{"id":284,"date":"2012-07-23T14:37:02","date_gmt":"2012-07-23T14:37:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.iriss.org.uk\/assetmapping\/?p=284"},"modified":"2016-07-12T14:17:10","modified_gmt":"2016-07-12T14:17:10","slug":"mapping-twechar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.iriss.org.uk\/assetmapping\/2012\/07\/23\/mapping-twechar\/","title":{"rendered":"Mapping Twechar"},"content":{"rendered":"

On 20th July, Twechar Healthy Living and Enterprise Centre<\/a> hosted our most recent asset mapping workshop. We were fortunate to talk with 9 local people (age range from 4- 70\u00a0 years old) to find out what assets they have at their disposal and how they feel about their local community.<\/p>\n

It was clear from the beginning of the day, that although Twechar is a very small area, there is a whole lot of community spirit! When we walked through the doors of the centre we were struck by how many notices and signs that were available that highlighted lots of community assets and resources.<\/p>\n

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One of the key features described by local people, was their access to green space – particularly the forest. Many people recounted stories of how they used to play with their friends outside “we used to just let our imaginations run riot!”<\/em> indicating how much this element of the local landscape means to people.<\/p>\n

Similarly, every person that we talked to mentioned the close-knit community spirit, and that networks between people were particularly strong. Some highlighted that there was increasing demand for housing in Twechar, thought to be due to the attraction of the community spirit. There was also a sense that as the community had already achieved so much together, there was a belief (and hope) that there is always a way to get things done which was quite surprising, and very inspiring to hear.<\/p>\n

We also heard about a number of initiatives driven by local people, that have helped bring services to the community, rather than the community having to go to them. For example, the Healthy Living Centre now hosts a weekly doctors surgery which has helped the doctors get to know the community better and has increased access for people.<\/p>\n

As well as this, other assets included:<\/p>\n