West View Together: A Community Coming Together in 2026

On Wednesday 26 August, we brought West View Together to life, and what a day it was!

What started as an idea from the Hartlepool Poverty Truth Commission to bring people together, celebrate West View and create a space for neighbours to connect turned into a brilliant community day, with more than 300 people attending throughout the day. People from the neighbourhood and beyond came along to take part, have a chat, grab some food, try something new and simply spend time with their neighbours. It felt like a community day in the truest sense of the word.

Food, fun and plenty to do

Our fantastic volunteers were kept very busy throughout the day, Juli gave out hundreds of free items to local residents and helping wherever she could. Pauline was on pizza duty and cooked more than 80 pizzas for the community, an incredible effort!

Inside West View Baptist Church, the team kept everyone fed and watered with hot dogs, toasties, snacks and what felt like an endless supply of tea, coffee and drinks. For the younger members of the community, Zunzo Party Hire brought along a bouncy castle which proved, unsurprisingly, to be a huge hit. They did a fantastic job entertaining the hundreds of local children who came along throughout the day. We were also joined by the brilliant Pamper Bus team, who kept children entertained with nail painting, glitter hairstyles and plenty more. It was great to see so many children getting involved and enjoying themselves.

Making a difference while having fun

The day wasn’t just about having fun, we also wanted to do something positive for the neighbourhood.

Silent Steppers joined us for a silent disco litter pick, bringing a bit of a twist to the usual community clean-up. Participants put on headphones, listened to an array of music and danced their way around West View while picking up litter. It was a brilliant way of showing that looking after your community doesn’t have to be boring! Clean Up UK also joined us with some fantastic creative activities, including making bug hotels, giving children the chance to get creative while thinking about the wildlife living around us. Diane, our Fab Lab Coordinator, helped people make decorated jars using scrap materials, showing how things that might otherwise be thrown away can be transformed into something completely new. Heather from the local Youth Partnership also got children involved in a logo competition, giving them the opportunity to share their creativity and have their say.

Asking what West View wants

One of the most important parts of the day was simply listening.

Juli from Hartlepool Community Trust, and as a member of Pride in Place, asked residents:

“What could we do together to bring our community closer?”

The question generated some fantastic and genuinely inspiring answers. It was a great reminder that residents have plenty of ideas about what would make their community better, and that creating stronger communities starts with giving people the opportunity to come together, share those ideas and listen to one another.

Opening the community garden

Over at West View Advice and Resource Centre, residents had the opportunity to explore the community garden and see what was happening there. Matthew from Sycamore Gardening joined us with a seed table, bug hunt and some of his testing and inspection equipment. It was brilliant seeing families and neighbours getting stuck in, exploring the garden and learning more about growing and the natural environment. Val also organised a “Look for a Book” treasure hunt, with books hidden around the centre for both children and adults to find, with the added bonus of getting to take the books home. It was a simple idea that proved a great way to get people exploring the centre and discovering something new.

Connecting with local services

It was also important to us that residents had the opportunity to meet some of the people and organisations working in the local community. We were pleased to have Cleveland Fire Brigade with us, offering fire safety support and advice, as well as a local PCSO who spent time chatting with residents. De Bruce Ward Councillors Brenda Harrison and Michael Jorgeson also joined us, taking the time to speak with residents, make connections and hear directly from people in the community.

A huge thank you to HomeGroup

We want to give a particular thank you to HomeGroup for their support.

HomeGroup kindly helped to fund the event, but their contribution went far beyond that. Their staff got stuck in from the very beginning, helping with the set-up, joining the litter pick, bringing out their caged vans to collect rubbish and helping wherever they were needed throughout the day. They were a huge support and a great example of what can happen when organisations work alongside their local community rather than simply working within it.

Thank you, West View!

There are far too many people who helped make the day happen to name everyone individually, but to every volunteer, organisation, community group, partner and individual who gave their time, resources, food, ideas or energy-  thank you.

And most of all, thank you to the people of West View who came along.

More than 300 people joining us throughout the day is a fantastic response, but what really stood out was the atmosphere. Families, neighbours, volunteers, local organisations and community workers all sharing the same spaces, having conversations, making things, eating together, playing, cleaning up and enjoying themselves.

Community pride matters. At a time when it can sometimes feel like communities are becoming more disconnected, days like this remind us how important it is to create opportunities for people to come together.

West View Together was about showing what is possible when a community comes together, and we hope this is just the beginning.