Bristol City Council

Bristol City Council has embarked on an ambitious regeneration project for the Brislington area in Bristol. They were developing a community engagement programme to help to develop a ‘sustainable neighbourhood plan’ for the regeneration of the area. They wanted to engage local residents with planning, decision-making and the sustainable development agenda and principles, and were also exploring how they could evaluate such an initiative.

Steve and Mark wanted to find out what the impact of this programme was on the way in which the council approached future sustainability projects, and what impact engaging had on the sustainable behaviours of those who participated. The project is a long-term community development programme and is still underway but already have gone through a steep learning curve to be shared with others.

Contact:
Steve Marriott: steve_marriott@bristol-city.gov.uk
Mark Leach: mark_leach@bristol.city.gov.uk

Surrey County Council Surrey County Council has an extensive waste management programme that includes supporting local community initiatives. Furnistore is a community-based furniture recycling project that collects, restores and re-distributes unwanted furniture. >>

Durham County Council Maggie and Claire are using the tool to evaluate two projects. The Action Packed Futures Festival day is a fun-day focusing on sustainability and green issues. The council wanted to find out whether attending the day had any impact on the behaviour and attitudes of those attending. >>

Kirklees Metropolitan Borough Council The Kirklees team are focusing on the evaluation of a walking project to encourage pedestrian journeys within Littletown and Mill Bridge in Kirklees. The aim is to encourage and increase the volume of pedestrian journeys to local services and facilities. >>

Lewes District Council Lewes District Council has a large programme of work focusing on climate change and communicating the message to residents. Lewes is on the River Ouse and has experienced severe flooding in the past – the impact of climate change is very real. >>

I'm In: what the pilot projects said about the CESD Tool
The Community Engagement and Sustainable Development (CESD) tool has been piloted by five local authorities and a community-based organisation. Here we report briefly from a selection of these pilots projects, including Bristol City Council, Durham County Council and Lewes District Council, about how they have found working with the tool so far. >>

Download the Tool information sample
The Tool is designed for practitioners who aim to influence behaviour in relation to sustainable development. Whilst the tool is reserved for use by project participants, a sample of the various forms is available to introduce you to the process. This will help prospective participants to identify if they wish to engage in the project. >>

Why choose community engagement?
This is the question that has
driven this project designed
to help local project workers
measure the effect of their
work on sustainable living. Download our introductory pamphlet. >>