RESIDENTS in Launceston were able to take part in a community conversation last Tuesday on how to make their town a better place.

Lydia Billson from Cornwall Voluntary Sector Forum held a ‘Shaping my Community’ workshop in Launceston Town Hall on Tuesday, November 5 and was delighted with the turnout, with all of the large tables set out prior to the event being filled.

The workshop was held from the morning to the afternoon, allowing residents — many of whom are volunteers for local groups and organisations — to converse with each other on how they can work collaboratively to ensure Launceston continues to thrive.

The main aim of the event was to get groups and organisations who may not have thought to work with one another to have important discussions on the town’s main successes and places where it could improve in the future.

Ms Billson told the Post: “Normally people come to these events thinking they’re going to have someone talking at them for the whole time, but this is an event where they’ve got to do all the work.”

People in attendance were first given the task of pointing out where Launceston needs improving, writing down key words and sentences that they think describe what is potentially missing from the community or needs progression. Afterwards the groups focused on the town’s assets.

Ms Billson continued: “It is a very solution-focused event. It encourages all the town’s organisations, facilities and groups to actually talk to each other and work collaboratively. People love to moan about things, but this event is actively encouraging people to just talk and listen to one another.”

There have been a number of ‘Shaping my Community’ events taking place across Cornwall as part of an initiative to create working groups from each community, which will then focus on what their town needs to improve and succeed. All the while, it encourages the ‘collaborative working’ that the events actively promote.

“Many of these people are already doing great stuff in their community,” Ms Billson continued. “These events are open to anyone from the voluntary sector, and anyone from the public too. It’s about Launceston as a community — people from the area are the best at shaping their own town, and coming up with a solution.

“The end goal is we start some working groups up and create sustainability in the community. It’s about creating that sustainability — the people here today are all very strong individuals, many from professional backgrounds. We might have teachers here, researchers — how can we use those skill sets to come up with a solution?”

She added: “Overall it’s been a really positive turnout, and they’re all passionate about their community. They have got to come up with the answers themselves.”

In attendance on the day was Launceston mayor, Dave Gordon, who thought the event was a good way to encourage the community to start important conversations — something Launceston Town Council is also keen to emphasise.

He said: “It’s been very good, it’s got people talking. This event is about finding part of the solution and is certainly a step forward.

“A lot of the issues we have here is communication. The town council is more available now and more publicly known than it has ever been. Most of the town know who is a councillor more than they ever did before, and that’s one of the most important things for us — talking to people and listening to people.”