Bury's diversity is one of its strengths and we recognise that communities may define themselves in a variety of ways, i.e. neighbourhood, ethnicity or culture, age group, faith, disability, sexual orientation, language, gender or other interests. Community cohesion in Bury describes the ability of all these communities to function and grow in harmony together rather than being divided.

What is community cohesion? 

• People from different backgrounds getting on with each other;
• People contributing to how their community runs; and
• People in the community having a sense of belonging.

Bury Council has chosen six objectives that it believes will help people to achieve and foster cohesive communities:

• Objective 1: Develop strong leadership within communities in the Borough
• Objective 2: Encourage active engagement by communities in the Borough
• Objective 3: Develop shared values and a sense of belonging within communities across the Borough
• Objective 4: Develop confident citizens of the Borough
• Objective 5: Develop safe and resilient communities across the Borough
• Objective 6: Develop a Borough that communicates effectively.

It is the Council's desire for Bury to continue to be a place where people feel confident that they belong and are comfortable mixing and interacting with each other, particularly with people from different ethnic backgrounds or people of a different faith.