Pairing JTP’s pioneering community engagement approach with Peabody’s established presence in the community, the Blackbird Leys proposals were developed with continuous and active engagement spanning across several years. From March 2019, JTP commenced an extensive community engagement and outreach programme to encourage participation from all members of the community to shape the proposals and regeneration every step of the way.

This process also targeted hard to reach groups with the design team holding Young People’s Workshops with local schools – Mabel Pritchard School and Windale Primary School – to work with schoolchildren to encourage them to bring their ideas and vision into the design proposals. In total, over 15 events were held with the wider community, with over 2,000 people attending or providing written feedback throughout the process.

In the next steps for the project, JTP will be designing the Blackbird Leys Community Centre for which the detailed planning application will be submitted in January 2024.

“Our team is incredibly proud to celebrate Blackbird Leys securing unanimous approval which is a fantastic accomplishment for everyone involved. The project has been on a tremendous journey over the last five years including a truly extensive community engagement process which has been fundamental in guiding the design process. The proposals will deliver huge physical, social and economic change to Blackbird Leys, benefitting both existing and future residents and we look forward to the seeing the project come to life.”

– Ian Fenn, Partner at JTP