Sarah Spanton is Director of Waymarking C.I.C., based at the Flourish Hub at Heaton Chapel Station. This February Waymarking celebrated 5 years as a social enterprise – guiding people in their neighbourhoods to co-create healthy, thriving and resilient places.
Sarah began her career in the creative sector before studying urban regeneration and development at the University of Manchester. She has 35 years’ experience in facilitation, community engagement and project development and it’s this mix of creative practice and regeneration expertise that makes Waymarking’s approach unique.
By championing local people as experts in their own neighbourhoods, Sarah supports communities to work confidently alongside professionals and decision makers in shaping the high streets, parks, streets and community spaces that impact their everyday lives. Waymarking’s bespoke guided process can be a short, focused intervention or a longer-term partnership, depending on what a neighbourhood or community needs.
Waymarking also provides training for community groups, organisations and professionals, using accessible and participatory approaches to support co-design projects, community-led research, community decision-making and partnership-driven action. Planning and regeneration can often feel too technical and hard to influence. Sarah’s work helps communities to have their say, build confidence and work alongside professionals as equal partners.
Sarah’s work reminds us that communities are not simply consultees in the future of their places; they are thinkers, researchers, partners and leaders. Through Waymarking, Sarah is helping to create the conditions for communities to shape their own neighbourhoods with confidence, creativity and care.
If you would like to explore Waymarking’s work further, please contact Sarah on sarahspanton@googlemail.com.
