Spotlight on Arts – Building Community in Loughborough’s Bell Foundry
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The latest Spotlight on Arts podcast explores the work of the Bell Foundry Community Committee in Loughborough. Rob Watson speaks with Trevor Potter and Miffy Ryan about grassroots responses to deprivation, poverty, and social isolation. They describe how local residents are developing self-sustaining projects such as gardening, upcycling, and community-led creativity to strengthen resilience and independence. The discussion highlights questions of class, empowerment, and the value of grassroots action in shaping stronger neighbourhoods built on trust, talent, and shared responsibility.
This edition of Spotlight on Arts comes from Loughborough town centre, where Rob Watson spoke with Trevor Potter and Miffy Ryan about the Bell Foundry Community Committee. Their conversation unfolded against the backdrop of a thunderstorm, but the focus was on the energy and determination of local people to change their circumstances together.
The Bell Foundry area is identified as one of the most deprived in the UK, marked by poverty, poor housing, and social isolation. Trevor explained how his efforts to recycle, garden, and trade online grew into a vision of self-sufficiency for the community. His idea is simple: rather than rely on handouts, people can pool their skills and resources to generate income, support each other, and reinvest in the neighbourhood. Examples include cleaning up unwanted furniture, growing food, and finding ways to share profits through a collective fund.
Miffy described how her first encounter with the estate came through an arts project funded by the police to promote “kindness.” That experience left her questioning the assumptions of outside interventions. She contrasted the imposed notion of kindness with the lived kindness already present among working-class residents, where neighbours look after one another despite material hardship. Since then, she has worked alongside Trevor, exploring how grassroots creativity and entrepreneurship can strengthen the community on its own terms.
The discussion raised broader questions about class, power, and the ways communities are represented. What does it mean to promote empowerment if local people are not listened to? How do you balance the appeal of large, professionalised arts projects with the quieter, DIY efforts that build trust and pride? Trevor and Miffy emphasised that resilience comes from within. They want recognition that residents have solutions and talents that deserve support, not condescension.
As the rain fell outside the café, the conversation turned to the importance of shared activity. Gardening, upcycling, and creative work are not only practical but also social. They offer people something meaningful to do, a way to develop skills, and a reason to come together. For Trevor, the goal is progression—helping neighbours find pride, stability, and independence. For Miffy, it is about reframing art as something embedded in everyday life, inseparable from the struggles and strengths of the community.
The Bell Foundry Committee’s story is one of perseverance, frustration, and possibility. It is about reclaiming agency in a system that often treats people as victims or problems to be managed. By starting with what is already present—talent, solidarity, and creativity—Trevor and Miffy are helping to shape a different narrative for Loughborough. Their work reminds us that community is not an abstract idea but a daily practice of sharing, listening, and building together.
