Making Waves in Wythenshawe

It’s been a busy few months for the Wythenshawe Central Network!

October

Leaders from Wythenshawe Central Network (WCN) attended an event at the Open Space in Wythenshawe Civic held by Manchester City Council and MUSE. They met Leader of the Council Bev Craig and spoke to her about the network’s three main asks for the Civic Regeneration:

• Increasing the number of social rent homes to be included in the redevelopment
• Working with the community to explore shared governance options for the Culture Hub
• Calling for more transparency, accountability and meaningful community partnership in the Wythenshawe Town Centre regeneration process

WCN also hosted a workshop bringing together councillors, community / faith groups and representatives from Wythenshawe Community Housing Groups to learn about different governance models as a possibility for the new ‘Culture Hub’ in Civic. We heard from Tom Chance, CEO of the Community Land Trust Network, about examples of successful community-led housing schemes across the country. This opened up useful conversations about whether such options could be explored for Wythenshawe. In case you missed it, presentation slides from this workshop are available for viewing here: https://www.wythenshawecentral.org.uk/wcn-voices-and-presentations/

November

By hosting stalls and community events, including a ‘Meet, Munch and Mingle’ at Brownley Green Methodist Church Hall, WCN leaders have been increasing their membership through regular engagement with local residents. Asking critical questions such as “Will new leisure and retail facilities be affordable for the existing community?”, WCN have held spaces for important conversations about local developments. From building new connections and relationships, notably over some delicious food made by Joy from Know Africa, the network now has over 20 organisations and 100 individual residents among its’ membership.

January

The network held another open meeting which brought together members, local residents and representatives from a range of community groups and local organisations to learn more about the new “Pride in Place” funding.

This new initiative announced by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government will award £20 million of funding over the next 10 years to Benchill South and Wythenshawe Central (see map below) alongside other areas across the UK, including Gorton South and Clayton Vale in Manchester. The funding will be managed by a neighbourhood board and aims to give power directly to local people to reshape their communities.

Meeting attendees were invited to share their hopes & fears about the initiative through open group discussions. We spoke about the importance of ensuring local voices are involved in decision-making so they can have a genuine influence throughout the process. Gavin Evans, Neighbourhood Manager from Manchester City Council presented on the most recent guidelines for the funding and to answer questions from local residents. WCN are hoping to receive funding to carry out further consultations and engagement to gather local priorities about how the Pride in Place funding process should be managed.

Coming up…

WCN is excited to be hosting a joint event on Tuesday 17^th March with Social Homes for Manchester and We’re Right Here as part of the GM Live Well festival (9th-23rd March), called “Community Powered Neighbourhoods”.

The event is focused on inspiring examples of community- powered neighbourhood governance, bringing groups across Greater Manchester together to share stories and exchange learning. Representatives from Community Covenants, Neighbourhood Plans and Community Land Trusts will present and there will be time for networking around project stalls showcasing exciting projects and campaigns. Residents from the different Pride in Place areas will be able to network in the ‘Pride in Place’ corner as well as ask questions to City Council representatives. We will also hear about key reforms that coalitions of communities and national groups are campaigning for to create more power for communities.

Lots of exciting developments happening in Wythenshawe and WCN are looking forward to supporting community-led projects as they unfold!

Follow WCN on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wythenshawecentralnetwork/

See WCN’s website: https://www.wythenshawecentral.org.uk/