Our Future Newsletter – April 2026

Hello,

It was wonderful to see so many of you at Open House 2026 and feel the energy of people from Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire, Rochdale and towns across the country choosing to show up and work together on what’s possible. I left feeling inspired and hopeful. There are no single heroes in this work, it is about all of us coming together and doing our bit. That was embodied over the two days by the new collaborations forming and everyone pitching in. Thank you to all of our partners and collaborators who were part of it. It’s a joy doing this work with you.

At the end of March, I had the honour of speaking at Lancaster House about the trailblazing work in Grimsby and the opportunity that Pride in Place represents for towns right across the country. It was a privilege to share the platform with Ministers and leaders, Miatta Fahnbulleh, Rt Hon Darren Jones MP, Baroness Jo Valentine and Rob Williamson OBE DL. Together we explored how the Impact Economy, which brings together business, philanthropy and investment behind a common ambition for change, can partner with Pride in Place to support a thriving future in places.

I shared the consistent factors of every transformative impact initiative I have been part of. Change happens when an unlikely coalition of people see the greater goal as bigger than their own interests – recognising that each holds part of the answer but none can do it alone. They share an ambition to leave a legacy rather than defer the problem. Different kinds of money work in partnership because the Government money alone cannot catalyse the change we care about. This is at the heart of the change we are seeing in Grimsby and Rochdale.

We are seeing what becomes possible when people come together around a shared belief in the future of their place. In Grimsby, years of relationship-building and collective ambition are turning into something lasting and real. In Rochdale, a movement is growing, person by person, conversation by conversation. Both places are showing, in their own ways, that when you back people rather than bypass them, extraordinary things happen.

There is so much to celebrate in this Spring update and so much to look forward to.

Emily Bolton
CEO, Our Future

Open House 2026

What a brilliant two days. Around 200 people came together at Blundell Park this March, a wonderful mix of people from every sector from Grimsby and North East Lincolnshire and people from right across the country, who had come to see what is happening and take ideas back to their own places.

What made it so special was who was in the room. Residents and community organisers sitting alongside business leaders, housing specialists, energy experts and people from local and national government. People who have been quietly getting on with it for years, and people who attended to listen and learn. That breadth is at the heart of how we believe change happens: unlikely coalitions of people who see the greater goal as bigger than their own interests, and who recognise that none of us has the whole answer alone.

That spirit ran through the workshops. Conversations about community energy, housing, high streets, heritage and the importance of connecting local initiatives with national efforts. These are not abstract ideas. They are what the Our Future model is built on, and Open House was two days of seeing them come to life.

The fringe events brought that even closer. Visits to Horizon Youth Zone, the CARE Hub, CATCH’s skills and apprenticeship facilities, and a walk through the town centre showed what transformation looks like up close, in real spaces, with the people making it happen. The tour of Grimsby Town FC brought its own conversations about what a football club can mean to a place, and the belonging it can build.

As one participant put it: “The more good things happen, the better the story gets. The more the story is told, the more people believe change is possible.”

Publication: Building a Brighter Future Together

Optimism can feel out of fashion right now, but Our Future believes a brighter future is possible. We see it taking shape every day, in Grimsby, in Rochdale, in communities across the country. This isn’t about a new central government programme or a fresh policy initiative. It’s about people choosing to take responsibility where they can. Contributing what is within their gift to give. Deciding not to pass their problems on.

Building a Brighter Future Together sets out what Our Future has learned about how lasting change happens. It shares the Our Future Model and the powerful difference it makes when a collective of people with shared ambition come together with locally governed funding behind them.

Please read the full publication to find out more about what it takes for change to happen, the infrastructure that allows ambition to grow rather than stall and what Our Future is learning as this work develops.

Grimsby Is Doing Things Differently

Grimsby is set to receive up to £20 million over ten years through the Government’s Pride in Place programme, to support long-term improvements shaped by local priorities. It’s a huge opportunity and what makes it even more exciting is the way it’s being shaped, together.

This is the result of years of work through Grimsby Together, with thousands of local voices helping to shape what comes next. Rather than treating the fund as money to be spent and moved on from, Grimsby is doing something different. The town is creating a new Fund, a locally led, citizen-governed fund that will back what matters most to local people and attract even more investment in the town’s future over time. The £20 million is a starting point, not a ceiling.

Rochdale, Building Momentum Together

All of our work starts with relationships, bringing together people who believe in the future of their town. In Rochdale, through For Generations to Come, that’s exactly what’s happening. People from all backgrounds are coming together, building momentum and a shared sense of hope for what comes next.

The third Let’s Talk About Our Kids conversation took place at the Kashmir Youth Project and was described as “a room of hope”. The group explored three projects already running elsewhere, focused on literacy, childhood wellbeing and criminal justice, and considered how similar approaches could work across the borough. With the organisations behind these projects keen to bring their work to Rochdale, the ideas and feedback shared on the day were purposeful and grounded in real opportunity.

There was real excitement about better connecting what already exists across the borough, from libraries and family hubs to community partnerships. Alongside this came a clear understanding that lasting change means supporting whole families and communities, not just a small number of children in classrooms. People spoke about the importance of continuity, with relationships that last from primary school through to college and beyond, and the need to properly listen to those already doing the work on the ground.

Khadija Tilly from the Kashmir Youth Project put it simply: “We’ve got the expertise here. Now it’s about how we come together, listen to each other and support one another.”

The next Let’s Talk conversations will focus on Our Homes and Our Spaces. For more information, please get in touch with Ben.

Home Wins For People With Roots in Rochdale

We’ve launched the For Generations to Come Home Wins network for people with roots in the Rochdale borough who now live elsewhere. If you grew up there, worked or studied there, or simply love the borough, this is a way to stay connected and play a part in its future.

Dates For Your Diary

Relationships Project – Book Group

Our friends at the Relationships Project are running a book group on the below dates and times. You can sign up here

• Thursday 23rd April, 1pm – 2pm
• Tuesday 12th May 2:30pm – 3:30pm
• Thursday 18th June 1pm – 2pm

Rochdale – Let’s Talk About Our Spaces

• Tuesday 19th May
• Email ben@our-future.io for more information

Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire – Home Wins

• Thursday 4th June
• Email crystal@our-future.io for more information

Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire – Change Makers Quarterly Lunch

• Tuesday 9th June
• Email crystal@our-future.io for more information

There is so much happening, and none of it happens alone. Whether you are leading locally, connecting from afar, or simply believing in what is possible, thank you for being part of it.

Onwards,
Emily.