Place Champions
Are you part of a community or organised local group and want to take a positive role in influencing the development of your neighbourhood? This could be through urban greening and tree planting, creating safer, walkable streets or co-design for community led housing. Apply for our technical support packages by Friday 22nd December 2023.
The Place Champions programme aims to support and empower community groups in poorer neighbourhoods, to positively influence their local area, by providing:
Increased knowledge on how local planning works
Increased understanding of how to influence planning
Increased confidence and ability to take public action
Increased understanding of how to access funding
|
|
How does the programme work?
We can support your community group with street design, public realm improvements, masterplanning and community consultation. We can tailor our support to your specific needs, this could include one or more of the support packages below:
A 'Desk-based study'
To gather evidence, research and technical evidence to bolster influence over development in your area, or even to help with viability assessments.
The use of the ‘Create Communities’ mapping tool
This is a digital way to engage with individuals and communities simply, easily and effectively by allowing people to have their say on a specific place, good or bad, and to make positive suggestions to improve it.
A co-design programme (on-line or in-person).
This would typically include three sessions a ‘talk’ session so we can better understand your needs, a ‘walk’ session where we would visit your neighbourhood, and a ‘draw’ session to co-design plans. All three sessions, should ideally take place within a six to eight-week period with between 15-25 participants involved.
Influence
If necessary, we can also help with wider dissemination of community design work to date or supporting interactions and building relationships with the council, developer, or landowners. The intent is to deepen the learning and increases the chances of impact.
|
|
Who should apply?
We are looking for local groups of people that are committed, organised, and want positively to influence local development, local streets or a specific site. We are also looking for sites where 50% of the area or population is in the 20% most deprived areas in England and which, with support:
Will improve street or public and private realm design
Will create new homes or restore old buildings
Will create the potential for broader influence
Will create impact, and have influence at early stage planning
Deprivation is calulated using LSOA ratings. You can calculate your neighbourhood area's using this map, here:
|
|
How to apply?
Fill out our short, online application form found on this page
We will get in touch to let you know if you have made the shortlist
Short introduction call with Create Streets team
Decision made (we get cracking!)
The Place Champions programme is designed to help you early on in the process. If this is not what you need then please do still get in touch and we may be able to suggest another organisation who can help you.
|
|
“This is like dreams come true for us”
‘Inspiring to see new forms of technology used to reach a greater audience’
‘A little miracle happened here today’
“Revived by your great talk yesterday. Content was absorbing and your delivery was, in case you were not aware, terrific.”
“When I see Create Streets’ work, I see hope”