Linc-Cymru is a registered social landlord based in Cardiff with an operating area covering most of the south and east of Wales. Linc-Cymru employs 88 staff working to manage the 3,500 homes currently in ownership. Over the next five years Linc-Cymru is set to increase the number of homes they manage by 600.
Following the demise of the coal industry within the South Wales Valleys, communities such as Six Bells and Llanhilleth have suffered from high levels of deprivation including unemployment, ill health, lack of services and investment.
Linc-Cymru owns 80 properties within the Six Bells and Llanhilleth area and they have focussed their community investment in this area after consultation with Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council which identified that these were areas in urgent need of regeneration.
Linc-Cymru worked in partnership with Communities First and key service providers including the police and the local health board to increase the confidence of local people, and encouraged them to establish community groups so that people locally could make informed decisions about the future of their community.
Access to affordable fresh fruit and vegetables, physical activity and even smoking cessation programmes were identified in partnership with the local community as interventions that quickly could support the wellbeing of the local people.
As a result Linc-Cymru’s health activities have engaged groups across different generations. Young people have completed healthy eating courses and smoking cessation programmes, whilst other community members have underatken cookery courses and provided the first steps towards a healthier lifestyle by running food co-operatives. For the more mature residents weekly gentle exercise classes were created, increasing their access to fitness activities. In addition a ‘Ramble and Reminisce’ club has been established to encourage local people to utilise their outdoor environment to get fit and healthy.
The strength of these initiatives is that they are managed and developed by the community with the support of Linc-Cymru. For example, the food co-operatives are run by local volunteers who help to divide the fruit and vegetables, co-ordinate delivery from a local supplier and then ensure it is equally distributed to the community for £2.50 a bag. Through these voluntary positions Linc-Cymru have enabled local residents to gain in confidence, become more active and as a result raise their understanding and aspirations for a healthy community.
