Redways everywhere; but none lead off the estate!

What is the good news of Jesus to a community of nearly 500 homes without pedestrian access to the rest of the city? (Ayo wonders…)

This was the question I wrestled with over and over, about this time last year. Having had my neighbours on the Eaton Leys estate to dinner, just about anyone who said ‘yes’ was welcome, and listened to them wistfully describe their thought process in choosing the estate only to be let down by a litany of broken promises. Chief among which was a ‘lack of pedestrian access’. In truth, you could walk off the estate. You just had to brave oncoming traffic on a dual carriage way travelling at 40mph!

Listening to chatter on the Facebook community page revealed similar angst. Engagement with the local council yielded little result. The local councillor gave sporadic updates identifying the issue: the estate was enclosed by the remains of Magiovinium a 4th Century Romano-British settlement. Putting an all-weather path along Magiovinum to link the estate with Watling Road was tricky given that its protected status forbade digging.

Magiovinium as it looked in January 2024, hash line indicates then existing bye-way which was not suitable for all-weather use.

So I spoke to Nudrat who is our community organiser here at St Frideswides. What does Community Organising speak into my context we pondered.

Turns out; a lot actually. I had listened to the estate through my dinner dates with my neighbours. So Nudrat and I hosted house meetings to do some focused listening and identify around which issues the energy was coalescing. With Nudrat skillfully mind mapping the meetings it soon emerged that there were a number of issues; the most pressing and around which passions were highest was the pathway.

Nudrat produced a graphic recording of our house meeting.

Everyone at the house meetings agreed to work together and a residents’ association was born! But, we needed more people. How do you meet and bring people together where there are no communal facilities like shops, community centres or GP practices? Some bright spark came up with the idea of a communal Christmas Carols Sing-along. “We can’t sing” everyone else replied in unison.

Video of the Sing-along carols; December 2023.

There were 60 people at the carols. Everyone singing together and then enjoying muffins afterwards. Of course, we took the opportunity to recruit more members to the residents’ association. Our numbers doubled that evening. It was a start.

I then spent the next three months chasing down the local councillor. We had decided to tackle the issue in three phases. Address our own lack of a united voice by coming together under an umbrella association, and building out that association by having the Carols Sing-along. The next step was to exercise our new found power by compelling the councillor to hold a surgery on site. The first time anyone in authority would be engaging with our community.

Ed Hume holding a surgery on site.

One text, late in the evening confirmed his attendance. Quick, I had leaflets printed and together with Sue, one of our number, leafletted every house on the estate. About 50 people turned up over the course of a Saturday morning to listen to Ed Hume, our local councillor. He gave a good background to the issues we were having, why the promised primary school/community centre/GP surgery had all been stalled. However, he then committed to delivering the foot path we had campaigned for in 8 weeks. There was a cautious hush. Then he added the rider. Works will start on Monday. Well that’s easy then. They either start or don’t.

Reader, they did.

Video showing the footpath as it came to completion. Credit: Rob Briancourt

And now, to end, by addressing the question that triggered this action. The good news of Jesus seeks to transform unjust structures of society, challenge violence, and pursue peace and reconciliation. It all started with a path.