Letchworth partners are taking huge strides in making Letchworth a Great Place to Grow Up. Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation is leading the group in a partnership-driven programme designed to help every child, young person and family in the town thrive. The programme is guided by the voices of children, families and young adults.
A Great Place to Grow Up strategy has been produced to drive delivery of outcomes up until Letchworth's 125th anniversary in 2028. It is built to respond to complex and often overlapping local challenges, by bringing together schools, local businesses, charities, community groups and young people to develop a coordinated and sustainable solution to make Letchworth a place where young people can thrive. This strategy, and the learnings from it, will then be built upon for the long-term future. We will review our goals, objectives and achievements to build a new strategy dealing with contemporary issues affecting young people & adults, families and our community as a whole.
The strategy focuses on 6 key pillars, which research and evidence informs us have a lasting positive effect on shaping young people’s lives:
- Culture - Widening access to creative and cultural experiences.
- Learning - Supporting education, skills and personal development.
- Health - Improving physical and mental health outcomes.
- Leisure - Making sport, play and recreation more accessible.
- Nature - Using Letchworth’s green spaces to support wellbeing.
- Prosperity - Tackling poverty and strengthening future life chances.
In 2027, this work will be led by the new Letchworth Garden City Community Trust. The Trust will maximise its in-house expertise as well as collaborating with key local partnerships to deliver in different ways. As a Leadership & Backbone organisation, it will provide strategic direction via its Community Investment Committee and will provide direct investment to areas of the community where it is most needed. It will work on partner capacity development by providing support services including marketing and communications support to better amplify partners’ messaging. The Trust will continue to operate as a volunteer provider for partners and to directly deliver services and activities through its venues. This programme helps connect partners services, identify gaps and focus effort where it can make the greatest impact on the wider community.
20 partners have committed to collectively supporting our joint ambition to the GP2GU strategy by the end of 2026 and are official partners in sharing the vision for help young people thrive. Young people have also played a central role in shaping the young adult programme: Youth Visionaries - aged 16-25yrs - help us ensure that decisions reflect their experiences, priorities and aspirations. The Youth Visionaries will act as ambassadors for young adults living, studying or working in Letchworth.
Stuart Sapsford, Lead for the Great Place to Grow Up initiative
“Every child and young person in Letchworth deserves the opportunity to feel healthy, supported, inspired and able to fulfil their potential. Great Place to Grow Up creates a shared framework for the whole town to work together, listen to young people and turn local insight into lasting action.”
Any organisations supporting children, young people or families in Letchworth are invited to join the partnership movement, contribute your expertise and collaborate on campaigns and opportunities that strengthen community wellbeing.
To learn more about the Great Place to Grow Up Strategy, visit the Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation or to understand how this partnership can benefit your organisation Discover Letchworth websites.