Bringing the Street to Life: A Story of Neighbourly Connection

By Natalie Smith (St James Community Builder)

It began with a simple email. After 18 years living on her road, A resident was feeling increasingly disconnected. She’d seen many changes—more student lets, fewer familiar faces—and longed to rekindle a sense of community.

Encouraged by a local councillor, she reached out to her Community Builder and they arranged to meet at the nearby community centre—somewhere she’d never visited before. At our first meeting, She shared her heartfelt vision: “I want to get to know my neighbours, brighten up the road, and help each other out.”

Inspired by her enthusiasm, we agreed to go door knocking the following week. Our first attempt—on a sunny afternoon—yielded just a handful of conversations. But the next week, we tried again in the evening. This time, success! She took the lead, sharing her ideas with confidence and warmth. She spoke with fourteen neighbours—many of whom were eager to be involved.

To stay connected, she collected email addresses and soon organised a follow-up meeting. Two neighbours came, but their suggestion to create a WhatsApp group sparked a new wave of activity. One of them even designed a poster to spread the word!

The next gathering, held at a local pub, brought eleven neighbours together. It was heartening to see people chatting, laughing, and beginning to share stories, skills

and ideas. It was a reminder of the quiet power of connection.

Now, the Builder has stepped back to allow this resident, who’s clearly a natural connector, to continue weaving the threads of this growing network. Since then, neighbours have held more meetings, started a "weeding party" to clean up the street, attended a local pop-up event together, and even launched a sunflower-growing competition!

The resident recently said: “Thank you, it's really nice how everyone is coming together and engaging with this idea! Last Monday a group of us started clearing the street, getting rid of the weeds. It made a great difference—it looks much better. Now we need to carry on, as we only did the top of the road.”

This is what community looks like: small steps, shared actions, and a lot of heart.