Spaces+Places reaches next phase
What happens when local people aren’t just consulted, but trusted to lead on decision-making? Our latest exploration of this question is the Spaces+Places programme.
Spaces+Places is an ambitious project bringing residents together to decide how to invest £1 million in community space in Barking and Dagenham. In 2024, we recruited a group of local people to build their understanding of local needs and learn about community spaces so they can recommend how to use the money.
That group, known as Neighbourhood Stewards, have mapped what’s already on offer in the borough, analysed local data, and heard from other communities about what’s worked for them.
After months of collaboration and deliberation, they took two proposals to our board – both were approved for further development.
The proposals are a BD Run Festival and a BD Innovation & Creative Hub.
From 25 ideas to 2 well-researched proposals
The journey began with over 25 ideas, sparked in workshops and conversations with residents from across the borough. Ideas were debated, refined and in some cases, set aside. By Phase 2, three proposals remained in development, each tested through research, conversations with professionals, and surveys with local people.
Each group undertook desk research, reached out to relevant organisations as well as surveying residents and others who have a link to the borough. The surveys showed us:
- 87% of respondents support the idea of a Run Festival, with families and children eager to take part and residents highlighting the chance to build pride and community spirit.
- For the Creative Hub, more than 70% of people called for training and studio space, while 77% felt there simply aren’t enough creative opportunities for young people in the borough.
These numbers matter. They show demand. They also show what happens when you hand over decision making, resources, and responsibility to residents; they instinctively respond to local needs.
When residents lead, change doesn’t just happen to a community, it happens with them.
It wasn’t always easy. It required time, compromise, and patience. Stewards had to self-organise, share tasks, and wrestle with the complexities of feasibility, partnerships, and finance. Some stepped away as other commitments took priority. But those who stayed carried the ideas forward with determination.
What’s next?
The Neighbourhood Stewards presented their proposals to BD Giving’s board, which approved them to move forward and develop them. The board’s decision is not simply an endorsement of two projects, but an endorsement of the principle that local people know best what their borough needs.
The months ahead will be about deeper planning, partnership building, and shaping delivery. The decision on where the investment of £1 million will go will come at the end of the year
We know that resident-led processes require time, patience and openness. And we know they generate ideas rooted in lived experience and infused with pride, creativity, and ambition.
