"You Need Buddies in This Work" What Oxfordshire Taught Us About Stewardship

“You can tell there’s something very special going on by the way that folks lean in as they listen. By the volume of the laughter as we move together. And the profound questions and insights people share, like, ‘how do you avoid burnout?’” - Andy Edwards, Makespace Oxford

This year's People and  Place Summer Residential was an opportunity to pause, reconnect with one another, and immerse ourselves in the stories of people transforming neighbourhoods in ways both beautifully unique and remarkably similar to those back home in Camden.

The programme brought together peers working across community spaces, local services, democratic participation, retrofit and greening projects, alongside Footwork and an inspiring network of Oxfordshire organisations who generously opened their doors to us.

Beginning with place

Our first stop was Makespace Oxford, where Andy and the team welcomed us to 1 Aristotle Lane and introduced us to the story of community asset development in Oxfordshire.

Andy spoke candidly about the realities of bringing neglected spaces back into community use; working with councils, navigating complex systems, earning trust and creating places that genuinely belong to local people. Despite the differences between Oxford and Camden, the similarities were striking. Questions around land, affordability, community ownership and long-term stewardship resonated deeply with everyone in the room.

It set the tone for the entire residential: this wasn't about showcasing perfect projects. It was about honest conversations between people doing the slow, often unseen work of neighbourhood transformation.

Photo credit: Natalie Sloan, Little Red Hen Films

Growing community from the ground up

From Aristotle Lane, we travelled to Cutteslowe Greenhouse, where Menna Clarke introduced us to a project rooted in growing - not just food, but confidence, relationships and belonging.

Sitting just outside the vast greenhouses, we heard  the story of securing an incredible 25-year lease – and what that really took: meetings twice a week, over three years, just to negotiate. It was impossible not to come away with a deeper appreciation for the quiet, often unseen work that so many community leaders put in to create and care for the places that matter.

For many in the group, it echoed projects back in Camden that are reclaiming overlooked spaces, turning them into thriving neighbourhood assets and securing footholds of their own.

Photo credit: Natalie Sloan, Little Red Hen Films

Time to slow down

The journey then took us to Charney Manor, a 13th-century manor house surrounded by three acres of gardens, orchards and open green space in the Oxfordshire countryside. After a busy morning exploring Oxford, it felt like the perfect setting to gather for the next chapter of the residential.

We settled into the Manor, shared one-to-one conversations over coffee, and gathered beneath the trees for a creative workshop with artist Saroj Patel. Before long, fingers, toes, leaves and branches had all found their way into the paint as peers created a series of large-scale flags that will soon find a home in Footwork's office in Farringdon.

As the evening unfolded, people wandered through the grounds, shared a communal dinner, and came together for a screening of Authors of the Estate, co-produced by peer mentor Nabil Al-Kinani and André Anderson.

The film became one of those quiet moments that stayed with many of us. Its celebration of communities reclaiming their own story, and the courage it inspires in the next generation to reimagine what’s possible,  echoed the conversations we'd been having throughout the day, reminding us that the people who know a place best should have the greatest say in telling its story and shaping its future. Its closing message lingered long after the credits rolled: "Don't wait for permission."

These slower moments proved every bit as valuable as the formal sessions. For many, they became a defining memory of the residential. As one peer reflected, "I didn't realise how much I needed this weekend to relax. It's done just that."

Ideas surfaced over cups of tea. Challenges were gently unpacked while strolling between buildings. New friendships formed around the dinner table and, later that evening, over an impromptu football match viewing. Sometimes the most meaningful conversations happen when there isn't an agenda at all.

Photo credit: Natalie Sloan, Little Red Hen Films

Communities creating communities

The second day began at Flo's in Florence Park.

Laura Sewell shared the story of a former children's centre that has evolved into a vibrant community hub - one that brings together food, wellbeing, activities, enterprise and support in response to what local people actually need.

Rather than offering a blueprint, Flo's demonstrated something much more useful: what becomes possible when communities are trusted to shape their own spaces.

Later that morning, we returned to Makespace HQ at 9 Park End Street for one of the most reflective conversations of the residential. Andy and his colleague Claire LeMaster invited the group into an honest discussion about what they wished they’d  known when starting out. The conversation explored setbacks, persistence, partnerships and the reality that meaningful neighbourhood change rarely follows a straight line.

Instead, there were practical lessons learned through experience. Negotiating leases. Finding creative tenancy arrangements. Understanding business rate relief. Building relationships with council officers. One piece of advice prompted plenty of laughter:

"Invite your council officer to dinner. They still need to eat."

Another:

"Make mates with the rates relief officer."

We reflected on the biggest challenges peers currently face in Camden, sharing obstacles with one another before identifying practical next steps they could take when they returned home.

Photo credit: Natalie Sloan, Little Red Hen Films

Creativity as community infrastructure

Our final visits took us to Lula's, and, for some afterwards, Fusion Arts.

Lunch at Lula’s provided a fitting conclusion. Gathered around shared tables with many of the hosts we’d met throughout the trip, we were welcomed into Lula’s – a restaurant located within a Makespace building and part of their wider network of community-focused spaces across Oxford. It felt like a lovely example of that ecosystem in action. Conversations flowed naturally between food, local organising, collaboration and future possibilities.

At Fusion Arts, Dot and Kieran shared how creativity can become a powerful tool for inclusion, social justice and community building, connecting artists and residents through projects that strengthen local relationships rather than simply producing cultural events.

One of the strongest impressions from the two days was how interconnected Oxfordshire's organisations are. Rather than working in isolation, groups like Makespace, Cutteslowe Greenhouse, Flo's, Fusion Arts and many others actively support one another, recognising that neighbourhood transformation is a collective effort. 

It's a lesson that resonated strongly with everyone visiting from Camden. Participants spoke about feeling more resourced. More connected. More hopeful. "The nourishment that comes with that connectivity." "It's a reciprocal thing." "The peer-ness of the work." 

And it was a two-way feeling:

"We loved sending a little bit of inspiration down the tracks to Camden, and we gained energy and abundant insights in return." Andy 

Photo credit: Natalie Sloan, Little Red Hen Films

Taking something home

There were Persian lunch boxes shared in the sunshine. Barefooted painting sessions on the grass. Ice creams with the Makespace team. Tadpole spotting in Florence Park. A late-night spider rescue mission. Endless cups of tea. Plenty of laughter.

As everyone boarded trains back to London, we carried home far more than notes from workshops or photographs from site visits.

We left with new relationships, renewed confidence, fresh ideas and a growing network of people we  can now call upon long after the residential has ended. As Caito put it, "It's inspiring and invigorating to be among people who DO THINGS." Because perhaps the greatest reminder of the week was put aptly by Ambre "the importance of creative practice and the liberation of playfulness and fun to navigate tougher times”. Oh  and, importantly, "you need buddies in this work."

Co-authored by Ellie, Ambre and Naomi 

Check out the photo blog below ...

images courtesy of Natalie Sloan, Little Red Hen Films