It was brilliant to have so many of you join us on February 27th for the Our Future Model Workshop at Grimsby Town Football Club, bringing together a group of 63 people who care about Grimsby and NE Lincs and want to build a positive future for the town. The workshop sparked conversations about what is needed for holistic change in the area, the central role of good quality housing, connecting the green economy into communities, and what a new narrative might look like.
Thank you for being involved. These are open events for anyone who wants to participate in building a better future in the region — this meeting included leaders from community, business and charity organisations, councillors, residents, creatives, football fans, officers from NE Lincs Council and lots of others who love their home town. If you want updates on our events you can sign up for the mailing list here: https://www.our-future.io/getinvolved.
Some practical ways to get involved or stay involved are:
New narrative
Many people have spoken to us about the need for a new, forward looking narrative for Grimsby and this has become a core part of what we are trying to build. In the discussion there was a desire to collaborate and to support each other to tell a new story. There was a belief that we need “joy and honesty in equal measure” — joy that change is possible and honesty that everyone needs to contribute and be part of it for it to happen.
People felt that we need to make the vision tangible by telling stories and showing what is happening. People need to see the change and have trust that it is happening.
To start to tell the stories of the change underway, we are working with Grimbarians over the coming six months who will be sharing stories of the great things happening across the area. We also have an upcoming pilot workshop with Change Arc, a communications consultancy, to coach on storytelling.
Please reach out to Dan and Lindsay (info@grimbarians.com) if you have any stories of work that highlights people building a positive future for Grimsby.
Community-led housing
In our breakout group on community-led housing, East Marsh United shared their work purchasing and renovating homes on the East Marsh for people in the community. So far they have purchased 8 houses and are exploring opportunities for new-build modular houses and purchasing whole blocks. We know communities in other wards are interested in the model and whether it could work for their neighbourhood. There is a growing group exploring this work and practically getting stuck in.
If you are interested in learning more about community-led housing, helping it work in NE Lincs or bringing practical skills please get in touch with Trupti, Mark, and Killian (trupti@our-future.io, mark@hodsonarchitects.com; killian@our-future.io).
Green Economy
In the breakout group on the green economy our partners at Sustainable Ventures shared their early thinking in exploring opportunities for building a locally rooted green economy in NE Lincs.
The discussion focused on how to build more awareness about the opportunities available, and pathways for people to find work and build the skills needed for jobs in the industry. The workshop also highlighted the importance of creating hands-on opportunities for children and involving parents in the process. To make the green agenda more tangible, people explored ideas about making the industry more visible in the community, in schools, and in colleges.
If you are interested in how we can build a locally-rooted green economy please get in touch with Killian (killian@our-future.io)
Upcoming events
Sign up to our mailing list if you want to hear about other upcoming events: https://www.our-future.io/getinvolved.
For anything else please email killian@our-future.io.