Priorities

Introduction by the Wood Street First Chairman Graham Hodgkiss
Living in a community like ours in the Wood Street ward, it is so very easy to live a blinkered existence where you are not always aware or even care what is going on in the Community around you. You could be living in a million pound luxury home or a squalid one bed flat. You could be living with crime and anti-social behaviour or in an area of relative peace and tranquility. But the perception could be that it is a ‘them and us’ society. With hope for those that have and virtually no hope for those that haven’t. What the Wood Street First Committee wanted was to meet as many people in our community as we could and find out what challenges they face and to find out what opportunities, desires, expectations, hopes and wishes they have. Then we can put in place a plan to make a difference and create cohesion in our community.

The Wood Street First Community Plan was produced to identify and respond to the needs, opportunities, desires, expectations, hopes, wishes and challenges we face in our ward.

What are we trying to achieve with our Community Plan

  • Reducing crime and the fear of crime
  • Improving the local environment
  • Build better cohesion in our community
  • Assisting others to set up a local community groups
  • Provide support and equipment for other local groups to raise funds
  • Work with local businesses to keep a vibrant local economy
  • Offering more and better activities for young people
  • Improving the lives of children and young people
  • Offering more and better activities for older people
  • To be there to assist anyone that needs help in any way we can
  1. Give the people a voice
    The Wood Street First Committee will work with the Wood Street Safer Neighbourhoods panel, Waltham Forest Council, Local Schools and all appropriate agencies to support residents, tenants, and Neighbourhood Watch groups to get their views heard. We will help set up events so that everyone in the community has an opportunity to be heard.
  2. Listen, learn and respond
    The Wood Street First Committee listened to what the people in our community told us and we came up with a list of priorities (see above) that we need to deal with in our community.
  3. Projects that will make a difference
    We don’t want a quick fix or a here today gone tomorrow solution, we want to put in place projects that will make a long term difference and offer a long term solution to the community. With our own fund raising, funding, sponsorship and donations, we will over the next few years put in place projects that will give long term solutions and leave a lasting legacy to resolve the problems in our community.
  4. Have fun and make friends
    The Wood Street First Committee believes that the best way of breaking down barriers and building better cohesion in our community is to organise fun events and activities in the community, so that everyone can get together and have some fun. Having fun and making friends will be the stepping stones to a better community. The funding raised from these events will over the next few years be put towards community projects that have been suggested and approved by the community groups.

Together we can make a difference and we can build a better community for everyone. Contact us if you have any thoughts or ideas!

Updated 01.06.2018