How can funders, developers and community organisations work together to build neighbourhood infrastructure that is community-led, community-owned and here for the long-term?
This session shares learning from an emerging model in Walworth, Southwark: a cooperative food venture at the heart of a major new high-street development by developer Fabrix. Shaped by a “Founders Working Group” drawn from local residents, food growers and food businesses, this cooperative is being convened by local community organisation Pembroke House. It builds on 10-years of place-based work with Impact on Urban Health that has seeded initiatives such as the Walworth Living Room and the Walworth Neighbourhood Food Model.
The session surfaces learning directly relevant for funders, including:
- How early-stage governance funding can unlock opportunities for community-led initiatives
- The role of anchor organisations as “honest brokers” in relationships between local communities, developers and the council
- How it’s possible to leverage short-term project funding to build long-term, sustainable infrastructure
The session runs from 10am–12pm. After the session, you're warmly invited to join us for an optional lunch at Los Chamos, a Venezuelan restaurant in Elephant & Castle run by one of the members of the Founders Working Group - so it's a chance to continue the conversation and directly support one of the community food businesses at the heart of this story. Lunch costs £15 per person, payable on the day, and is entirely optional.
This session will be particularly relevant if you are thinking about how to fund the early, relational conditions that make genuine community ownership possible.