What we found:

Community members highlighted six key focus areas:

  • Food & Nutrition: Affordable, nutritious food; community meals and food banks.

  • Wellbeing & Health: Mental health support, wellness hubs, fitness spaces.

  • Education & Learning: Inclusive schools, student voice, essential services.

  • Safety: Safe spaces for youth, traffic safety, improved lighting.

  • Community Spaces: Accessible gathering places, creative hubs, public toilets.

  • Housing: Affordable housing, reduced stigma, better estate spaces.

Launched in October 2024, the Good Neighbourhood Collective was/is a group of 16 local residents working together to make South Hampstead and Swiss Cottage a fairer place for everyone.

Over several months, the Collective:

  • Gained skills in teamwork, community engagement, idea development, and public speaking

  • Engaged with over 200 residents to explore local challenges and opportunities

  • Identified three key themes to focus on:


Food and Nutrition

Mental Health

Community Spaces

Together, they co-developed 18 practical ideas and actionable recommendations—half designed to be community-led projects, and half aimed at decision-makers.

To share their work, we hosted the Good Neighbourhood Assembly, where Collective members presented their recommendations to the community. Residents took part in both in-person and online voting to choose one community-led project and one policy recommendation for each theme to move forward.

These chosen recommendations now shape the next phase of the Good Neighbourhood Project—turning these ideas into meaningful action.

Good Neighbourhood Project

We have received funding from the National Lottery Community Fund and the Esmée Fairbarn Foundation to run the Good Neighbourhood Project. Between April 2024 and April 2027, we will work alongside people who live, work or study in Swiss Cottage and South Hampstead to make the neighbourhood a fairer and greener place.

Through the Good Neighbourhood Project, we will work with residents and community groups to tackle two big issues: the cost of living and the local environment. We will do this through running a community inquiry on each issue.

This will involve supporting residents to:

  • Consider the future they want for the neighbourhood,

  • Deliberate about collective priorities,

  • Influence local decision-making, and

  • Take practical action towards realising the future they want to see.

Please email cdl@thewinch.org to find out how you can be involved.


Exploration

What was it?

The Exploration Phase was the foundational stage of the Good Neighbourhood Project, running from April to September 2024. This phase aimed to engage local residents, organisations, and community groups to identify shared priorities for making Swiss Cottage and South Hampstead a fairer and greener place.

Introduced the project through 41 one-to-one meetings and 18 group meetings.

  • Built the Good Neighbourhood Network

  • Tested engagement methods at community events and with local groups.

  • Held 10 Imagination Sessions with 80+ residents from diverse backgrounds.

  • Hosted the Good Neighbourhood Festival, attended by 300+ people.

What we did:

  • The Good Neighbourhood Project will:

    • Organise cooking workshops in local spaces to teach affordable, healthy, and culturally diverse recipes.

    • Partner with food co-ops, local chefs, and nutritionists to develop recipes and create a community cookbook, available online and offline.

  • The Good Neighbourhood Project will:

    • Expand existing peer mentoring schemes in the neighbourhood  or establish a programme to connect young people with peers who understand their experiences.

  • The Good Neighbourhood Project will:

    • Organise workshops where community members can teach and learn practical skills, from sports and creative arts to practical life skills.

Inquiry

Community-led Projects

Actions for Decision Makers

A Neighbourhood Organiser

“Meeting everyone. Making friends for life! Creating a new community.”


A Neighbourhood Organiser

“Being part of the collective at The Good Neighbourhood Project has been a source of strength, focus, and hope for me during some of the most challenging times of my life.”