The Independent Commission on Neighbourhoods recently visited Bristol, to find out how the installation of England’s tallest onshore wind turbine has changed the lives of residents in Lawrence Weston.
Baroness Hilary Armstrong, Chair of the Independent Commission on Neighbourhoods (ICON), was joined by the ICON Secretariat to meet with local residents and volunteers, witnessing first-hand the impact community organising has had in the area.
Lawrence Weston, home to around 7,000 residents, was built in the late 1940s, a post-war housing estate in the Northern outskirts of Bristol. In 2012 Lawrence Weston was selected to receive £1 million from the Big Local programme. The grant enabled residents to establish Ambition Lawrence Weston (ALW), a community organisation tasked with overseeing the delivery of funding and prioritizing residents’ needs.
The turbine was built in Lawrence Weston and is 100% community-owned, generating projected returns of £100,000 per year for community reinvestment.
The wind turbine has played a vital role in the local community, providing not just income for grassroots initiatives but crucially jobs too. ALW has responded to the closure of a local college by beginning plans to open a Net Zero Skills Academy in Lawrence Weston.
After visiting Ambition Community Centre, a community and service hub for local residents, the team were taken to Lawrence Weston Community Farm. The farm, a resident-led initiative, was opened to provide a variety of engaging and inclusive activities within a welcoming, green space that’s free for all to enjoy.
Nearby, Lawrence Weston Allotments, run by ALW, provides residents with an opportunity to access green spaces, meet others in the local community, and learn new skills. ALW hosts Grow, Cook and Eat sessions at the allotments for young people, to understand the lifecycles of the food they eat.
ICON is grateful to everyone involved in the Lawrence Weston visit, with particular thanks to Roger Sabido, Mark Pepper, Donna Sealey, and Councillor Don Alexander for their time.
