Have your say - Oxford City Council and Transition by Design hold community engagement events for Blackbird Leys community centre redevelopment

We want to ensure that current residents of the Leys play a key role in shaping the design of their local community centre. The design is to meet Inclusive Design standards and is to be accessed and used by as many people as possible, regardless of age, gender, and disability. Therefore, we would love to hear from everybody across the Leys and beyond throughout this community engagement stage.

Come share your thoughts this month 

• We will be hosting an online workshop on Thursday 23rd November between 19:30-21:00 to share the feedback from the Leys Community Review Panel, initial stakeholder and user group workshops as the project team begins the design process. The meeting will be held on Zoom. You can register for the meeting using this link and either join using a tablet, phone or laptop or you can phone in. The details will be sent to you once you register. 

• Building on the above workshop, will be hosting an online meeting for a more detailed public update and an opportunity to ask questions to the project team. This will be on Wednesday 29th November between 19:30-21:00. The meeting will be held on Zoom. You can register for the meeting using this link and either join using a tablet, phone or laptop or you can phone in. The details will be sent to you once you register. 

• Transition by Design and Oxford City Council will be in the Leys and at the Community Larder on various Wednesdays between 12-2 pm at the Leys Pools and Leisure Centre, Blackbird Leys, beginning Wednesday 29th November. 

• Save the date for Thursday 30th November as Transition by Design and Oxford City Council will be in-person at the Health Promotion Day at the Leys Pools and Leisure, Blackbird Leys from 1-5 pm. Come and say hello, meet some of the project team and give your input into what should be considered for the new community centre design.  

Comment 

“The new community centre needs to be an attractive, welcoming place for the whole community. We want to build on the excellent work of respected community groups who ran activities in the old centre and ensure we are constructing a new centre to serve the needs of local people for generations to come. If you live in Blackbird Leys or Greater Leys please make your voice heard at one of the online or in-person engagement events being run by Transition by Design. It's your community centre, have your say!" 

Councillor Linda Smith, cabinet member for housing

Future engagement 

Oxford City Council and Transition by Design will have a range of online engagement as well as further in-person engagement, including a youth-focused event and being at key events in the lead-up to Christmas. The following events are currently scheduled to have project team representatives: 

• Leys Festive "Meet Santa" Christmas event on Friday 8th December at the Leys Pools and Leisure, Blackbird Leys from 5-8 pm, in-person (More information to follow) 

• Leys Festive "Meet Santa" Christmas event on Saturday 9th December at the Leys Pools and Leisure, Blackbird Leys from 10 am-1 pm, in-person (More information to follow) 

• Youth Engagement workshop in December, in-person (Date TBC) 

• Young women and girls workshop in December, in-person (Date TBC) 

• There will be further in-person and online events between January and March 2024 with more information to follow. 

We will be sharing consultation forms online for the wider public to complete and there will be in-person copies that will be distributed, with more details to follow. Oxford City Council will have an ongoing presence in the Leys, especially for the distribution of consultation forms. 

.You can keep up to date through Transition by Design’s updates page. We will also be sharing monthly updates at the end of each month.