Love Where You Live in Middleton and Belle Isle

The next generation of police officers, the West Yorkshire Pioneers together with local councillors Kim Groves and Paul Truswell embraced the spirit of the Belle Isle and Middleton ‘Love Where You Live’ project last week at a bulb planting morning at Middleton Park Avenue.

Cllr Groves and Cllr Truswell with the West Yorkshire Pioneers
Cllr Groves and Cllr Truswell with the West Yorkshire Pioneers

The ‘Love Where You Live’ project is the brainchild of Cllr Groves and an opportunity for the community to come together to address issues that matter to them. With the challenges that local authorities face and the significant reductions in funding, reinvigorating the relationship with local people and new opportunities for change and innovation has never been more important.

This five year project aims to build relationships in Belle Isle and Middleton by engaging communities in a variety of ways and develop community pride and cohesion, ensuring the community views will be at the heart of the plan. Lead officer, Carl Hinchcliffe, and the Inner South Community team will be working with over 25 partners to make Belle Isle and Middleton the best place in the city to grow up and live in.

Councillor Kim Groves (Labour, Middleton Park) said:

“Planting bulbs in Belle Isle and Middleton has been part of the wider project ‘Love Where You Live’ for a couple of years now and it was great to join the Pioneers from Cockburn School to plant some more!

“It is fantastic that young people from our area are training to be Pioneers and are helping with the community project and vision for everyone to love where they live. I know we are all looking forward to spring 2017 when the colourful display of daffodils will bloom.

“As part of the ‘Love Where you Live’ project, it is important that we listen to what people want and deliver it if financially possible. Local people know their area better than anyone and so their views will be central to the ideas that drive this project. I look forward to the project launching in 2017 and working with residents.”