York Community Wealth Building Podcast

Tom McKenzie is co-director of SPARK:YORK, a project that transformed a former derelict site on Piccadilly into a hub for independent trade. In the context of community wealth building, SPARK represents a shift away from traditional, high-rent commercial models and toward a system that keeps profit and opportunity within the local area. In this episode we discuss the realities of running a social enterprise in York, balancing the needs of multiple stakeholders, the difficulty of measuring social value, and why and how SPARK has always had community support baked into its model.This is the York Community Wealth Building Podcast, hosted by Ben Porter, brought to you by Fieldwork. Funded by York & North Yorkshire Combined Authority. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wearefieldwork.substack.com

Rob Ainsworth is Founder and Director of Yahala Mataam CIC, York’s refugee led event caterer, pop-up restaurant and cookery school. Yahala Mataam means welcome restaurant in Arabic, and it’s their mission to give opportunity, build confidence and restore dignity in the lives of refugees and asylum seekers through food projects.Rob is a social entrepreneur who loves to think up new ideas that will make a difference in society, and an encourager that is passionate about justice, giving and fairness.In this episode we talk about the value of allowing people to contribute to society, and the change it makes in people when they feel useful and able to give. We discuss the reality of running a social enterprise when all the staff are part time, business support doesn’t quite seem to fit your model, and even finding a bank that would take on a social enterprise seems to prove tricky.We talk a lot about relationships, assets, challenges and social infrastructure, as well as the importance of festivals in bringing together diverse groups of people to celebrate what residents can offer to others around them.This is the York Community Wealth Building Podcast, hosted by Ben Porter, brought to you by Fieldwork. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wearefieldwork.substack.com

Dr Mike Calvert is a retired lecturer at York St John University, who was also employed part-time to look at the University’s responsibilities in providing public good.He also attended conferences and visited organisations in the UK and abroad, addressing issues of social innovation, social enterprise and the social economy. Mike is now a trustee of Red Tower, an inclusive welcoming space for creative, learning and social activities, based in the only part of York’s city walls made of brick. In this episode we talk about the history of this unique space, what it’s used for now, the challenges of operating such a space when relying on volunteers, and also why Red Tower was initially a community interest company, but later changed to becoming a charitable incorporated organisation. Hosted by Ben Porter, brought to you by Fieldwork. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wearefieldwork.substack.com

Polly Orton is a co-director at SPACE YORK CIC - a community run co-working space based above Brew York on Walmgate, Community outreach office for YorSpace - York’s community land trust, and a freelance community organiser. In this episode we mostly focus on SPACE, discussing the challenges of creating and operating a workspace that has community and affordability at its core. We talk about the sacrifices that operating in this way requires the team to make, when they run the workspace around their own full time work, without taking payment for the time they’re putting in.   And of course we discuss the assets, challenges and benefits, of being a social enterprise operating in the city of York.  This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wearefieldwork.substack.com

Stuart Priest is the director of Circus Skills York CIC. Circus Skills York provides workshops that inspire and educate, using circus skills such as juggling, slack lining and diablo to teach and train all ages, from school PE lessons to corporate team development. Alongside this, Stuart also serves as a STEM ambassador, using his thirty years of high-performance computing management leadership, with a commitment to social good. He’s a co-ordinator at one of York’s Trussel food banks, and has previously steered Kakapo Energy Ltd, an ethical venture dedicated to greening the local business landscape. In this episode we explore why the community interest model was chosen for Circus Skills York, how circus skills contribute to developing creativity and confidence, and Stuart shares his advice to new social enterprises in what they should do in their first year to give them the best chance of success.Follow Circus Skills York on Facebook or Instagram. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wearefieldwork.substack.com

Anjelica Finnegan is the Development Lead at York Together, a network of radical changemakers distributing funds and other resources.Their mission is to create a space for people to participate, learn and act together, to challenge injustices, and create the conditions for better systems to emerge across York. While they’re a fairly new group, they have emerged from previous work in the city and are very involved in the issues they are working to address. This is something we discuss in depth during this episode, as it’s a fundamental belief that local people need to be trusted to solve local problems.In order for that to happen though, there are several things that need to be put in place from a social infrastructure perspective. This forms the core of the discussion we had, based around a few practical steps that we as a city can look to take to move us forward, towards a more equitable and sustainable future.I’m Ben Porter, and this is the York Community Wealth Building Podcast, brought to you by Fieldwork.  This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wearefieldwork.substack.com

James Neward is a designer and community-led housing enabler, with expertise in low carbon architecture, retrofit & community led projects.Throughout his career he’s delivered a range of environmentally conscious residential, commercial and community projects, with a focus in championing natural bio-based construction methods.He’s co-founder of YorSpace, a Community Benefit Society + Land Trust that locks York land and buildings away into community ownership. They’ve recently delivered 14 affordable homes in partnership with York’s first Housing Co-op at their Lowfield Green site in Acomb, with phase two starting later this year which will see the addition of 6 flats and a community space.In this conversation we talk a lot about co-operatives and the benefit that using the co-operative structure has not just for the members, but also how that could extrapolate out to a society if we saw more people coming together to run businesses co-operatively.We discuss some of the challenges that James and the YorSpace team have come up against in trying to build mutually owned homes, particularly in finding affordable borrowing costs from lenders who see mutual ownership as a risk rather than a mitigation of risk. We then talk about what could be next for YorSpace, as they begin to look at supporting others in the city to use the community land trust they’ve built, to help bring more assets into community ownership. YorSpace was built as an asset for the city, not just as a vehicle to allow Lowfield Green to happen, so if you’re someone with an idea that could involve a community building - this podcast is for you.I’m Ben Porter, and this is the York Community Wealth Building podcast, brought to you by Fieldwork.  This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wearefieldwork.substack.com

Sarah Williams is an author, a tutor, an artist, a writing coach, and as of 2025 is the managing director of York Creatives CIC, a community that looks after York’s artists and those working in the creative industries.In this episode we talk about the social value organisations like York creatives provide to their local areas. We explore some of the challenges faced by social enterprises and non profits in trying to deliver work that isn’t profit motivated.We talk about the state of western civilisation in 2026 and how our hunger for growth has put us back into a state of feudalism - an uncomfortable realisation after all of modernity’s promises of technology democratising access to each new thing we’re sold a monthly subscription to.But after all that we return this central idea of community wealth building and the positive impact it can have on our local area, if we choose to prioritise community wealth over individual wealth.Find out more about York Creatives at https://instagram.com/yorkcreatives This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wearefieldwork.substack.com

Tash Almond is a facilitator and systems change practitioner with over 25 years experience working across communities, and the voluntary and social enterprise sectors. She is a director of Good Organisation, which supports disadvantaged people to share in the economic benefits of tourism, she runs projects of community-led research with Outside Influence, and is also a senior programme co-ordinator at Local Trust.In this episode we talk a lot about community led tourism. What it means, why we should care, and how it can offer York as a city, plenty of additional benefits by running community led tourism initiatives alongside the existing tourism industry.  This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wearefieldwork.substack.com

Why should we, as communities, own assets? The second guest on the York Community Wealth Building Podcast is Owen Powell, lecturer at York St John, director of SPACE YORK CIC and author of the Fairer Futures for York report for Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF). We spend time discussing: • What 'community wealth building' (CWB) - often seen as an academic term - actually means for the average person • Examples of where it has worked well elsewhere that we can learn from • What some of the challenges are when applying CWB principles in York • Why CWB might just succeed in York • What the future of the region could look like if we put policies in place to stop extractive practices This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wearefieldwork.substack.com

Sue Williamson is CEO of Tang Hall SMART CIC, a York based community music and arts social enterprise.She’s also the CEO of Tang Hall Employment charity, and Chair of York Social Enterprise Coalition.She was previously a music subject leader, SENCO and English teacher at Burnholme Community College, and was instrumental in the campaign to save the building for community use when it was closed as a school.   This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wearefieldwork.substack.com