Young people help to plan Tewkesbury’s future
Posted on: 7 March 2024
Young people in Tewkesbury are being encouraged to help shape the town’s future by engaging with its Garden Communities programme through a variety of activities.
Tewkesbury Borough Council is working with youth engagement specialists Matt + Fiona to run a three-day Design Studio at Tewkesbury Academy. The studio sessions will comprise three groups of up to 25 Key Stage 3 students each day, to discuss the issues concerning environmentally sustainable development and growth and to establish their vision for the Garden Communities.
This project will culminate in a drop-in family fun day to be held at Tewkesbury Town Hall on Saturday, 16 March between 10am and 3pm, at which young and old are encouraged to take part in creative activities exploring Tewkesbury’s future and learn more about the Garden Communities programme. Showcasing the work of the students who attended the Design Studio, it will enable the council to collect feedback on their ideas from residents.
In addition, Young Gloucestershire – a county-wide charity providing training and practical support for ages 11 to 25 who face academic, psychological or emotional challenges in their lives – will be recruiting a panel of young people up to the age of 23 to act as ambassadors for the Garden Communities and help to promote the programme to their peers.
Tewkesbury Borough Council’s Leader, Cllr Richard Stanley, said “Tewkesbury’s Garden Communities programme has at its heart both environmental sustainability and support for businesses and residents to flourish and fulfil their potential, and our young people are the future of these communities.
“It’s only fitting, therefore, that measures such as these are taken to ensure that young people are engaged with the programme and that their voices are heard, so that we will be able to deliver well-designed places and communities where people will be happy to live, work and play.
I would encourage all those who feel strongly about the town’s future to come along to the family day, learn more about the Garden Communities programme and give us your views.”
Lean more about the Garden Communities programme at Garden Communities – Tewkesbury Borough Council
Notes
MATT+FIONA is a social enterprise founded in 2016 and led by architectural educators Matthew Springett and Fiona MacDonald, supported by a small core team.
They share a deeply held commitment to change design education and the built environment for the better, trusting and supporting children and young people to make more inclusive and representative places and spaces.
Since 2016, they have worked with leading community and cultural organisations, schools and place-makers across London and the UK to meaningfully bring young people’s voices to conversations about the future of their built environment.
