What is the ‘We’re Right Here’ Campaign?
The We’re Right Here campaign is a united movement for community power, funded by a range of partners and led by eight passionate community leaders. This campaign aims to shift power away from centralised national institutions and into the hands of local people, by ensuring that decisions affecting local communities are made by the people who live there. It is driven by community leaders across the country who have overcome bureaucratic barriers, a lack of resources, and a culture of mistrust to meaningfully improve their areas.
Heeley Trust has been involved in the campaign since its conception four years ago, and this year our Trust Manager, Andy Jackson, is the campaign convenor.
Andy, states “I’m part of We’re Right Here because I really want things to change, because I’ve been in my role for 20 years, and we know that things aren’t changing, and we need them to, and we can see how things could be different and better. I think that organising the way we hand down power, and formalising a structure that requires it, is the only way that it will happen.”
Watching the video, you won’t be surprised why we’re so committed to this campaign. Some of the Heeley landmarks present in this video have been regenerated by the Trust with and for our local community. Furthermore, the ethos of our charity sits front and centre throughout: People, Land and Buildings!
2025 will bring a historic opportunity to gain rights and powers for local people. The English Devolution Bill will see power transferred out of Westminster on a scale not seen for a generation.
We are really pleased to see the government has already committed to using this Bill to introduce a Community Right to Buy, giving local groups a right of first refusal once buildings and spaces with significant community value come up for sale. But we believe that they need to go further still. Community ownership is only one piece of the puzzle to unlocking the power of our communities.