Residents take Pride in Grange Park

Around 80 residents of Grange Park turned out over two days last week to help design the future of your estate.

Residents workshopping a vision for the future of Grange Park at our Pride in Place Ideas Exchange

Friday 30th and Saturday the 31st January saw our first Pride in Place Ideas Exchange sessions come to @theGrange. This was an opportunity for residents to tell me, local councillors and community leaders, how you think the £20m I’ve secured for Grange Park and Layton should be used to create a real and lasting transformation for the area.

There was such a brilliant community feel at both events, and we were so pleased with the turn out considering these were the first events and happened at short notice. Every resident of both neighbourhoods should have now received a letter from me, detailing opportunities to get involved.

We provided a buffet on the Friday and delicious pizza on the Saturday, courtesy of Rumi’s Vantastic Pizza, and the relaxed vibe helped people settle in and get stuck in to the issues.

Thanks to Rumi for coming along to feed the community and fuelling our ideas!

There were so many brilliant ideas in the room and the overriding message was clear – you want change you can see and feel and you want it rooted in the estate, not done to it from the outside.

One strong theme was safety. People don’t feel safe enough walking around parts of the estate, especially at night and road safety is a huge concern. You called for more street lighting at Boundary Park and along the Black Path, safer roads near schools with zebra crossings and traffic calming that actually works – not just speed bumps people ignore. Pavements and roads need improvement and parks and play areas need diversifying. There’s a wealth of green spaces but they need improving, and the fishing and behind St Mary’s should be brought back into public use.

Safety is a big priority for residents who want to see more police presence

Some of these ideas a huge infrastructural issues that £10m over the next 10 years won’t tackle alone. But with our new community board we will have the means to seek more funding, and I can make the case to government for more specific funding for projects like housing and roads.

But you also raised basic issues that make a huge difference and can be done quickly. Better bus shelters with benches and digital signage, more bins and dog waste bins with bags will help tackle dog fouling. You called for regular rubbish amnesties – not just a skip popping up for people to bring their waste to, but let’s get Enveco vans going street by street to clear bulky waste.

“Ideas ranged from a chippy to a community shop, a butcher, a baker, a greengrocer, a zero-waste refill shop, a hairdresser and even a community-owned thrift shop where people can donate items and shop inexpensively. ”

Creating a sustainable food system on Grange Park is one ambition that everyone shared. Scaling up community growing projects and getting fresh fruit and veg out to the community is essential. You spoke a lot about the loss of everyday shops and affordable food. Many of you feel the remaining shops are expensive and limited, you miss the bank of shops and you miss the social places that were touchstones of the community.

There’s already an established growing project @theGrange. Can we scale it up?

The old Dinmore site came up again and again as a place the community should acquire and build on. A fixed building or prefab space that could support local businesses and trains local people.

Ideas ranged from a chippy to a community shop, a butcher, a baker, a greengrocer, a zero-waste refill shop, a hairdresser and even a community-owned thrift shop where people can donate items and shop inexpensively. What links these ideas is sustainability. These could be co-operatively owned and run with profits staying on the estate to fund services that currently depend on grants, such as activity @theGrange and Boathouse Youth. They would also provide jobs and skills for local young people.

With Cllr Adrian Hoyle – chatting with a local shop owner on Grange

This is about building a healthy micro economy on the estate – not quick fixes that disappear when funding runs out, even though in this case that’s 10 years down the line. We don’t want people to reflect on Pride in Place as a good decade when there was money on the estate. We want it to create long term sustainability for the Grange Park and Layton.

The Argosy Community Centre and Gateside Park were both described as underused. You suggested seasonal fairs, events and better use of what we already have. There were also ideas for a community hub where you can access housing, DWP, council services and counselling without travelling across town.

You raised childcare for pre-school children, the need for a post office or banking hub and better access to GP services. For older and less mobile residents, a weekly mobile GP or regular pop-up health services would make a real difference.

Thanks to Mel Kelly for the delicious cupcakes!

Families spoke about not having anything to do in the evenings and at weekends. They want free grassroots football and other sports facilities as well as longer opening hours @TheGrange and at Boathouse Youth. You also called for consistent and regular workshops for life skills – cooking, budgeting, DIY, sewing, driving lessons and fixing – things that help people help themselves.

You want spaces that welcome everyone – adult art classes, drama, bingo and creative activity. You want spaces for neurodivergent adults, children, dementia-friendly groups, and LGBTQ+ safe spaces.

There is already some great stuff happening on the estate but too many people don’t know about it and activities often reach the same people repeatedly. We discussed community noticeboards, posters in bus shelters and a community newsletter that could be delivered by hand and digitally. And you also recognised that engagement is more than providing information – people need to feel invited and included.

Chatting with residents at Friday’s Ideas Exchange

We reflected a lot on the concept of pride and how to instil it in people on the estate. Some believed that stronger enforcement would reduce anti-social behaviour but others believed it’s more about community. When people help plant, build, run activities and make decisions, they take ownership. When places are looked after, people look after them.

These meetings were just the start of our community engagement. We have more events planned in the coming weeks – with a Neighbourhood Social and Layton Institute on the 13th Feb at 7pm and another Ideas Exchange at Argosy Community Centre on 23rd Feb. Residents can also fill in my survey here.

These first two sessions were a great success. They gave us practical ideas, clear priorities and a strong sense of what Pride in Place should mean on the Grange. This is your estate and improving it will only work if it is built with you, not around you.

Keep up to date with Pride in Place news here.