Morecambe West End regeneration scheme launches street champions campaign

Pride in Place is a government funded scheme injecting £20m into the local area over the next ten years, and residents and businesses will determine how that money is spent.

On Wednesday night, Pride in Place began the next step of its campaign, welcoming new volunteers to be Street Champions who will be super-localised links for the project—linking with their own

neighbours and streets and then linking back to the Board to open that two-way conversation.

Volunteers met with the staff team, the Neighbourhood Board, and the Community Voice Panel to discuss what they would need and what tasks they would do.

Because the project is 100% community focused, these volunteers are crucial in enabling the team to gather the views of residents to shape the work going forward.

Street Champions will be delivering and helping to complete the survey, speaking with neighbours, promoting Pride in Place, and helping at events.

The survey asks for folks’ views on belonging, community, safety, buildings, businesses, aesthetics, and more.

Some Street Champions plan to leaflet drop or put paper copies of the survey through doors; others hope to door knock on their street and neighbouring streets and talk to neighbours about the survey.

One resident said he looked forward to talking to dog walkers outside his home.

All Street Champions bring a positive energy about Pride in Place and are keen to get as many people as possible involved so that the project is truly rooted in the heartbeat of the community.

The Pride in Place staff team and Neighbourhood Board listened to what volunteers need to make their contribution successful.

The most recurring priorities were training, support, and to feel safe in what they are doing.

After the launch, the team are already putting together what this training will look like and how best volunteers can be supported.

As the project gets up and running, the scheme has an allotment for Early Wins projects—events or work that can generate results quickly and visibly while the broader work of gathering residents’ views is ongoing.

Email the Pride in Place team on [email protected] if you are interested in becoming a street champion.