Engaging young people in the local development process
In April, the Town Deal project team met students from Ark Academy in Hastings, for a virtual workshop to gain their input into the Town Deal programme and ongoing regeneration projects.
A group of 12 students took part in a practical session to support their A-level Geography studies, exploring how they would make planning decisions in their hometown (often with conflicting demands) for new housing schemes, improved transport systems and mixed-use leisure facilities.
“It allowed us to share our ideas about the positives and negatives of Hastings for young people” - Joe, student
Their teacher Josh Reuter explains;
“The Town Deal regeneration schemes that are ongoing and in the planning phase link significantly to the student’s study of geography at A-level and at GCSE. As geographers, whilst it is important to learn about unfamiliar, distant places, it is arguably more vital that students learn about the processes and systems at work in their local context. Given that our town is both coastal and seeing significant socio-economic change means that there is an abundance of geography to be studied and students are more likely to understand and remember knowledge when it relates to a context they know well through their own lived experience.”
“I could input on how Hastings could change to benefit all generations” - Owen, student
“It gave us the opportunity to apply what we have learned in class to real-life scenarios” – Aislynn, student
Working in groups, the students considered the Town Deal projects in relation to the kind of facilities that they would include to ensure young people's needs are met as part of the Town Deal programme.
“It was interesting to hear my peers views on how the Town Deal could be best applied” – Nafisa, student
“Working alongside the Town Deal Project Team has not only developed our students’ broader understanding of regeneration but has also given them insight into planning procedures and the critical decision making that contributes to exciting opportunities as the Town Deal and Town Plan layout.”
“It was good to gain insight on how planning groups work and the decisions they make” – Myles, student
“Equally, it is has enabled students to feel that their voice is heard and that they have a role to play in their town’s future, particularly as the economic and environmental sustainability of our town will rest on their shoulders in the coming years. Overall, the Town Deal is of significant potential value to the communities of Hastings, those that live, work and visit our great town.”
The virtual workshop is part of a broader ambition to develop a Hastings-wide school and college programme to involve young people in the ongoing development of Hastings’ Town Deal programme from planning to reality.
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