The Hwb project was led by a partnership between Rhossili Community Council, Rhossili Village Hall and a small volunteer group. It received funding through the Welsh Government Rural Communities – Rural Development Programme 2014-2020, funded by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the Welsh Government and supported by Swansea Rural Development Partnership (RDP) at Swansea Council. Match-funding was provided in-kind through Rhossili Village Hall and the time of volunteers. The funding from Swansea RDP was to support the creation of the website through employment of a professional web developer and to support IT skills training through purchase of equipment to enable us to deliver the support sessions. A further element of the funding has been to install the ‘Vocaleyes’ facility on the website. Vocaleyes provides a way for people to take part in suggesting ideas online for their community, to learn about the ideas of others and to vote on the ideas they think are best – so everyone can have a chance to have their say.
What is the Hwb
First of all, please think of the Hwb as your Hwb, not ‘ours’ (i.e. the Hwb team’s) – it is being created by our community for our community. It is essentially an easy to use, one-stop shop website that offers a central source of locally relevant information and provides a platform to share ideas, interests or ask for help. We also think that having a flexible website that can support rapid exchange of information in times of crisis is very important for our rural community.
On the home page you can now click to visit eight different sections of the Hwb, including: Community events; Health, wellbeing & environment; Local people at work and play; Get to know Gower; Rhossili Community Council website and Rhossili Village Hall website. In September 2022 we held two Hwb workshops, for local residents, businesses and organisations, to gather their views and ideas about the site. Our Hwb rainbow also allowed participants to indicate their preferred colour scheme for the Hwb site.
We had some great suggestions, the most popular being for a calendar of events. This and other interactive features form part of the Hwb. For example, the Community events and information pages include the events calendar, a noticeboard and an announcements section.
In July 2023, we revised the home page to include Hwb Features, which links out to different blog features – currently Recipe of the Month and Your Garden this Month. There are more blog features to follow! We’ve also grouped pages about the Hwb (including this page) into one portal, Hwb Matters.
The Hwb Team
The core project team is small, but we are supported by a much wider group of volunteers, including our community councillors, local residents and our other ‘stakeholders’ from businesses, organisations and charities. We are also grateful to the team at Swansea RDP for their interest and support for the project.
The Hwb project had a relatively short timescale. We started in early August and we had to report back to RDP by the end of February 2023. You can read a little more about the background in our article in the Rhossili Village Christmas Magazine here (starting on p25).
We expect the Hwb to continue to develop as more content is posted, features are further refined, glitches are ironed out and you tell us what more you’d like to see.
The Hwb Advisory Network
An important consideration of the Hwb Project from the outset was its longer-term sustainability. On formal completion of the RDP funding in February 2023, Rhossili Community Council undertook to continue to support the project and we are very grateful for this support. Rhossili Hwb oversight is now provided by an Advisory Network. The purpose of the network is to ensure that the Hwb remains up to date and relevant and to consider how the Hwb can further enhance the cohesion of the community of Rhossili and its close neighbours. It also provides independent oversight to Rhossili Community Council of the Hwb’s integrity and fitness for purpose.
The Advisory Network comprises individuals drawn from
- Community or Resident Representatives
- Business, Charity and Tourism stakeholders
- Local Government representatives(s)
- Rhossili Community Council representative/Manager of Rhossili Hwb
- Hwb Project Lead
For more information about the Advisory Network please contact the Secretariat to the Hwb, Isobel Everett via the Hwb email address, rhossilihwb@gmail.com.
And finally…
Thanks to everyone who has contributed to our community website so far, through the workshops, the volunteers providing content, articles and images, through the feedback provided by our critical friend volunteers and Advisory Network and for your enthusiasm and support for the project. We will need the ongoing involvement from volunteers to help to keep the Hwb up to date and relevant to our community.
If you are not on our email list and want to keep up to date with information or get involved, please contact us via rhossilihwb.cymru@gmail.com.
Maggie Kirk on behalf of the project team:
Isobel & Colin Everett, Steve Walmsley, Gill Boulding, Paul Kirk and Vicki James.