Starting Conversations

By Kathryn Shepherdson

The Support Fenland project has started with a series of conversations about what the communities in Fenland need to help them flourish.

Support Fenland has started, and we are very excited to get going and learn a little more about what the district needs.

As highlighted in a previous blog, the first job will investigate what makes Fenland, Fenland. The quirks, issues, barriers and areas we need to celebrate and nurture to be stronger.

This will be done through four events, each talking to different groups and individuals who work and volunteer in and around the district.

14th April – We are talking to the officers who work in several communities across the district – including our own teams at CCVS and Hunts Forum, other infrastructure organisations such as Living Sport and Cambridgeshire ACRE plus staff at Fenland District Council, Cambridgeshire County Council and Town and Parish Clerks – to find out what they think the communities need.

28th April – We will approach community leaders, volunteers, and groups we know do so much in the community already and talk about the issues there currently and make sure their voice is heard and respond to their needs moving forward.

5th May – Here, we will be running an open forum, where we encourage the public along with those who volunteer or work in the community to come forward to talk about what things the local community and volunteering groups need. If you’re interested in attending, you can sign up here.

Finally, later in May, we will be running a Councillor event to hear their views and thoughts about the communities they service and what they feel they need.

Following these events, we will pull together our findings, which will be reported here, and devise a plan of action to support those voluntary and community groups to become stronger and more resilient in the coming months.