Creating opportunity in Sherford

Over the past year and a bit, Real Ideas have been working with Sherford Community Land Trust (SCLT) to support the growth of the Trusts operations working in the community and getting to know people. Initially we held a market and community engagement event, have attending resident-led events, met with groups and spoke to residents. All of this culminated in the formation of a Residents Community Panel.

The SCLT Community Panel have worked hard to help shape a transitional business plan for the Trust for the last year. This plan centred around five areas that were identified as being important to the community: 

Communication, Events and Activities, Shops and Amenities, Young People and Environment and Heritage.  

The plan enabled the SCLT to begin drawing down Section 106 funding to support the development of the Trust, and also be used to make positive things happen around the five key areas. This work is very much about working with residents to act together, to test ideas, try new things and create opportunities; developing sustainable and enterprising activity to build on what already exists and generate ideas and solutions for the things that do not.

Real Ideas are also working with the Trust to develop its governance arrangement, to support better engagement and representation for residents and build local capacity to help take the organisation forward into the future.

Over the next year the panel will be looking at updating the business plan for 2024 and beyond, looking at how we can capture community voice and bring that into the activity within the community. 

How you can get involved

If you are interested in joining the SCLT Community Panel – please contact Tom Butt from Real Ideas – tom.butt@realideas.org

Three of the key area described above has its own working group of people who shape and deliver community activity. If you are interested in being part of one or more of the working groups or have some ideas you would like to share, please contact Judy Talbot – info@sherfordtrust.org.uk 

Groups include:

• Communications: We aim to improve communications within and across the community, to promote local activity and support community cohesion. We send out e-newsletters, create social media content, design posters and leaflets and support others to get their message out. 
• Events/Activity: We plan and deliver events and activity in the community; we aim to develop a longer-term annual programme of activity in Sherford and work with/support other groups to organise/promote their events and activities. 

• Shops and Amenities: We run market events locally and aim to expand this to pop-up shops, and other local offers, to help test what works well, build relationships with retailers and our own capacity around the future of the town’s high street.

Working groups meet regularly to develop and deliver their aims and objectives for their area and create plans for how they will deliver this, with support from the Trust and Real Ideas.