This year has seen significant progress in bringing forward our vision for a regenerated Fabric District. Overwhelming support has come from our business and residential community and from the major institutions who live and work within the district or immediately adjacent.
Very significantly, a close working relationship has been forged with the Knowledge Quarter (KQ Liverpool) and with Liverpool City Council which has resulted in the regeneration of the Fabric District becoming a much higher priority in official circles.
We’ve held several public meetings before but, in June, we organised two consultation events to share our ‘work in progress’ on the Fabric District CIC’s regeneration strategy and to gain feedback and insights from our community.
Drop In Events
Two informal drop-in events at the Brain Charity (14th June) and at the Tapestry building (15th June) presented a series of boards explaining all the background of the district, of the CIC and our achievements to date, then asked these key questions:
- What are the Fabric District’s strengths?
- What are the challenges for the Fabric District?
- What would you like to see in the vision / how best to achieve it?
We were delighted to meet the 55 or so who attended and were amazed by how interested and fully engaged everyone was. Whether in conversation or by the comments they left, our community offered so much support and encouragement – this was appreciated and very welcome.
Feedback Responses
Of particular interest was the written feedback left on post-it notes or comments sheets on the day. In terms of numbers:
- 37 comments were left regarding the ‘strengths’ of the district
- 43 comments were left regarding the ‘challenges’ for the district
- 56 comments were left on ‘the vision’ for the district
In addition, 11 people left detailed feedback on comments sheets.
To ensure maximum exposure, we posted the presentation boards on the website until the end of August and detailed feedback was received from a further four people.
It was really helpful to hear our community’s views on the Fabric District’s strengths and challenges and these were recorded in writing.
On Strengths
- LOCATION was mentioned 13 times (central, accessible, convenient)
- The “LOCAL” nature of the district was mentioned 13 times (small independents & creatives, community feel)
- HERITAGE was mentioned 9 times (local history, fine buildings & places)
On Challenges
- LACK OF GREEN was mentioned 18 times (trees, green spaces, green infrastructure)
- TRAFFIC PROBLEMS were mentioned 18 times (amount, noise, pollution, danger to pedestrians & cyclists)
- LITTER was mentioned 13 times (poor street cleaning, lack of bins)
- ANTI-SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR was mentioned 10 times (street crime, drugs, public safety, fear of crime)
- DERELICTION was mentioned 8 times (vacant sites, derelict buildings, poor appearance)
The Board of the CIC is now pushing forward with the vision and regeneration initiative, mindful of the views expressed by our community. These views will help shape and inform our draft ‘community development plan’ which we expect to share in due course.
