The Queen Elizabeth Trust: A National Moment for Connection

Read the announcement here

The launch of the Queen Elizabeth Trust marks a significant moment for communities across the United Kingdom. It signals a renewed national commitment to the places and relationships that shape everyday life to the spaces where people meet, participate and build a shared sense of belonging. In doing so, it reflects the enduring legacy of Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, whose life of service consistently emphasised neighbourliness, continuity and collective responsibility.  There is, however, an important question at the heart of this moment. If this is to become a lasting legacy, what will determine its success will not be the restoration of space alone, but the extent to which those spaces enable meaningful connection between people.

Across the UK, we are seeing a quiet but consequential shift in how communities’ function. Generations are increasingly living parallel lives, shaped by systems that organise services, housing and opportunity by age rather than through shared experience. The result is not simply a social gap but a structural one, with growing implications for health, participation and cohesion. Evidence continues to show the impact of this separation, from rising loneliness and declining community engagement to increased pressure on health and care systems. At the same time, public appetite for connection remains strong, suggesting that the challenge is not willingness, but opportunity. Read more about this in our research and A Divided Kingdom report. 

It is within this context that the ambition of the Queen Elizabeth Trust becomes particularly important. Investment in community infrastructure in libraries, green spaces and neighbourhood hubs is both necessary and timely. Yet experience from across regeneration, health and community development consistently shows that proximity does not create connection, connection must be intentionally designed.  This requires a shift in how we think about community investment. It is not only about how spaces are built, but how they are used; not only who can access them, but how people come together within them. It demands attention to facilitation, leadership and the social fabric that enables trust to develop over time. In this sense, connection is not an outcome that can be assumed, but a function that must be actively supported.

This shift is increasingly recognised within national policy. The growing emphasis on prevention, the development of place-based systems and the focus on social value all point towards a more integrated understanding of wellbeing, one shaped as much by relationships as by services. Through our work supporting the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Tackling Loneliness and Connected Communities, we see this reflected consistently in evidence from local authorities, health systems and community organisations. Where connection across generations is intentionally enabled, there are measurable improvements in wellbeing, participation and community resilience.  

Over the past decade, through Intergenerational England and Intergenerational Music Making, we have seen how this can be realised in practice. Working across health, housing, education and community settings, our programmes are designed to bring generations together in ways that are purposeful and sustained. In the past year alone, this has involved work across 48 localities, engaging over 35,000 participants and building partnerships with schools, care settings, NHS organisations and community networks.  The outcomes are consistent: reduced isolation, improved mental and physical wellbeing, and stronger local identity and participation. IMM audit report

What sits beneath this is not simply activity but infrastructure. The most effective community settings are those that invest not only in buildings, but in people in the facilitators, leaders and connectors who create the conditions for relationships to form and endure. Without this, even the most thoughtfully designed spaces risk falling short of their potential. With it, they become anchors of belonging, capable of sustaining connection over time.

The Queen Elizabeth Trust therefore represents more than a programme of investment. It is an opportunity to embed a different way of thinking about community into national practice one that recognises the central role of relationships, the value of intergenerational connection, and the need to design for both.

Intergenerational England has been honoured to contribute to the development of this vision through the Committee’s engagement process. As the Trust moves into its next phase, there is now a clear opportunity to build on this foundation drawing on proven intergenerational practice to ensure that the spaces it supports are not only revitalised, but activated in ways that foster meaningful, lasting connection.  If that is achieved, the legacy will not be measured solely in the places that are restored, but in the strength of the relationships that are built within them. It will be seen in communities that feel more connected, more resilient and more able to shape their own futures.  It will be a legacy that is not only remembered, but actively lived through the relationships, participation and shared sense of belonging that define strong communities across generations.

Charlotte Miller and Emily Abbott 

Co-Founders of Intergenerational England

Director and Programme Director of Intergenerational Music Making