International Women’s Day Spotlight: Reconnecting Runcorn Board Member – Claire Bradbury – A Lifetime Championing Runcorn’s Young People

On International Women’s Day, we celebrate women who don’t just talk about change - they build it.

For decades, Claire Bradbury has been quietly building opportunity for young people across Runcorn and Halton. As founder and CEO of Power in Partnership (PIP), youth advocate, playwright, and member of the Reconnecting Runcorn Town Deal Board, her impact stretches from classroom floors to boardroom tables - and now, quite literally, onto the High Street.

As she prepares to step back from day-to-day leadership, this is a moment to reflect on a life shaped by youth work, creativity and a deep belief that every young person deserves to feel seen.

Where It All Began: Grangeway and a Safe Place to Belong

Claire’s story began as a little girl living on Grangeway where she attended a local youth club that became more than just somewhere to spend an evening. It became a place of belonging.

“There were incredible volunteers who loved the kids, took them under their wings, mentored them and gave them things to do and a warm and safe place to go when life felt a little scary and chaotic.”

Many of her friendships today were formed in that space. More importantly, the experience planted something lasting - a belief that youth spaces matter.

She always knew she wanted to give something back.

Creating Something Different: The Birth of PIP

In 2011, Claire founded Power in Partnership with one clear purpose: to support young people aged 16–18 who were disengaged from mainstream education and unsure where they fitted.

With an initial contract from Riverside College supporting just ten young people, PIP began modestly - volunteers knocking on doors in the Old Town, building trust the only way that works: face-to-face.

From those early days, the organisation has grown to support hundreds of young people and has achieved Outstanding recognition. But growth was never the only goal.

The ethos has always been deliberately different.

Music plays in every room. Teachers wear jeans. First names are used. No pressure to raise hands. Learning is creative, practical and rooted in empathy.

Inspired partly by Dead Poets Society, Claire encourages young people to look at life and learning from a different perspective.

“We are proud of being quirky and non-mainstream,” she says. “When young people speak confidently about their achievements, that’s when we feel most proud.” 

Learning From Crisis: Connecting the Hardest to Reach 

Before PIP, Claire spent 12 years running a homeless hostel. It was demanding work, often with residents in crisis.It taught her how to connect with people who had every reason not to trust systems. It taught her how to make learning accessible whether someone’s starting point was low confidence or high ability. It taught her how to build spaces where no one feels out of place. 

Those lessons became the backbone of PIP’s teaching style. Over the years, the stories have stayed with her. 

 A young woman who arrived homeless and traumatised later became a peer mentor and health champion. A young man who once arrived carrying three black bin bags went on to mentor others and volunteer overseas. 

“These are the moments,” Claire reflects, “seeing a young person in trouble prosper and succeed in life.”

From Frontline to the Boardroom: Youth Voice in Regeneration

Claire’s impact hasn’t been limited to the classroom. As a member of the Reconnecting Runcorn Town Deal Board, she has helped guide the delivery of the £23.6 million Towns Fund investment awarded to Runcorn in 2021. 

Her role has been clear: ensure young people are not an afterthought in regeneration.

“The next generation will shape our culture and future ideas. Their voices deserve to be equal and heard.” 

Through the Board, she has championed the idea that town centres must work for children and young people - not just retail or transport - and that regeneration must connect skills, creativity and opportunity.

It is within that wider programme that Youthy.com has emerged.

Youthy.com: A High Street Legacy 

At 57–59 High Street, construction continues on Youthy.com - PIP’s new youth hub and a key part of the Creative and Digital Skills Centre strand of Reconnecting Runcorn.

The space will include flexible learning areas, digital facilities, a Winter Garden, a teaching kitchen, creative studios and dedicated SEND sessions. It will be a place for music, art, cookery, dance, table tennis, films and discos but also for homework clubs, digital skills and confidence building.

“It’s about kids feeling safe, supported and energised.”

The name carries personal meaning. Claire’s mum, the first Director of PIP, is the “dot” in Youthy.com - a quiet tribute to family and community roots.

Youthy.com represents more than a building. It represents regeneration with purpose. A statement that young people belong at the centre of town life.

Culture, Creativity and Community 

Claire has also witnessed Runcorn’s cultural landscape evolve - from The Brindley to emerging arts organisations across the borough.

As a published playwright herself, storytelling runs deep in her family. For her, arts and creativity have always been essential tools for mental health, confidence and expression.

“Writing stories, even your own story, is cathartic.”

It is no coincidence that creative space sits alongside digital skills within Youthy.com. Regeneration, in her view, must nurture imagination as much as employability.

What Comes Next

Retirement feels “a little scary,” she admits - but stopping isn’t in her nature.

There may be book writing. There will likely still be bid writing for the town’s young people. And perhaps some of it will happen from a Land Rover campervan in the Highlands of Scotland with her husband of 40 years.

Her message to future leaders is characteristically simple:

“Some children’s hardships are hidden. Seek them out. Invite them in. Make them smile.”

A Woman Who Built Opportunity

On International Women’s Day, Claire’s story reminds us that leadership takes many forms.

It happens in youth clubs and hostels. In classrooms with music playing. In board meetings where funding decisions are made. And now, in a youth hub rising on Runcorn High Street.

Claire Bradbury has helped ensure that regeneration in Runcorn is not just about buildings, but about belonging.

And that may be her greatest legacy of all.