Memories, realities and dreams of My Mainway

On 2 June, Leon Cruickshank, David Pérez, and Lisa Turton from ImaginationLancaster and a team from the Lancaster City Council delivered an event with residents of Mainway. The idea was to get together with the residents after a long wait after lockdown’s restrictions. We wanted to talk about memories, realities, and dreams of the Mainway’s residents in this event.

The day was warm and sunny, so we had the activity on the green areas of the state instead of the Hub, as we usually have done. We installed a 4 meters long timeline in front of the Chards Court building, in a very visible area for most of the residents of Mainway. Everyone was invited to share their memories, realities, and dreams using a set of stickers er prepared for the event. We had more than 50 people giving more than 130 insights that helped us build a good picture of the past, present and future of Mainway.
Most of the people described Mainway as a friendly and supportive community. One of the residents wrote, ‘When I first moved here, I was pregnant, and everyone wanted to help me’. However, they also mentioned some anti-social behaviours related to illegal activities and noise in the area. Some residents said that they would like more spaces to build a better sense of community. Some of the ‘dreams’ included community centres, different ways to improve the security of the area (CCTVs cameras or Neighbourhood watch stickers) and safe spaces for children to play.

Everyone agreed that Mainway has a privileged location, very well connected and with astonishing views of the river and the bay. Still, residents want more benches to get together and enjoy the views. Also, they said that they like the green areas, but they would like work done controlling the weeds or open community gardens to embellish the area.

Some participants described that one of the most significant changes during the last years is that most shops and pubs have closed in the estate. They would like to have pubs to socialise and convenience stores to get some groceries.
If you would like to see the actual timeline, please visit ‘The Hub’ at 7 Captains Row LA1 2AN, Lancaster.