Wythenshawe Community Feedback Fair a success

Last week, at a special Consultation and Community Feedback Fair held in Wythenshawe, local people got the chance to learn more about the services on offer from local community groups and organisations, as well as opportunity to discover the results of one of the largest public consultations ever carried out in the town.

The public event, which was organised by the Community Development Team at Wythenshawe Community Housing Group (WCHG), was held at the Wythenshawe Forum and was attended by 30 local community groups and organisations.

“We thought the best way to do this in the first instance was face-to-face and so we held a colourful, public exhibition to showcase the results at the Forum. We also knew this would be the perfect opportunity to invite our all our partners to come along and showcase their services too.

“Working in partnership with other local providers is vital in successfully providing good, wide-ranging local services, which meet the real needs of real people in our community. Giving the public the chance to learn for themselves what help is out there, and the opportunity to discuss it in person with a friendly face, can make all the difference in getting help to where it’s most needed in the community.

“And such face-to-face events are also a really powerful networking tool for providers. The event at the Forum gave all of us an invaluable opportunity to learn more about each other’s services, as well as the opportunity to talk to the public about what they think and about their needs. And feedback from both partners and the public about the fair was really positive.”

The consultation collected almost 2,000 responses over the summer, 1,330 of which were gathered at events workshops and pop ups throughout Wythenshawe, with the rest being submitted through an online survey. Here’s a few examples of what local people said they liked about Wythenshawe, and what they wanted to see more of:

• “We all try to look out for each other in times of need."
• "The Green space and trees."
• "To have a wonderful hospital on the doorstep"
• "How friendly and generous people are. How many people volunteer here."
• "House prices are good"
• "Community Allotments so we can grow our own Fruit & Veg."
• "Sustainable projects with community involvement"
• "Development of the land and vacant buildings by Civic centre."
• "We need more coffee shops and a few decent restaurants, places for people to socialise and meet new people."

The full results of the consultation are being made available to the public and to WCHG’s partners on our website in the near future.