“Artists will affect positive change” – how a local arts group brought its local community together 

Have you ever noticed a particular development in your neighbourhood and wondered “…who on earth signed that off?”.  

Let’s say you arrive home one day to a construction site turfing up your only local park. They’re building seven floors of luxury apartments and the rent will be more than double the local average. How would you feel? Frustrated? Powerless? Ignored? Regardless of your opinion, as someone who lives and works in the area, you should have been given the opportunity to contribute to the conversation – something neighbourhood planning allows you to do. 

Neighbourhood planning is the process by which members of a neighbourhood congregate to discuss, develop and defend the places they live and work. It is a national and legally recognised scheme that allows the voices of local residents to be heard in the planning stages of their communities, in collaboration with the local authorities.  

Over five years ago, East Street Arts advocated for neighbourhood planning, on their doorstep, in the Mabgate, Burmantofts and Lincoln Green (MBLG) area of Leeds. A vibrant and diverse community, for many years, MBLG is a neighbourhood that many refugee and migrant communities have adopted as their new home.  

Communication in multicultural areas can sometimes be tricky, especially in neighbourhoods such as MBLG where over 73 languages are spoken. Additionally, finding childcare, confidence, volunteering their time and having lower incomes than other neighbourhoods in Leeds can create barriers for residents to take part. 

To establish a new approach to neighbourhood planning, East Street Arts asked? 

Why are people unable to attend meetings, and how can they be supported to do so? 
How can formal consultancy work be transformed into a programme of fun and engaging activity? 

What does the Neighbourhood Forum need to sustainably develop independently? 
How can artists be used to facilitate these conversations, and affect positive change? 

East Street Arts are practising and developing creative ways to tackle some of these barriers, using artists to facilitate and capture the important conversations needed to sustain a Forum and develop a Neighbourhood Plan. 

Artist Sayang co-created community zines with the people of the area that promote and explain neighbourhood planning to invite awareness. The zines were translated into different languages, showcase creative writing and artworks from local residents and include useful resources for people in the area.  

East Street Arts facilitates an annual and free week-long summer school for local children, nurturing their creative interests and further capturing the ideas, thoughts and feelings of the young voices who would otherwise be unable to contribute to the Forum, with an age restriction of 18+. This work was documented in a digital zine and has contributed to Forum conversations. 

A ‘Summer Special’ event showcased the work of the children and invited parents and carers to enjoy food, music and artworks (including creative in-residency artist Michaela Lesayova). Additionally, commissioned artists  Selina Thompson and Toni-Dee created and played the ‘In Public Space’ soundscape that captured the voices, hopes and dreams of local residents. 

Several festive winter celebrations have invited locals to partake in creative workshops, music and food. 

During the pandemic a gift exchange programme invited residents to make and share gifts with each other, further connecting the community, in a time of isolation.[Text Wrapping Break] 
East Street Arts supports other local organisations, such as Burmantofts Senior Action and MAFWA Theatre, to facilitate similar creative programming connects the community. 

East Street Arts creative approach has been selected to be a part of the Neighbourhood Planning Pilot Project by Leeds City Council. The pilot scheme aims to quicken the process of outlining a Priorities Plan for an area ahead of the Neighbourhood planning process, which in some cases can take up to five years. The most recent MBLG Neighbourhood Forum AGM (Annual General Meeting) elected the first local resident Chair and Secretary in its history, signalling to a sustainable future for the Forum. 

Throughout their work, East Street Arts echo their vision that ‘Artists will affect positive change’, and in the context of Neighbourhood Planning there is no exception to the statement. Creativity has proven a catalyst for consultancy between local residents, organisations and authorities in the local area and has seen the Neighbourhood Forum grow from strength to strength. Art and culture, in times of difficulty, can often feel like a luxury against much bigger systemic problems. However, using the arts as a means of communicating, has proven invaluable in uniting the Mabgate, Burmantofts and Lincoln Green neighbourhood in a memorable and meaningful way. Neighbourhood planning, at its core, is about giving local people a platform from which to improve the places they live and work, and the benefits of creative expression, as that platform, are endless.