At the end of 2024 Sheffield CLT were accepted onto Footwork’s People and Place Programme set up to bring together a network of community innovators and provide mentorship, as well as funded technical sessions & group visits. SCLT’s Ethan, James and Marie have been representing us in the programme.

This March they visited Liverpool, heading first to Kitty’s Launderette to hear about how they created momentum around a space that did not yet exist, focused on the social value history of laundrettes and used artist commissions to imagine what a new social space would look like. This was followed by Homebaked CLT, who have had multiple issues around council owned properties in relation to both their bakery and terrace. The day ended with a discussion at Baltic Creative CIC, who purchased and refurbished 18 warehouses in a semi-derelict area of Liverpool now known as the Baltic Triangle.

The Liverpool visit was followed by a visit to Yorspace, a CLT in York, where James Neward talked about the current Lowfield Green project, but also the York Social Enterprise Coalition an organisation with a mission to provide collective legitimacy for local organisations to pursue ownership projects. There’s been some valuable learning for us so far, with more visits and sessions to come.