Great Places recently welcomed Kilvinder Vigurs, Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime at the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority, to Wybourn for a visit to see the community led services, employment support, and partnership work across one of our key neighbourhoods.
The visit began at the Pat Midgley Community Hub, where the Deputy Mayor met Trustees and Great Places colleagues. The Hub is a central base for activity in Wybourn and forms part of the organisation’s long-term commitment to supporting residents.
The Deputy Mayor then toured Wybourn Works, the neighbourhood’s innovative, dedicated employability and skills centre and part of the national Jobs Plus pilot. The programme provides personalised one-to-one employability guidance, confidence-building, training and practical support to help residents overcome barriers to work. Activities include job clubs, accredited courses, youth sessions, wellbeing workshops and community events, delivered in partnership with local organisations. Support is delivered from both the Pat Midgley Community Hub and the Skye Edge Community Centre, placing help at the heart of the community.
Since launching in 2024, Wybourn Works has supported 163 residents, helped 53 people move into employment, and enabled more than 70 individuals to complete accredited training – including in childcare, food hygiene and customer service – demonstrating the programme’s growing role in supporting long-term social and economic wellbeing across Wybourn.
During the visit, the Deputy Mayor met Community Champions, Employment Coaches, youth workers and residents, who shared their personal experiences of building skills, boosting confidence and accessing new opportunities through local programmes.
The final stop was ‘Always an Alternative,’ a youth outreach and antisocial behaviour prevention initiative based at Wybourn Community Primary School. Using a Mobile Youth Club, the project engages young people in positive activities, mentoring and life skills development.
Commenting on the visit, Matt Foreman, our Chief Customer Officer, said:
We were delighted to welcome Kilvinder to Wybourn and to highlight the fantastic progress being made through Wybourn Works and the wider community initiatives we support. Our approach places residents at the centre of everything we do, and it’s great to see people gaining confidence, new skills and opportunities that make a real difference to their lives.
Kilvinder Vigurs, Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime, said:
It has been inspiring to meet residents, partners and the Great Places team to hear how community led projects are supporting people to build brighter futures. The level of commitment across Wybourn – especially through Wybourn Works and the youth engagement work happening locally – shows what strong collaboration can achieve.
Great Places has been a key partner in Wybourn since the 2007 stock transfer, managing 1,300 homes locally and leading long-term investment, regeneration and community support efforts across the neighbourhood.
