Broadgreen is a residential neighbourhood located close to the town centre, developed during the years either side of 1900 on land owned by the Goddard Family. Victorian terraced housing, in a grid formation of narrow roads and ‘back alleys’, is now home to a richly diverse community.
The long established Community Council has sought and achieved strong partnerships with statutory bodies to ensure sustainable improvements have been delivered for the benefit of all residents. Physical changes to some of the central street areas were developed and delivered between 2005 and 2008 in close consultation with a wide spectrum of the community. This project has led to the holding of regular ‘Community Events’ which provide lively and relaxed opportunities for closer community engagement.
One strand of the Community Council’s engagement strategy is the strengthening partnership with Swindon 105.5 through ‘Swindon Voices’. In this series of programmes John Taylor has conversations with people who live, visit or work in the Broadgreen Neighbourhood with a view to ‘painting a rich picture’ of Swindon’s most cosmopolitan community. An equally important outcome is the development of an oral archive of first hand experiences and memories from residents and others who are proud to be part of the Broadgreen kaleidoscope.
Contributors have included ‘senior citizen’ residents who have only ever lived in the same house, residents who have made Broadgreen their home after coming to England from the Punjab, Liberia and the Caribbean complimented by conversations with community activists and dedicated Youth Engagement workers who bring both interest and enthusiasm into the lives of Broadgreen’s young people.
‘Swindon Voices’ is broadcast each Tuesday afternoon shortly after the 4pm news and repeated on Sunday mornings shortly after the 9am news.
