Establishing a Green Community Hub in Hattersley
Background
Over the years, Groundwork have been working in partnership with Onwards Homes to support residents in Hattersley to develop their skills and improve a number of small greenspace projects.
In 2024 local volunteers joined the Northern Network initiative with an ambition to develop a Green Community Hub in the area.
What do the community want to see?
Community Engagement
Groundwork got to work, running events where they could better understand residents’ interest in a Green Community Hub and what services they’d like to see as part of it.
Initial engagement activities have highlighted that the community would like to see:
- More green spaces being taken on and looked after by local people. Our team recently supported Polperro Walk residents (known as the Polperro Potters) to do this, reviving some beautiful planters and creating a new community garden!
Establishing a new Steering Committee
Our team held the first meeting with the new Hattersley Green Community Hub steering group in October.
These 11 fantastic volunteers will be helping to enhance Hattersley’s green spaces and engage the community, sharing some fantastic ideas to get the work started!
Our work so far
In January, we hosted a skills share session about water butts and how rainwater harvesting could benefit Green Community Hubs. Lou from Groundwork Yorkshire showed the group how barrels could be turned into makeshift water butts!
The steering group will be working with L.A.D.S., a small men’s mental health organisation, to create a wooden shed in an unused car park area next to Vitality Gardens (a community growing space). The area was recently cleared by the group and volunteers from Onward Homes.
The Polperro Potters were kindly gifted a new bench, created at HMP Forest bank through the GMCA Bootcamp Programme. The group are looking forward to getting together and sitting on it with a cuppa throughout the year!
The Hattersley Health Champions received funding to create 3 new raised beds, one with trellis to make a better border from the car park. They’ve also applied for another round of funding to create a similar bed next to it!
What is a Green Community Hub?
Made possible thanks to funding and support from:
