In 1999 The Yard was a disused scaffolding yard up for sale for development. A commercial developer had planned to build a typical housing estate on it. A group of neighbours formed Ashley Vale Action Group (AVAG) to protest these plans. It was a unique neighbourhood, and people didn’t want an identikit housing development built solely to profit a development company. The group successfully stopped the plans, and then decided to develop the site themselves with plots for self-build houses, and communal gardens, workshops and a community room for the neighbourhood. The Yard is the result of the passion and determination of many people; those original visionaries who believed that a community-led development could work, and the self-builders and neighbours who made it happen.

If you want to know more there is a book, The Story of the Yard; Building a Community by Carrie Hitchcock, available from the St Werburghs branch of the Better Food Company.

Photo credits: “Collages and panoramas by Dave Kelson, Black and white photos by Carrie Hitchcock”