Bringing People Together
Through this strand of work, we aim to reduce individual isolation; break down barriers to cohesion; connecting residents and encouraging good relationships between neighbours.
Regular ‘Know Your Neighbourhood’ events have been held to bring together residents and community organisations and two larger events have been organised: Soho’s Got Talent and the Inspiration Awards.
Inspiration Awards
This event was held at the Parklands Banqueting Suite, Hockley on 19th October 2018 and 150 people attended. The event was attended by local MP Shabana Mahmood, Councillors Sybil Spence and Majid Mahmood, Watch Commander Carl Dudley and Diane Mansell, Soho BID Manager. There were seven award categories including: A young person (7-11), A young person (12-18), Environment Champion, A good neighbour, a community group, organisation or charity, a community minded business and a community ambassador.
Soho’s Got Talent
In April 2018 Soho First hosted a combined Community Picnic and Soho’s Got Talent Event at Soho Community Hall and neighbouring Booth Street Park. Auditions were held prior to the event so that those taking part on the day were the finalists. The event was a showcase of the amazing young talent in Soho and JQ Ward.
Environment
The environment is a priority for many people living and working in the area. This theme includes work to reduce waste, fly tipping and litter and increase the recycling and reuse of materials. It is also about enabling people to take pride in the area and make a positive contribution through for example, In Bloom and the It’s Your Neighbourhood Awards.
Soho First has worked with other local groups and organisations to organise litter picks and to support residents wishing to set up litter picks in their own streets. Soho First has also worked with other organisations including schools to raise awareness of waste and recycling issues.
Peace Garden Project
Soho First has been working with the Halow Trust to develop a garden in front of the Prison Visitors’ Centre on Winson Green Road. The Halow Trust provides support for families visiting relatives in Birmingham Prison. Work on the garden has included the creation of two large raised beds, new shrubs, a wooden carving, benches and an engraved stone. This has been a collaborative effort involving local businesses and organisations including the Halow Trust, New Leaf, Erdington Youth Offending Team, Wildlife Trust, Companions for Hope and the Prison Service. The garden was opened by Ladywood MP Shabana Mahmood on Saturday 15th June 2019.
Thriving Soho
Soho First has been working with residents, businesses and organisations to develop a Community Economic Development Plan for the Ward. Community Economic Development is about communities – residents, businesses, voluntary sector, public sector – taking greater control and actively shaping the local economy. It is about doing economic development ourselves rather than having it done to us; and in ways that we know will really benefit our area, be based on its strengths, adapted to its local conditions, providing goods and services that we need locally.
A draft plan was launched at an event at Soho House Museum on 14th June 2019. Following on from this event community researchers from the USE-IT project based at Birmingham University have been working with us to explore the potential for encouraging local businesses and organisations to purchase and procure materials and services locally, and also the idea of developing a meeting/workshop or maker space locally for use by social enterprises.
This work is now complete, and we are looking to organise another event to share this research and engage more people to take the CEDP a step further. Watch this space for further developments.