CHP’s Buildings at the Heart of the Community initiative continues to flourish, fostering strong connections between our centres, our tenants, and the communities we serve.
We have continued to measure our Social Value using the National TOMs Framework and in our fifth year we achieved £57.1m – 4% ahead of the £55m forecast.
The figures have been independently verified by the Social Value Portal. Some of the activities that contributed to this total are:
- Buildings at the Heart of the Community: This program contributed £4.8 million in social value through activities like health awareness days, community events, gardens, and artwork installations.
- Volunteering Programme: In its third year, the programme generated £14k in social value with 87 CHP colleagues volunteering over 800 hours in their communities. This represents 33% of the CHP workforce volunteering in the last 12 months.
Read: Going Further Together: A Year of Volunteering Across CHP in 2025-26 (April 2026)
- AccessAble: £211,000 in social value was delivered through accessibility improvements at our sites, making them more inclusive for all.
Read: AccessAble Guides
- Local Employment: A significant contribution of £50 million to social value by local employment fosters community growth, reduces poverty, and strengthens social cohesion – all important aspects in putting our buildings at the heart of the community.
Social Value Summary 2025-26
Local employment
£8.4m
Staff Support
£70.3k
Local Employment
Unlocked
£42m
Sustainability
Initiatives
£716k
CO2 Reductions
£856k
AccessAble
£211k
Buildings at the Heart
of the Community
£4.8m
Donations
£51.3k
Volunteering
£14.1k
Total
Social Value
£57.1m
Buildings at the Heart of the Community
This past year saw an increase in community-based events with 82k events taking place across our estate, a 13% increase on the amount seen in the previous year, demonstrating the vibrant community engagement within our buildings as we work to help build stronger, more resilient communities.
The Social Value generated by these community initiatives rose from £4.2m to £4.8m.
AccessAble site enhancements
Our Property and Operations team, in collaboration with LIFTCos, prioritised accessibility enhancements throughout the year. Guided by the AccessAble Best Practice Guides, improvements valued at £211k were implemented.
These enhancements range from automatic doors and lowered hooks in accessible toilets, to contrasting toilet seats, ensuring a more welcoming and inclusive environment for all visitors.
As part of our continuous improvement to our CHP sites, we continue to work to ensure our sites cater for everyone, especially those who have a disability and we work hard to make sure less able visitors are aware of the additional material and support that is available ahead of a visit.
CHP remains committed to ensuring our buildings serve as central hubs within the communities they occupy, fostering inclusivity and accessibility for everyone. We will continue to develop and implement initiatives that strengthen these vital connections.
Read: Inclusive Design and AccessAble on our website.
Read: Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy (September 2024)
Find out more: in communities page.
Contact us: please email communityspaces@communityhealthpartnerships.co.uk to start the conversation.
Find out more about Buildings at the Heart of the Community
CHP’s Buildings at the Heart of the Community initiative aims to encourage local community groups and charities to make the most of our buildings by enabling the use of space in our centres to host health and wellbeing related events.
