This was first posted up on the DiY Culture Facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/doityourselfculture We’re re-posting it as an example of what can be achieved when the will, energy and commitment are there…

“The Marsh Farm housing estate in Luton was built in the 1960s, and now has a population of around 10,000. Like many social housing estates, in the years since its development, it has endured an institutional neglect which has seen its levels of unemployment and deprivation rise to more than double the Luton average.

In the absence of adequate government support, members of the community set up a self-help collective known as the Exodus Collective, which embarked on an ambitious plan to radically transform the estate. Many former members of the collective are now part of Marsh Farm Outreach, a grassroots community development organisation that has actively facilitated estate-based community wealth-building – and proven the power of bottom-up community regeneration.”

How a Luton Council Estate Is Taking Control of Its Future: https://tribunemag.co.uk/2021/07/lutons-marsh-farm-estate-shows-how-working-class-communities-can-take-back-control