About the Resource Centre and its Staff

The South West Neighbourhood Resource Centre is based in Swindon and covers the South West regions Avon, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire. The resource centre is one of seven centres established nationally.

Initially the centre was set up with the primary aim of supporting neighbourhood warden schemes across the South West by providing training, NVQs, mentoring, exchanges, promoting best practice and providing opportunities for networking across the South West.

While the centre still plays a key role in promoting and supporting warden schemes, our remit has become much wider and we now provide training and support for anyone working in the community, including residents who want to become more involved in their communities.

The ways we do this include:

• Running conferences and events to promote topics of interest to people working in neighbourhoods.
• Supporting regional networks; providing networking opportunities within regions; and linking with other skills and knowledge networks
• Being a centre of best practice and providing training, support and guidance, including NVQ registration and assessment
• Acting as a resource for community groups across the region
• Feeding back good news stories to the Department for Communities and Local Government and capturing and sharing effective practice
• Acting as a resource for neighbourhood management schemes and helping to address local issues
• Ensuring quality standards are maintained across the region
• Providing mentoring for new warden schemes and schemes requiring assistance
• Promoting equality of opportunity for all in the community

In The Press

The work of the Resource Centre was featured in Newstart community regeneration magazine.

A scan of the article (pictured, right) is available as a downloadable PDF file:

SWRC article from Newstart Magazine (922Kb)

Further Information

If you would like to find out more about the Resource Centre please e-mail us at swresourcecentre@swindon.gov.uk.

Resource Centre Staff

Mark Walker

Resource Centre Manager

Mark has been a Housing Manager for the past 12 years at Swindon Borough Council. Currently his role is Policy and Regeneration Manager for Landlord Services.

His previous roles have included Area Estates Manager, where he took the lead on Neighbour Nuisance and Anti-Social Behaviour Policies and Procedures (which included obtaining the first ASBO in Wiltshire in 2001 and introducing Acceptable Behaviour Contracts (ABCs) into Swindon in 2001); managing CCTV contracts for Housing, etc; plus many other day-to-day activities in front line housing management.

Mark and colleagues introduced and managed a pilot street warden team in 2002, covering three wards. The service now stands at 32 full-time equivalents covering ten wards.

Mark has managed the South West Resource Centre since it was set up in 2004.

Tel 01793 464605
E-mail: mwalker@swindon.gov.uk

Lynn Jarvie

Training Officer

Lynn joined the South West Neighbourhood Resource Centre in February 2005 after a variety of training and HR roles within The Automobile Association and Centrica.

Her aim is to provide a high standard of training which will enable delegates to make best use of their skills and abilities. As well as being a qualified trainer, Lynn is an NVQ assessor and internal verifier and is qualified to deliver City & Guilds Level 2 Certificate in Conflict Management, City & Guilds Level 2 Community Safety Accredited Persons Training and First Aid at Work training.  She has also developed and delivered a variety of programmes to assist local authority and community workers to maximise their potential and to engage with the communities in which they work. These programmes include Community Cohesion, Partnership Working and Community Engagement.

Tel: 01793 464003
E-mail: ljarvie@swindon.gov.uk

Mathew Randall

Resource Centre Administrator

Mathew recently joined the team in Swindon as the Administrative Assistant. His role involves providing a quality administrative service, including maintaining NVQ and City & Guilds records, organising meetings, conferences and public open days. His background is in administration and management.

Tel: 01793 464001
E-mail:mrandall2@swindon.gov.uk