Place based working in Southampton
Whose involved in Place-based working in Southampton
Date: 24 April 2026 Author: Bethany Brown
In 2025, Place Partnerships in Portsmouth and Southampton brought people together over bowls of soup and a shared passion for helping their communities move more. Here’s a quick look at the winning projects…
Across three SOUP events, in Buckland, Millbrook and Thornhill, 15 small charities and individuals pitched their project ideas and the community voted on who was awarded the £500 prize in their area.
We have set up a WhatsApp support group for the people who have attended and a couple of the participants have met up and climbed together independently.
Jamie Hornal, Anonymous Climbing Club
Jamie Hornal wanted to offer a supportive opportunity for those recovering from addiction. His idea was to bring a small group of people together to learn how to climb. The £500 covered entrance fees, equipment hire and transport to the location.
After winning the SOUP event in Buckland, Jaime ran four sessions for eight people. What’s great to hear is that thefriendships they created were so strong, they have stayed in touch and gone climbing together outside of Anonymous Climbing Club. And just as exciting, Jaime has now set up Anonymous Climbing Club as a CIC.
Mile Allot wanted to expand Tai Chi classes run by Plus You Ltd to improve mental and physical health within the local community. The SOUP funding allowed him to offer a free taster session to new participants, which led to four people becoming regular attendees.
We could not have done this without the funding.
Gayathri Sathyanath, Shakti
Gayathri Sathyanath is passionate about creating a safe space for South Asian women through yoga, crafts and health workshops to boost their confidence and wellbeing. The SOUP funding has allowed them to put on an indoor picnic, a yoga workshop and a women’s health workshop. They are planning more activities in the future including badminton sessions.
SOUP put the decision-making into hands of local people so that local opportunities reflected local wants and needs.
A total of £1,661.95 was awarded across the three winners – proving you don’t need big budgets to get something started in your community.
These SOUP events were made possible by investment from the Place Partnership Development Awards and the collaboration from Southampton Place Partnership and Active Portsmouth Alliance with Action Hampshire.
Helping us tackle inactivity to boost health and happiness
