Barnfield Ward

Barnfield - The story so far....

'Your Say, Your Way' in Barnfield began in April 2011. We were a part of the Bushmead Primary school fun day on Saturday 18 June 2011. During this event, we were gathering information from the local residents about what they thought of the area and what they want to see changed, improved or to kept the same. To see the information gathered, please see the Mapping Priorities attachment.

We also held a Central area Youth Event on Saturday 6 August at Bushmead Community Centre. The event saw over 100 young people attend to tell us what their priorities for the area were, as well as enjoy the activities which were available. The young people added their priorities to a fantastic graffitti wall and all of their input has gone towards forming the priorities for the Barnfield ward.

We also gathered 150 face to face surveys around the Barnfield Ward. The surveys were completed by Police Community Support Officers and Community Development Officers.

The information gathered from the surveys, mapping priorities and youth event all played a part in giving us a picture of the ward and what local people want to see happening.

Community Planning Decision Days

We held a Community Planning Decision Day in November 2011 at Bushmead Community Centre. The event saw residents come together and meet with Council workers and partner agencies, to discuss their issues and possible solutions. The event ended with voting on the priorities people wanted to see taken forward by the Council and its partners at the Luton Forum - including the police, primary care trust, fire and rescue service, the Luton Assembly, other public service providers and the business community.

The top 3 priorities identified for Barnfield were:

1. Build on community links to access existing health and sports activities already in Barnfield e.g. MUGA/ Barnfield College
2. Dedicated informal space for older young people to hang out
3. Promote wider access to the local environment and countryside e.g. outdoor gym/ allotments

Next steps

The opportunity for the community, local groups and the voluntary sector to apply for funding is now open and the application and supporting documents are attached below. Please contact us if you would like an application in Microsoft Word format.

The closing date for Barnfield projects is Friday 27 January 2012.