How coronavirus has made the Big Society a reality in the Peak District

These are dark times that are affecting all of us, but I see a glimmer of hope for communities like mine in the Peak District in Derbyshire. Our group’s community-led response, in the face of coronavirus has given me faith that we, and areas like ours, will come out of this with a renewed sense of community and local civil society will be stronger than ever.

I live in Chapel-en-le-Frith in the High Peak. The area has recently transitioned from a large village into a small town, as new developments have steadily increased our numbers over the past few decades. Prior to this crisis, people’s view on the sense of community generally fell into one of two categories. It was either: ‘I’ve lived here for years and it’s not like it was’ or ‘I’m quite new to the area and I don’t really know many people.’ However, in the face of all this grimness, I feel that this is changing.