About this event
You’ve told us how much you gain from listening to our Power of Community meeting hosts, so throughout 2025 we’re taking you across the county to some really fascinating places with some great stories to tell!
In addition to hearing from our great host, there’ll be our usual mix of information, networking and discussion, led by our CEO, Tony Armstrong, and the Locality team.
Venue: Cardigan Community Centre, 145-149 Cardigan Rd, Burley, Leeds LS6 1LJ
We’ll meet at Cardigan Community Centre, a vibrant community hub in a diverse part of North West Leeds, and learn not only about their journey, but also all about practical climate action from neighbour Canopy Housing. Learn how they retrofit empty homes to AECB CarbonLite Standards to accommodate people in severe housing need, who become part of the volunteering team before they move in. This meeting includes an opportunity to visit the housing they provide.
Agenda
Time | Session | Presenter |
| 10:15 | Welcome and introductions | Rosy Hearn, Locality Membership, Manager |
| 10:20 | What’s going on? A dive into sector news and trends from across the country. | Tony Armstrong, CEO |
| 10:40 | Mingle, Mingle, Mingle… | All |
| 11:15 | Member spotlight - Inspiration from our wonderful host! Welcome to this vibrant community anchor in a diverse part of North West Leeds. Find out about Cardigan Community Centre’s history, their work with youth, elders and others, their impact and their plans for the future. Followed by Q&A. | Abdul Hannan, Centre Manager, Cardigan Community Centre |
| 11:50 | Report launch - Canopy Guide to Retrofit Canopy Housing engage around 100 local volunteers every year in community retrofit. They use woodfibre, sheeps’ wool and other natural materials to create warm, healthy homes for people in desperate housing need. The Canopy Guide to Retrofit, funded by the Energy Redress Scheme, is aimed squarely at community organisations who would like to replicate their successful, award-winning, self-help model. | David Nugent, Director, Canopy Housing |
| 12:15 | Lunch (provided) Optional 30 minute return walk to the location of a number of Canopy homes and a visit to Canopy HQ. | |
| 13:15 | Workshop - Volunteer engagement
Canopy’s volunteers come from all walks of life. Their youngest is 16, their oldest 75. They work with refugees, prison-leavers, and survivors of domestic abuse. Almost half of their volunteers are women and Canopy’s construction sites are safe spaces for neurodiverse, trans and cis people alike. Canopy will share some of their experiences in an open workshop where participants are invited to share their own strategies for working with groups of volunteers who sometimes have diverse, seemingly incompatible backgrounds and characteristics. | David Nugent |
| 14:15 | Your space
Share your projects, activity and inspiration with other members. What’s getting you up in the morning? What’s inspired you this month? | Facilitated by Lucy Darragh, Development Officer With ALL invited to share |
| 14:45 | Making the most of your membership Opportunities for members in coming weeks and months. | Rosy Hearn |
| 15:00 | Close |
This event is open to all those with the Essentials, Membership Plus or Partner package. Travel bursaries are available if needed – contact members@locality.org.uk to enquire.
If you have the Network package and would like to attend we have a limited number of places available. Please contact members@locality.org.uk before booking.
This activity is supported by funding from The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest community funder in the UK. Thanks to National Lottery players, Locality UK has received almost £1.9 million over three years to support the Connectors UK programme, delivered in partnership with DTA Scotland, DTA Wales and DT Northern Ireland. Through the programme we will bring local community organisations together, to build resilience, share innovative practice and shape their community’s future.