Growing stronger communities
It can feel a little unusual at first to ask yourself questions like: What kind of place do I want to live in? What sort of connections do I want to make in my community? But once the conversation gets started, possibilities begin to open up and before you know it positive changes start to happen on your own doorstep.
Tredworth High Street Party goes from strength to strength
June 2017 saw the second year of residents coming together to organise a street party on the Tredworth High street. The day was beautifully sunny, with music, bouncy castles, and tables full with free cakes baked by local residents. Children were decorating the pavements with street chalk graffiti and a stage was set in front of the local Co-op store for local performers to entertain the crowds. The wonderful party atmosphere was enjoyed by everybody.
Many of the same residents who had started things in 2016 were involved plus a few new faces. This time Tim Rees and Karen Page provided the drive to make the event happen with the help of a team of people. The local window cleaner was enlisted to use his ladder to put up street bunting provided by a local church; another church offered use of their tables and chairs; large amounts of play dough was made for the children; heavy road closure signs needed to be erected; and clearing up was a community effort with even the children helping out. Residents also walked round with buckets and collected £200 towards the Grenfell Towers appeal.
Organisers and local residents Karen and Tim said of the event:
“It was great to see so many people coming together and having fun. Tredworth is really a very neighbourly place, with a lot of great people living here, and I think everybody enjoyed the atmosphere on the day.” Karen Page
““It was great to see so many people coming together and having fun. Tredworth is really a very neighbourly place, with a lot of great people living here, and I think everybody enjoyed the atmosphere on the day.”“
““What it proves is that there is a strong, generous and active community spirit in Tredworth which does not seem to have been tapped into previously, but could now happen through the work of the street party” “
The Street Party group want to use the success of the event as a springboard to build deeper relationships in their community. On the day, a Community Builder from Barnwood Trust supported them to have conversations with other residents about ‘How to Make Tredworth More Beautiful’.
Residents continue to meet to develop ideas, one of which is a collaboration between residents and the landscape architect students from the University of Gloucestershire. Together they are identifying suitable sites for improvement.
Proving that, finding ways to have fun together and building relationships with neighbours can be the start of many more good things happening in your area.
Have you got the drive to get an idea off the ground in your community?
Find out more about what is going on and how you can join in where you live at www.yourewelcome.to