CWBconversations

Community wealth (and health) building

This article originally appeared in the Municipal Journal.

The purpose of our economy should be to generate good lives and wellbeing for all, and, in CLES’s final Community Wealth Building Conversation at the end of November, we got to hear first-hand about the myriad ways in which this progressive approach to economic development is helping to deliver better health outcomes for people and communities, through the actions of key anchor institutions. Three things stood out from the conversation.

First, there is growing evidence of impact.

Read More

Much to learn from Celtic wealth building

This article originally appeared in the MJ.

CLES’s most recent community wealth building conversation event, chaired by Huw Thomas, Director of Finance at Hywel Dda University, introduced the idea of “small country governments” and the pragmatic role that our Celtic governments are playing in tackling key challenges using community wealth building approaches. They are well placed to do this, the discussion concluded, because they are embedded in their places. But achieving public sector reform must go hand in hand with investing in the development of thriving local communities.

The discussion brought together expertise from across the Celtic nations, including Miriam Brett, Co-Director of Future Economy Scotland, Rhiannon Hardiman, the Policy Lead for Climate, Nature, Economy & Food Future at the Generations Commissioner for Wales, Mary McManus, Regional Manager for Living Wage Northern Ireland and Liam Quinn, Chief Executive of the Waterford Area Partnership.

Read More

Making the missions happen

This article originally appeared in the Municipal Journal.

Done properly, community wealth-building can provide the Government with a means to deliver their election pledge of change and to maximise the impact of that change on people and places. That was the clear message from the first of the Centre for Local Economic Strategies’ (CLES) Community Wealth Building Conversation events earlier in the month.

Labour needs living standards to improve and, in last month’s Budget, chancellor Rachel Reeves again made the case for economic growth, wealth creation and opportunity for all, arguing that these were the only way to deliver that goal.

Read More

Powering up our rural communities

This article originally appeared in The Municipal Journal.

Imagine living in a place which owned its own wind turbine. Where the village shop was owned and run by local people. Where a network of local social enterprises collaborated to bid for contracts from the public sector. Where all residents felt empowered to participate in developing an action plan for their community. Where the community owned the land their houses were built on, made sure new homes were affordable and were not sold as second homes. Is this a fantasy village? Possibly. But the fact is that rural places across the UK are already delivering all of these constituent parts. The next – and crucial – step is bringing them together.

The second of CLES’s Community Wealth Building Conversations, last week, focused on how the approach works in a rural context. One of the challenges frequently levelled at the community wealth building movement is that it is an urban-centric and -focused method of economic development. When the vast majority of the UK is rural, ensuring that community wealth building can be delivered across all our regions is important. We know that many of the more visible challenges facing urban communities – like poverty – can be masked in rural places. Not only this, but often the lack of rural infrastructure can compound poverty and exacerbate the challenges facing people in their places.
“opportunities […] can be present as well ”
Our panellists at the event – Neil McInroy, Global Lead for Community Wealth Building for The Democracy Collaborative, and Cllr Lisa Brown, Deputy Leader for Cumberland Council – opened the proceedings with provocations highlighting some of the challenges our rural places face. Transport, housing and service delivery all got a mention, but they also noted the opportunities that can be present as well – in energy, food and tackling issues like climate change. Ownership of land was also noted as a key theme as the inequality of who does and who doesn’t own the ground we stand on clearly demonstrates the extraction of wealth from our places.

Read More