Listening Well is a community led, community driven listening campaign on community safety and the managed approach in Holbeck. The Listening Well campaign is being delivered by the Voice of Holbeck, a group of local civil society organizations who have come together to ensure that the community is well represented on this issue. The Voice of Holbeck is being supported to deliver Listening Well by the community organizing alliance, Leeds Citizens, which has member organisations within the Voice of Holbeck. St Luke’s Church is a member of Leeds Citizens.

The Voice of Holbeck held a series of listening events during the course of 2019-20. These events involved two rounds of table conversations: sharing stories and experiences of life in Holbeck; and ideas related to community safety and the managed approach. Volunteers took notes during the table conversations to ensure there is a record of the testimony and ideas shared. The methodology being used by Voice of Holbeck members in running Listening Events is community organising, a methodology designed to ensure deep listening, increase the power of the community to work together for the common good and generate action from decision makers.

The events, research and findings are being written up by our commissioned researcher, Louise Warwick-Booth from Leeds Beckett University.

We will then conduct a series of COMMUNITY WORKSHOPS to work with residents to identify changes needed in the community. We will then negotiate with Strategic Leads on these areas for change.

The strategic leads responsible for the managed approach and community safety in Holbeck are: Cllr Debra Coupar (Executive Board member for Communities), James Rogers (Director of Communities and Environment), District Commander Steve Cotter* (West Yorkshire Police) and Paul Money (Head of Safer Leeds). These four committed themselves and their organisations to the Listening Well campaign. At the Listening Well launch in February 2019, the strategic leads agreed to attend all Listening Well events and to act on the results of Listening Well in regards to policy and resource.

At the end of the Listening process, there will be a public event where the Voice of Holbeck will publish the Listening Well report. This will contain the key findings from Listening Well and the recommendations for ways forward on the issues of community safety and the managed approach. The event will provide the Voice of Holbeck with the opportunity, in partnership with Safer Leeds and other key stakeholders, to make public the changes that will be made in response to the campaign.

*Since the launch of the Listening Well, Steve has moved on and has been replaced by Damien Miller.