Creative community project to revitalise Ashfield and encourage positive outlook after Covid-19

The aim of the project is to create a shared community vision of what Ashfield could be like post-pandemic, and it invites residents to share their hopes for more local transport, community spaces, green jobs and more.

The story of Ashfield has been told through a short animation, organised by local campaigner Arran Rangi from the ‘Build Back Better Ashfield and Mansfield’ community group.

The hand-drawn illustration features local residents of all ages from across Ashfield and reflects on the area’s industrial past, how it has coped during the pandemic and what residents hope and imagine for the future.

Residents on the film include Helen and Chris who are volunteers at Kirkby Heritage Centre, and they remember Ashfield in the 60s; the carnivals, vibrant high streets, and jobs in pits and factories.

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Kate is another interviewee, and she reflects on how people are determined and resilient, while Dawn talks about how people helped each other during lockdown.

Arran Rangi from Build Back Better Ashfield and Mansfield said: “The virus has turned the world and this community upside down, the economy needs a boost, but the question is where and how to start.

“We think that Ashfield has been left behind when it comes to asking people what they think and want from any recovery. So we created this project to do exactly that.

“We wanted to start a conversation and hear from residents who live here and are part of our community. We want to learn from the past, but also show that we can have something better for Ashfield’s future. We need secure well-paid jobs, and a strong local economy that puts people and the environment first.”

For the project launch, Arran and the group teamed up with local businesswoman and artist Jayne Woodbridge to turn her Creative Studio on Outram Street into a fantastic explosion of colour, chalking a giant rainbow mural from the animation across the whole of the store.

Jayne said: “I’ve noticed little kids going past and wanting to touch it on the window and thinking it’s brilliant and there have been quite a few people that have said it looks really nice.

“When we were painting the rainbow on Tuesday, we got a lot of people peeping at us because obviously, they could see what we were doing.”

Local children will soon have the opportunity to join Jayne for a one-off craft workshop, where they will create a giant ‘Imagine Ashfield’ collage.

Speaking about the Imagine Ashfield project, she said: “It would be nice to see the high street revived.

“In an ideal world, it would be nice to have the old kind of high streets back, with all the little, quirky shops and independent shops and things like that.

“I think if we had that we would have more of a community around here and I think that is what we are lacking, which is a shame.”

Arran and his team plan to distribute thousands of colouring-in sheets across Sutton and Kirkby - with the prize of a kids electric scooter given for the best design.

These sheets depict a scene from the film and invite local schools, community groups and residents to ‘Imagine Ashfield’ for themselves by filling in the spaces and marking what they would like to see in the future.

The project is part of a national effort to recover from the economic damage of the Covid-19 pandemic and shows encouraging signs of people in the community pulling together to build back better where they live.

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Arran added: “Before the pandemic areas like Ashfield were kind of underfunded, we had a lack of investment, and particularly for young people there's a lack of opportunities so now we've got this. Boris Johnson has talked about build, build, build and all this infrastructure is going to be pumped into the country. We think it is really important that when we do rebuild the economy and society that we do it in a way that really elevates people and puts people in Ashfield first.

“There is a multitude of ways I think it will impact people. One is, getting people thinking about why they fail to be here and also why they love it so much.

“We went around doing interviews with local people, and the pride that people have for their area is immense, and it is such a shame that this doesn't always translate through into policies and investment that we'd like to see.

“I spent a few hours with the people in the Kirby Heritage Centre, who are amazing, they could talk for hours about how proud they are of Kirkby and then you kind of hear the sadness in their voice when they're like, it's just not the same anymore, there are not the same opportunities anymore.”

He added: “It's really about getting people excited, and visioning, a future that they'd like to be in, an Ashfield that they would they be proud of.

“There's so much doom and gloom in the news, and it is really important that we do think about the future and really do try to think positively about when we do get out of this, how can we build back better.

“I think for a lot of people, right now is a very tense time, it’s also a very stressful time but the decisions that are being made, that will impact us for decades, are happening now.

“It's really important that we start having these conversations locally, and with our local politicians to make sure that we're making the right choices for the people of Ashfield.”

To watch the film or for more information about the campaign see the Facebook page.