What fuels community action? And what forms of organisation best support it?
Paul Smyth and Andy Merritt: Something & Son the people behind Dalston Farm Shop
Tom Archer, Locally Made
Something and Son
Could you tell us a little bit about the work you do at Something & Son?
Andy: Something & Son is a design practice first and foremost but within that we work with lots different disciplines and I guess food and architecture and the environment are the main ones.
Paul: The idea for the practice came from an environmental question we had and that we wanted to address. So we apply our respective knowledge and passions to try and answer that question. We work on sculpture, design, architecture and try to come up with a solution for the people that come to us with a question rather than having any fixed ideas beforehand of what will work.
Andy: It’s also really collaborative – we get other experts involved although we try to come up with of our own ideas first and then see if they could work. We always start with an initial idea that grabs people and then we work on it until it become as social and environmentally-friendly as it can be.
How did you get involved with the work at 2Up 2Down?
Andy: We talked about our work and the the form and format that the project could take – and suggested that a Community Land Trust might work well. So we got in touch with some colleagues that could help encourage community ownership.
Paul: The immersive nature of the project is incredible and to give yourself to a project long-term is impressive. To be able to give the project real scope and patience to allow the community to develop and make it their own is pretty radical. It’s also great that the project has been able to channel and use that pent up energy in the community towards something that is constructive and positive.
What does living well mean to you?
Andy: Well, I think being able to live well is a necessity in life. In this country, living well is seen as an add-on rather than the necessity – something extra. Whereas in other cultures, food and family and friends are all seen as key
Paul: I also think it’s having a purpose, whether that be an big idea you want to see realised, an endeavour or project. I think that’s really important to wellbeing. Then it’s the simple stuff like friends, good food and not being economically stressed.
Tom Archer , Locally Made
Tell us a little about yourself and the work you do at Locally Made.
Locally Made started about a year ago by a few of us who worked for the Community Development Foundation which was a body which advised the government about issues around community development policy and community involvement. As the same time I was doing my Masters looking at housing market renewal and the growing opposition to it. From there I looked at the different ways that housing could be improved which led me to looking at Community Land Trusts as one possible way that communities could take control of land and housing and become real players in the regeneration process. In 2011 I started working with groups who were interested in setting up CLTs which is how I came into contact with the 2Up 2Down project.
Why are CLTs a better alternative to the way that housing regeneration has been normally carried out?
I think there are a couple of arguments to explain why CLTs are good models for urban regeneration areas. Firstly, past attempts have neglected the assets that people have and local communities have not really played a leading role. You could argue that CLTs are empowering in that they allow communities to take control of regeneration themselves. Secondly, unless a community owns the assets in terms of land and buildings it will never reap the benefits of the increase of value in those assets. So a developer may well benefit if they build a row of houses and their prices go up but very little of that is actually captured by the community itself. So it’s about keeping that value and benefits within the community.
What hopes do you have for Homebaked CLT and it’s contribution to the rest of Anfield?
Well, at this stage it is still a relatively small project and Anfield is a big place with lots of empty houses. So I think it’s unfair to put that kind of pressure on one project to have such a wide reaching impact. However, I do think that what is interesting is what a small group of people have managed to achieve over the past year or so. To set something up like a CLT and show their commitment to improving the area is amazing and I think there are a lot of social benefits in terms of getting people involved and making them feel a part of something that they have control over.
What does living well mean to you?
Living well is about having good, trusting, enjoyable and supportive relationships with the people you’re surrounded by. Feeling part of a place and also living healthily in terms of what you eat and the exercise you do.