During October half-term, we delivered a creative 3-day Partnership Academy programme at Liverpool Football Club’s (LFC) iconic stadium in Anfield, Liverpool. The programme was commissioned by Liverpool City Council and involved talented and ambitious young people from Anfield and its adjacent districts. The workshops delivered were also supported by staff from Aecom, an infrastructure and engineering consulting firm that are involved in the exciting regeneration taking place across Anfield.
The programme was part of our PLACED Partnership Academy. PLACED Partnership Academies are funded by a range of partners and focus on working with young people in specific areas of the Northwest, often linking directly to a live project. Sessions focus on developing skills, aspirations and confidence, whilst supporting access to professional careers. Activities and events put creativity and collaboration at the heart.
Our 3-day programme of creative activities, skill-based learning and place education at LFC, focused on the live regeneration projects that comprise the Anfield Spatial Regeneration Framework (SRF). This £260m regeneration of Anfield is a partnership between Liverpool City Council, Homes England, Liverpool Football Club, Your Housing Group and Keepmoat Homes. The purpose of the SRF is to deliver comprehensive and sustainable regeneration of the Anfield and deliver transformational and lasting social, economic, and environmental change, including the creation of an estimated 770 jobs. The programme has several achievements to date including the delivery of circa 700 new homes and 600 refurbished homes, a new primary school, expansion of Liverpool Football Club’s stadium, and revitalisation of Stanley Park.
The aim of this Partnership Academy programme was to include local young people’s voices in the ambitious regenerations plans for Anfield. 5 SRF priority sites would be explored throughout the workshops, giving the young people in attendance the opportunity to have their say on what they should look and feel like in the future. The sites we would explore included Anfield Square, Anfield High Street, and various retail developments on Walton Breck Road and Oakfield Road.
During day 1 of the programme, we received an introduction to the Anfield SRF from Liverpool City Council. This presentation from LCC provided a crucial context for the young people, outlining why the SRF was happening, what its aims are, and why it is important to involve young people.
The young people were then taken on site visits to view the Anfield SRF priority sites upon which they would later focus their designs and proposals. LCC and AECOM joined us on these site visits which involved doing a SWOT analysis of each location, discussing strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats, as well as general thoughts and opinions. At the end of day 1, we thought about who the key stakeholders are in the area and how upcoming regeneration schemes could meet the needs and interests of those who live, work and visit Anfield.
Day 2 was a productive day of planning and strategy, when the young people would plan and sketch their proposals just like a professional architect, town planner or urban designer. The young people firstly decided what Anfield regeneration site they would like to design. They then began assigning themes to their sites, strategising 3 key aims for their proposal, and reflecting on how their proposals could meet the needs and interests of local stakeholders and members of the community.
On the third and final day of the programme, the young people created impressive models of their proposals and designs. In the afternoon, the young people gave presentations to their peers and the client (LCC and AECOM), in which they displayed their models and shared the details of their proposals including the key aims, design features, stakeholders, and how what they were proposing would improve local people’s quality of life and civic pride.
We were enormously impressed by the talent, intelligence and ambition that was shown by all the young people involved. A big thank you to all those who got involved, spending their autumn half-term with us at LFC. We thank LCC and AECOM for all of their time, support and efforts in delivering the programme and LFC for being a great host.