the area and caring for each other is welcome to be a member, to have a vote and make a difference. One third of our Board is up for re-election each year. We made the decision that we would not be on the Board as we are both now employees on a part time basis. We believe in helping each other and everyone having a contribution. The charity model undermines people's sense of power and trustees are not democratically elected or accountable to those they say they serve. CIC's have democracy as an optional extra and lack a counterbalance to either chasing grants so following the funder's agenda and terms or being pulling into the transactional consumer model. Citizenship is at the heart of an effective CBS.
The other super power of a CBS is the ability to do a community share offer, a real test of the robustness of your plans as well as the level of support. This being a part of the local co-operative heritage as well as the wider co-operative movement, the co-operative values and ethics are at our heart.
Our approach is about encouraging a powerful shift in thinking about community, it’s not about simply offering support or engagement in the traditional sense but about empowering people to identify what truly matters to them. Rather than prescribing a solution, we’re inviting people to explore what changes they want to see and what they’re passionate enough to act on. This idea of “walking alongside” community members, asking, “What do you care enough about to take action on?” builds ownership, resilience, and self-belief. A couch to 5k approach for our community and relationship muscles.
This approach is simple yet makes a significant difference. Too often, efforts in community work get bogged down by agendas, competition for credit, or rigid expectations tied to grant funding or council agendas. By focusing instead on “following the energy”—allowing people to try new things, learn, and sometimes fail—you create a space where success isn’t measured only by immediate outcomes but by the lasting impact on people’s confidence, sense of agency, and connection with their neighbours.
In this sense, each project is a success story. Even if a specific outcome isn’t reached, if people feel more engaged, or if even one person becomes an active, contributing member of the community, that’s a win. This way of thinking turns every attempt into meaningful progress because it reinforces a belief in people’s power to shape their own lives and spaces.
Our approach defines success in community building—not as reaching a final destination, but as building a neighbourhood of empowered individuals who continue to care, contribute, and believe in each other, in their collective potential.
What this means in practice is being alongside people to develop their own interests be it publishing or public radio, model making or music. We don't put on projects or events, we work with people who are passionate to put on their own projects and events - of course our own passions and projects are a part of this, as members of our community not as the keepers of the purse or process.
We try and say yes and also look at the risk of not doing something. Having a space where a veteran with PTSD can put on an exhibition in our Gallery, talk with people through being creative and then form a model making club is so rewarding. Having a space where there is no price of entry, all are valued for their contribution, heard and seen and then seeing what happens.
What are seen as interlocking processes are just how people live their lives in its rich complexity and in sharing a place. Coalville CAN has on our ground floor a shop, public living room, flexible workshop space, upholstery workshop, repair bench and tool library, meeting room and Gallery. Did we have a grand design for this, no we had a set of values and space which keeps reinventing itself as decided by those who turn up and being welcoming to all..
It does not always feel very sustainable as we wrestle with the challenges, though we do think and the evidence supports community based models are sustainable. We still see ourselves as a start -up and in the early stages. We keep measuring ourselves against the ambition for our community and the size of the extractive economy, which takes money out of the local economy. The due diligence and effort of a share offer means you have to do the thinking which underpins being sustainable.
Our model is a blend of creativity, enterprise, and community-centered action, with a structure that offers flexibility and sustainability beyond typical charitable or top down organisations. By operating as a community co-op with charitable tax status, we’ve chosen a structure that not only qualifies for various grants and business rate relief but also retains the ability to pursue income-generating contracts. This approach makes us less dependent on grants alone, empowering us to shape the organisation’s direction and maintain financial stability through diverse revenue streams.
When we started we had a patient loan and were over 90% grant funded. Our plan is to reduce the element of grant funding down, over time to around 50% by taking into community ownership assets which then see the rents circulated locally and kept in the area as well as having a social purpose.
A key component of our model is using physical spaces strategically. By taking on buildings and controlling how they’re used, we create a powerful tool for nurturing community engagement and enterprise. This setup allows us to offer a range of options—from the solidarity room hire rate of a cup of tea, welcoming people in an accessible way, to free or affordable spaces for budding community projects. Meanwhile, the availability of semi-commercial or fully commercial rentals in the same space generates income while ensuring that community-driven projects have room to grow and develop.
This flexible approach to space usage allows people from different backgrounds and life experiences to bump into each other, share ideas, and collaborate. It encourages participation by offering various ways to engage—whether someone is there for a chat, to test a project, or to rent space for a business. By balancing community needs with enterprise, we’ve tried to create an adaptable, resilient model that empowers individuals and groups to contribute, collaborate, and build something meaningful. We hope this model is a sustainable blueprint for community empowerment, driven by creativity and practical enterprise rather than traditional charity.
Ian: Our approach to sustainability is organic and we want to grow our impact not our size or turnover. We call it the "strawberry patch model." Rather than scaling up a single, large organization, focus on fostering a network of small organisations, each "people-sized,". We don't want to become process and policy driven with over 100 people working here, rather to have seeded 10 or more organisations which each employ 10 people. This model prioritizes relationships and community impact over rapid growth, creating a landscape where smaller organizations can respond flexibly to local opportunities while remaining committed to a shared vision.
When we start each new project or enterprise, we have in mind and aim to build in the mechanisms for long-term viability. By identifying individuals who are passionate about the project, we give them the support they need to nurture it into something self-sustaining. Our role as an organisation is not to control or retain projects but to encourage people to "leave the nest," develop an independent identity, and grow according to their vision. This model of empowerment—where projects take root independently yet remain part of a broader community ecosystem—ensures that the work continues to expand without centralizing resources or control. This can be scary and needs careful thought and we have not always got this right.
The real test of this model’s success will be in seeing a proliferation of ‘CANs’ around the area and beyond: small, purpose-driven organisations committed to community and change, inspired by the principles we’ve laid out. This vision of sustainability is one that adapts, grows, and renews itself with each new project and each new team, ultimately creating a resilient, dynamic network that thrives on collective empowerment. We are excited by the work.
The obstacles we're navigating are indeed familiar across most if not all communities working toward having their voices heard and developing their own power. One of the primary challenges is the upfront, unpaid effort required to get projects off the ground. Building a sustainable initiative, no matter how rooted in community you are, from scratch demands a lot of time, effort, and expertise, and without funding to cover this foundational work, community projects can easily stall before they start.
Another significant barrier is access to property, places and spaces. When building ownership is concentrated in the hands of people or entities who see these as assets with little interest in the local community. Where property is a line on the balance sheet not part of the fabric of community. The financing is geared to taking value out of the community and treating people as consumers not citizens. It is nearly impossible to secure spaces that could serve local needs with the ease or speed of our exploitative competitors. This is compounded by bureaucratic hurdles: council structures can slow down or even prevent community initiatives, redirecting funds meant for local reinvestment to projects that may not align with community needs.
Building opportunities can be fleeting, and without a quick way to secure funds, valuable spaces can be lost or left empty. We have bid for properties, offering a fair price even on the terms of the market where people have an asset that grows in value whilst empty. We bid for an empty pub which is still empty, a GP's surgery still vacant and a council building where the space sits unused. Shifting from an extractive model—where profits and resources are siphoned away from the community—to a reinvestment model, where wealth stays local, is an ambitious but challenging goal. This requires rethinking entrenched assumptions about community economics and facing resistance from those who benefit from the status quo. Challenging these people and organisations is hard as they have all the power and resources.
The sheer workload and emotional cost of community innovation are exhausting. Keeping the energy and resilience needed to "stick with it" can take a toll, especially on the small group of dedicated individuals carrying the work forward. Self-care and care for each other is crucial to keep teams grounded, motivated, and capable of long-term commitment. Expanding the crew is essential, as it distributes the workload, prevents burnout, and brings in fresh energy and ideas to sustain the movement.
Ultimately, these obstacles underscore the importance of a supportive, patient, and well-resourced community infrastructure—one that honors the upfront work, facilitates timely access to capital, and prioritizes local reinvestment over extraction. This is not the classic "infrastructure" organisations who look to grow their own employees though they have a role, rather the work in the neighbourhood. Too often we seem to accept there is a limited pot for the community to bid against each for, rather than communities and neighbourhoods already having a wealth of skills, knowledge and understanding.
Finding people who both understand and are equipped to do this kind of work is a significant challenge. Building a capable, committed team isn’t something that happens overnight—it requires immense effort, patience, and sustained energy. There is a lot of unlearning of traditional approaches which needs to happen. There’s also the ongoing challenge of community expectations; often, organisations like ours are treated as volunteer bureaus, expected to manage volunteers without consideration for the significant coordination and support this entails.
Managing contributors—those who donate their time and skills—is time-consuming and complex. We wrestle with the idea of "volunteers", when does being a good neighbour become being a volunteer, we prefer "contributors" to respect the value they bring, the reality is that managing contributors still demands a great deal of planning, guidance, and support. Each person brings different skills, availability, and motivations, which requires careful matching to projects, regular check-ins, and sometimes, additional training. This management is essential but often undervalued, adding to the load on crew members.
These human-centered elements are just as crucial as securing funding or property—without a dedicated, well-supported team, even the best-resourced projects can falter. In the end, building a committed team is not just about finding the right people, but about creating a supportive environment where they can thrive and contribute in meaningful ways. This foundational work may be less visible and highly time consuming and tends to be unfunded, but it’s key to sustaining community-focused innovation and impact over the long haul.
We try to highlight some practical changes that could truly transform towns like Coalville and communities across the country by empowering people to take charge locally.
Some key points we're championing:
Revitalizing Parish and Town Councils: these neighbourhood based councils are a ready-made network with powers to access funding and land, but many of them aren’t being used to their full potential. Often, they’re dominated by outdated perspectives, and as a result, they don’t engage actively with the evolving needs of communities. Refreshing the leadership and practices of these councils—bringing in new voices and ideas—could unlock resources and open up land and funding for local initiatives.
Direct Funding to Communities: Instead of funneling funds through councils and third parties, where they often get tied up in bureaucracy, employing more officers to work in communities not their own, or redirected away from community priorities, a simpler, more direct funding model could make a big difference. By channeling funds directly to communities, projects could move forward with greater efficiency, community buy-in, and relevance to local needs.
Legislation for Community Rights: Expanding the “community right to buy” and creating a “community right to run” would give communities real leverage. For example, laws preventing speculators from buying properties simply to let them sit unused would ensure that valuable spaces are put to use for the public good. Communities need better options to access, purchase, or manage local buildings and services, which would foster a local economy and prevent resources from being drained away.
Strong Covenants and Partnerships: To ensure that communities and councils are truly working together, clear legal covenants could formalize partnerships. These agreements would outline shared goals and responsibilities, helping communities feel protected and heard while also holding councils accountable to the commitments they make.
Establishing a Community Power Commissioner: Creating a national role—a Community Power Commissioner—with a deep understanding of community needs would be an important step forward. This person would act as an advocate for local groups, ensuring their voices influence policy and that funding structures reflect community priorities. Unlike many appointed roles, this commissioner would need to have genuine experience and insight into grassroots work from day one. There is a danger of course that this person becomes the voice of the government to communities rather than the voice of neighbourhoods to government.
These changes would shift the balance of power, so local people—not councils or external investors—determine the future of their communities. Our advocacy through campaigns like We’re Right Here for community power champions exactly this shift: a model that sees communities shaping their own futures with the resources and authority they need. It’s about replacing outdated systems with ones designed to empower local voices and meet modern needs—ultimately creating thriving, resilient places led by the people who call them home.
At heart is the idea you start with the neighbourhood as the place people live and to make a difference on what matters to them and anyone working in our neighbourhoods should be invited in to work alongside or even under the direction of that neighbourhood.
Here's a perspective from a LinkedIn post by Deana linking to race horses...
"It's just like all the large charities and community foundations with huge reserves to invest. They effectively invest in 'non-social business' to make money to do their 'philanthropic 'work. It's totally f***ed. but could change if they actually want to make a difference.
Just by not investing in arms and fossil fuels does not make it ethical investment, lets be real, its still NOT ETHICAL. What if we reframed the question to : Are we investing In a social business? including locally rooted, family owned business and accept that if we aren't then we are part of the problem!
If the problem is, there aren't enough of these social businesses, then ask why, maybe because its so bloody hard!
It's like owning a thoroughbred racehorse, housing it in a gold plated stable, feeding it the perfect diet, training, exercising and preparing it and then, racing it against a bunch of underfed and poorly housed horses that are forced to compete for scraps.
The race horse wins (what a surprise). A small percentage of the winnings gets given (with much pomp, ceremony and form filling) to a bunch of well-meaning people who in turn hand out the scraps for the other horses so they can race in the next round.
Our dream for CCAN is that we are a small group of people, enjoying pour work, with a great impact, that we have learnt a lot and shared this, and seen a lot of projects and enterprises making their own way and making a difference.
For Coalville we would hope to see a place where people believe in themselves and each other. Which is welcoming and everyone has their voice heard. That there are enough places which people care about owned by the community so the money made is recirculated into the local economy and into projects people care about. That whatever the next few years bring we are confident enough in each other that we can make the changes which give us spaces to be happy and healthy
We have spelt this out a little more with a vision for the future in our share offer document, take a look at the videos below.
CAN HQ Share Offer - Help invest in Coalville's future:
Community Power - a poem by Coalville Can:
CAN-versations:
We did this separately and came up with these two lists.
Deana:
Ian:
Plus don't worry about who gets the credit!
Can't think what the question would be but a few final comments:
The key learnings often come from failures. An example, our local Council built a new leisure centre next door to the existing one. The old leisure centre building was fundamentally sound. The Council claimed to like our proposal for the building however said they could not afford to do anything and rather than give us or another organisation the chance to do something have demolished the building and the space is still unused after two years.
We failed to keep the building let alone bring a new exciting project to life, however we responded to our community, made new connections, followed our values and learnt the reality of how our council operates.
So in many ways, for us, the main point we’re making is that while you can’t achieve every project, each effort opens up different opportunities for people to exercise their neighbourly and citizen muscles and opportunities to connect with each other.
The publisher is Citizen Network Research. Coalville Certainly CAN © Deana Bamford and Ian Wilson 2025.
community, Community Health, housing, nature & economics, Neighbourhood Care, Neighbourhood Democracy, England, Article
