About ABL

Our Mission, Goals, & Values

Aberfeldy Big Local (ABL) has been in existence since 2013. Part of the national Big Local programme, ABL is a group of residents working to invest £1million of Lottery money into the estate up until 2026. Big Local has gifted £1 million each to 150 areas across England. The aims of the Big Local programme are that:

Communities will be better able to identify local needs and take action in response to them.

People will have increased skills and confidence, so that they continue to identify and respond to needs in the future.

The community will make a difference to the needs it prioritises.

People will feel that their area is an even better place to live.

In Aberfeldy, we are investing this money to make the area a better place to live and allow all residents to benefit from the changes taking place in the community.

How Do We Operate?

We operate through a partnership of residents that meets once a month to make decisions on how to use the Big Local funding to benefit the whole community. All our members live in Aberfeldy. We work with Quaker Social Action, a charity based in Bethnal Green (www.quakersocialaction.org.uk), to put our plans into practice. They hold the money on behalf of the partnership and support our work in the community. We employ staff to help us achieve our goals, including our ABL manager and staff at the ABL Tea Room.

Our Partnership

These are the current members of the ABL partnership:

Leila Lawal (Chair)

Sita Bhakar

Rev. Matt Wall

Leon Herbert

Sara Sultana

Iqbal Hossein

Shahana Begum

Kirk Whitelock

Ikhlas Rahman

Our Staff

These are our current members of staff:

Nick Mallinger

Project Manager