Beyond the Hoardings: Meanwhile Use and Making Places

It hasn’t all been plain sailing… A stalled site, on-going antisocial behaviour, and a very long blue hoarding fence. So how do you turn a vacant, underused corner into a well-used, well-loved community space without waiting years for full regeneration?

Join Sarah Murphy from Cartrefi Conwy for a practical spotlight session on the Abergele Western Gateway Meanwhile Use project. Set in a small North Wales coastal town, this interim placemaking intervention has helped shift perceptions, build trust, and spark community participation long before permanent development begins.

You’ll hear how a difficult site became an opportunity for change, through creative partnerships, reused materials, and participatory arts engagement. From bilingual poetry and stone-carving workshops to passive surveillance and public realm enhancements, this session explores how open and honest engagement, beyond token consultation, can create meaningful and lasting value, even in temporary spaces.

With a focus on town centre vitality, community resilience, and the practical realities of small-scale regeneration, the session will offer candid reflections on securing funding, lessons learned, what worked—and what could be done differently next time.

Audience: regeneration leads, development staff and community engagement officers looking to explore the potential of meanwhile use as a tool for transformation.