Horn Park
The local health system in this south east London estate is exploring a wellbeing approach to digital inclusion.
About Horn Park
Horn Park
Horn Park is a neighbourhood in the south of the Royal Borough of Greenwich which borders the London Borough of Lewisham.
Population: 3,196 people
Age: Residents aged 60+ make up 18.5% overall
Ethnicity: 58.1% of people of White ethnicity, 4.2% of Black, Black British, Black Welsh, Caribbean or African ethnicity, 9.9% of Asian, Asian British or Asian Welsh ethnicity and 11.2% are of mixed, multiple or other ethnic groups.
Household composition: 22.3% of households are one person households
Health and wellbeing: In 2021, most residents (79.9%) reported good or very good health while the remaining were in fair (13.6%), bad (4.9%) or very bad health (1.6%). Fewer (18.5%) residents have a disability and 8.8% identify as an unpaid carer.
Deprivation: 32.8% of households are deprived in one dimension, 19.4% in two, 8% in three or more.
Digital Inclusion Challenge
Horn Park is a known area of high risk of digital exclusion when considering factors such as deprivation, education, health and disability, English as a second language, and income. Older people are also known to experience more isolation, and at present there is no active community centre in Horn Park. Royal Greenwich Council also recognises that community participation in Horn Park is low, compared to other parts of the borough.
Horn Park
Behavioural Systems Map
Each neighbourhood stakeholder group defined a system objective for their behavioural system map. In Horn Park, a key focus of mapping was to understand how to support connection when there are limited local assets available:
Over the course of four in-person and online workshops, stakeholders co-designed a behavioural systems map of digital exclusion:
Mapping highlighted 5 key behavioural clusters:
- Understanding Barriers and System Coordination: this cluster illustrates strong relational assets and high momentum within the neighbourhood system and its coordinating Actors, but it is limited by fragmented insight into the scale of digital exclusion and uncertain sustainability of current projects.
- Accessing Services: this cluster reflects a system where increasing digitalisation creates cumulative burden, driving disengagement.
- Healthcare: this cluster illustrates how digital exclusion intersects with healthcare access, with emerging but uncertain infrastructure attempting to fill systemic gaps.
- Community Hubs and Organisers: this cluster reveals a fundamental infrastructure gap, where the absence of inclusive physical spaces constrains engagement but also highlights some upcoming, promising community assets.
- Information Flows and Sign-Posting: This cluster shows a fragmented communication ecosystem, where local channels exist but may exclude the most digitally excluded.
“It was great to explore the neighbourhood with people with deep knowledge and expertise about the challenges and opportunities to create change. The mapping process really helped to surface the unique challenges facing older people in the community.”
“The Behavoural Systems Map developed over time into a tool that highlights where the Council and partners can collaborate on tangible changes.”
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Geospatial Mapping
Geospatial mapping of Horn Park was undertaken to explore national and local datasets that may help to describe the nature of digital inclusion at the neighbourhood level, and to understand how this may support or conflict with insights from Behavioural Systems Mapping.
Geospatial mapping revealed:
- Poor accessibility to essential services and local assets,
- High prevalence of significant health conditions or disability among residents, and
- Connectivity and infrastructure - weaker broadband.
These barriers manifested through Behavioural Systems Mapping as two overarching, behavioural outcomes: reliance on others or disengagement from digital services. This highlights:
- Limited physical spaces and few engagement pathways which suppress digital participation.
- A lack of dedicated community spaces leads to reliance on information hubs (e.g. the primary school) while other key community assets such as St Mildred's Church are located outside of the estate.
Community Engagement Insights
Horn Park residents were invited to attend a community drop in at St Mildred’s Church to share their experiences of digital technology and services. There participants highlighted several key insights:
- Avoiding the internet and choosing to be offline is a choice for some, and requires targeted engagement and better understanding by service providers.
- Use of digital technologies aligns with hobbies and interests e.g. accessing sporting news or booking travel.
“If you spoke to me in 2012 I could have told you how to do everything.”
Resident
“I’ve mostly stopped using emails as they have so many pop-ups that won’t close.”
Resident
Engagement with Horn Park residents supported the project team’s understanding of digital exclusion in the neighbourhood, and fed into refinement of the final intervention blueprints.
Intervention Blueprints
As a result of the behavioural systems mapping exercise, the Horn Park project team developed a longlist of intervention ideas - which were further refined through spatial and community engagement data. Find out more about these in our final report.
Community-Based Informal Digital Support Hub: a recurring, community-based digital support offer at St Mildred’s Church, positioning it as a safe and inclusive space for older residents to access informal digital support and connect to other residents.
Local Digital Champions: a structured peer-to-peer model to provide flexible, one-to-one digital support for older residents, delivered through trusted local actors and settings. Champions offer tailored assistance across a range of needs.
NHS App and Digital Healthcare Support: a targeted support to help older residents navigate digital healthcare systems, with a focus on the NHS App and related services (e.g. booking appointments or accessing prescriptions).
Conclusion & Next Steps
The Royal Greenwich digital inclusion team intend to deepen their understanding of Horn Park by organising a follow‑up workshop or meetup with residents to validate the assumptions and potential interventions identified through the mapping process. The team will maintain close collaboration with the local public health steering group to identify further opportunities for engagement and ensure ongoing alignment with local priorities.
Find out more about the research and download the report here
