Denise Jeffery: Get involved to help shape our district’s future

Denise Jeffery writes: We all have our own views on what makes our city, towns, villages and neighbourhoods special to us.

For some people it’s the sense of community and belonging, for others it could be culture, shopping, attractions, history, being creative, enjoying nature, parks and greenspaces.

There are so many aspects of life that have positive benefits.

Everyone will have their own opinion, and we’d really like to hear what you think.

To help us do this we’ve just launched the ‘Big Conversation’, which is a new way of working with you, to help us to understand what you value in the district and what you’d like to see in the future.

During the pandemic we saw the benefits of people coming together to work collaboratively, and as we move forward, we want this spirit and approach to continue.

By getting involved in the Big Conversation and by sharing your thoughts on what you like, you can help shape the district’s future.

It’s a long-term approach and we plan to have ongoing conversations, to help us plan ahead – based on what people feel positive about, to make sure we have more of those things in the future.

From now until August our trained ‘conversationalists’ will be meeting people and listening to what they have to say.

These volunteers, from the council, partner organisations and voluntary groups will be visiting all communities.

You’ll be able to recognise them in their bright Big Conversation T-shirts. They will be happy to stop and chat.

You can find out where and when conversationalists are visiting your area or leave feedback at http://www.bigconversationwakefield.co.uk.

To help us understand a broad range of views they are aiming to chat to 1,200 people, asking them what they like now, and what they’d like their area to be like 10 years from now.

This information will help us better understand what matters to communities.

By taking part at an early-stage residents can be more involved in the decision-making process, so we can work together to improve our district.

It’s an approach that is about investing in the future to benefit everyone, something I believe is incredibly important for councils to do. At this early stage, we’ll also be looking at how well this way of engagement works for our district, for the council and key partners.

Once we have feedback from these conversations, we’ll be acting on it, and will let you know what happens next.

Across the world, countries, including ours, are facing challenging times as a result of so many things out of their control so it feels more important than ever, here in our district, we all work together to try and create a positive future, focussed on what matters most to you.

Please get involved if you can.

You can also email [email protected] for more information.