15-minute neighbourhoods: Have your say

We want everyone who lives in the borough to be able to meet most, if not all of their needs within a short walk, using public transport or a short bike ride from their home to help them live a fulfilling and healthy life within their local area.

Earlier this year, over 1,200 residents took part in a survey sharing what’s important in their local area. We’re now building on your responses and working with The Young Foundation, the UK’s home for locally led action and community research on issues people care about, to do further research to help us really understand what’s important to residents. 

The Young Foundation and Waltham Forest Council are calling for residents to sign up to participate in research starting in May that will help shape 15-minute neighbourhoods. There will be different ways to get involved, including flexible online research missions and group workshops, and you don’t need to have any specific experience to participate. When you sign up, you can let us know how you’d like to take part. 

Sign up to take part in research on 15 Minute Neighbourhoods in Waltham Forest

The deadline to sign up is Saturday 30 April 2022. We will let you know as soon as possible if you have been selected to take part. 

This is a great opportunity to be part of shaping your community’s future. We believe working in collaboration is the best way to help neighbourhoods in Waltham Forest thrive. 

What we'd need from you: 

• Depending on how you’d like to take part, 2-6 hours of your time. This might involve doing flexible online research missions and tasks to help us understand your experiences, or taking part in group workshops with other residents. 

What you can expect from us: 

• Up to £60 to say thank you for giving your time to the research. 

• Options for different ways to take part, that meet your needs. 

• The opportunity to be part of exciting research with other residents from across the borough, that will directly influence and support the Council’s work to develop 15-minute neighbourhoods. 

How you can apply: 

• Fill in the survey online

• Or you can apply by filling in a short online or paper form. We’ll ask you how you would like to take part, and a few questions about you. Only the Young Foundation will have access to the information you share. 

• If you require a paper copy of the form, please contact alice.bell@youngfoundation.org 

• We want to work with all the different people that live in Waltham Forest, so please feel free to share this with your family, friends and neighbours! 

15-minute neighbourhoods are a radical new way of shaping how communities work. It means everyone should have the things they need to lead a healthy and fulfilling life, including food shops, parks, GPs, gyms, schools, libraries, theatres and more, 15 minutes from home – whether walking, cycling or by public transport.

Waltham Forest Council has pioneered this approach in the UK, with developments around active travel, community hubs, libraries and cultural venues all serving the 15-minute neighbourhood vision.