A new grassroots community engagement project has been launched in Midsomer Norton that aims to encourage residents and empower them to share their views and opinions more.
The initiative, run by the organisation Community Connectors, will see over 5,000 residents engaged with during the next 12 months – through door-to-door surveys, pop-up events and street surgeries. All of which are designed to listen to and collate the views of people living in the town.
The Project Manager is Nathan Hartley, who founded Community Connectors several years ago.
“Community Connectors is all about listening to local people, understanding what their priorities are for the area in which they live, and giving them the tools and confidence to feel empowered to make a difference.
We also want to give people a voice! Too often we’re told that the views of local people don’t matter, well here in Midsomer Norton they certainly do!
How the Community Connectors project evolves in the town over the next year will very much be driven by residents.”
In many instances, community voices with the most to offer especially in terms of lived experiences and local knowledge are least likely to be heard. Community Connectors therefore follows the listening initiative, which not only gathers opinions, but it creates spaces where voices often overlooked can be genuinely heard.
“We’ve already hit the ground running, with our first newsletter being delivered to over 3,000 homes in Midsomer Norton by our team of volunteers, and to many local businesses too,” added Nathan.
So far, we’ve heard what residents think about local history, public transport and the way local councils spend money.
If you live in Midsomer Norton and haven’t heard from us yet, we’ll be knocking on your door this summer to gather your views on what you think about the area in which you live.”
By the end of the 12-month project, Nathan Hartley and his team will collate the opinions and views gathered to publish a comprehensive document highlighting what people living in Midsomer Norton really think about the community in which they live, and what their priorities are.
For more information, and to get involved with Midsomer Norton’s new community engagement project, email: nathanhartley@midsomernorton.org.uk
