Burneside Action Plan
PLACED worked with Ann Hall, a community projects lead, to understand the aspirations of residents in the Cumbrian village of Burneside. Together we looked at how they can lead on positive change locally in the short, medium and long-term.
We delivered a mixture of online and in-person engagement to establish the basis for a future ‘Community Action Group’, to enable the community to make projects happen in a sustainable way, often with no or limited funding.
What we did
Between March and July 2021, and due to Covid restrictions, PLACED set up a website for people to share their views. They were invited to post a comment on a public ‘Ideas Wall’ or fill in an anonymous survey.
We also held virtual workshops that were public or specific to young people and children, and a pop-up from our campervan, Ed.
PLACED asked local people what they thought makes Burneside special and what they would like to see more of in the village. People were invited to prioritise their aspirations and to think of timeframes: what could be done in the short, medium and long-term? To understand how the people of Burneside could come together to make projects happen for the community, we also asked what role they would like to play in realising the vision they have for the village.
We presented our findings in an interim report and at a socially-distanced pop-up event in Burneside from our campervan, Ed. This allowed us to feed back on what we had heard and encourage the conversation to continue. The conversation culminated with a final workshop that focused on ways to make a Community Action Group happen.
What I valued most in working with PLACED was the friendly approach and desire to understand the Burneside Community and create a bespoke Community Needs Survey which offered everyone who wanted to the opportunity to get involved. Thanks to PLACED we have ended up with some clear themes to work on and next steps to take.”
– Ann Hall, Ellergreen
Outcomes
Since this workshop and the production of our final report, a group of local people has moved forwards by creating a central hub to communicate and facilitate collective action across the community.
This engagement project was funded by Ellergreen.