Our background in working with self build projects led to broader application of our skills in consultation. We worked with the local community to help identify ideas for a former carriageworks, and then to facilitate a representative group which allocated regeneration funding to community projects.

We worked with parents, teachers and local residents to help them decide what to do with a part-destroyed school in York following a fire.

We have worked on a number of Safe Routes to Schools projects with Sustrans, helping children and parents to find ways of making it safer to cycle or walk to school.

We worked with children at a Leeds school to help them decide what improvements they would like in their playground, and to develop tools for fundraising.

We worked with residents of a York travellers site to help them design improvements for their site and amenity buildings.

Closure of the former ABB carriageworks led to the loss of many jobs and uncertainty over the future of a huge site.

Local people were given a chance to put their ideas forward at a consultation day, and subsequently an advisory group was set up involving local people. This met on a regular basis and was instrumental in deciding local priorities, in allocating available funds, and in looking at opportunities to promote community development. They also worked to make sure local views were taken into account in redevelopment of the site.

Eventually this group formed the kernel of Community Regeneration York, which is now active across the city in promoting community-based economic development.