One day a young sculptor was crossing the bridge over the Grand Union Canal near Westbourne Park Station. Looking down he saw a long, narrow strip of wasteland between the canal and the road running parallel to it. In his mind’s eye, he began to reshape it, using a bulldozer for hands. There would be an open air theatre, skateboard rink, allotments, trees and flower beds, boats and boat building, and… he pulled himself up short. Yes, there would have to be a bulldozer and someone must make a start. But he also saw that, for the dream to come to life, it would need to be the local people’s creation, to build, develop, maintain and manage.

This book tells what happened in the two years after Jamie McCullough stopped on the bridge and looked down – the successes as well as the failures, the downs as well as the ups, the unresolved questions. The first part reveals how vision plus willpower can overcome most obstacles; the second provides practical advice on how to get the job done.

‘Essential for all community centre bookshelves, but deserves reading by anyone concerned with the interaction of people and environment.’ Jay Fletcher, Time Out