Mick Leggett
Mick is CEO of Peterborough based housing association, Cross Keys Homes which owns some 10,000 rented homes across the city. He moved to Peterborough in 2002 and started the new housing association in 2005. The organisation aims to improve people’s lives through motivation, inspiration and giving hope. Although he started working life as a travel agent his career in housing now spans 35 years and he has worked in Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk, London and now Cambridgeshire.
Mick is also involved locally as vice chair of the Greater Peterborough Partnership and chair of the private sector led Peterborough Growth Partnership. He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and fellow of the Chartered Institute of Housing.
An interview with Mick Leggett
Emma Gilbey interviewed Mick Leggett about his involvement with CCF.
Why did you get involved with CCF?
Jane Darlington was trying to build awareness in Peterborough and seeking to engage with more people north of Cambridge, and she very kindly asked me if I’d like to come on the board. So that was really how I got involved, it was really Jane’s persuasive powers.
What issues in the community are you particularly interested in?
Well, my job is with Cross Keys Homes and we are a social landlord providing affordable rented accommodation primarily across the city of Peterborough. Many of the people living in our properties have very modest income and are living in poverty, so I am aware of issues surrounding deprivation. I also know that for many households there is long term unemployment and with low skills it is difficult to move on. The challenge is to help change the actions and aspirations of people, to give them hope for the future and hopefully a better life.
Have you made any project visits to any groups that have received grants?
Yes, I went to visit PARCA (Promoting African Refugee Community Association) in the summer at an event in Central Park in Peterborough. The group offers support and help to Africans living in Peterborough and I attended their open day. The event was really well supported and everyone was able to enjoy the activities and sunshine.
Are there any particular projects that left a big impression on you?
Last year at an event Microsoft hosted for CCF, one of the groups we invited to give a brief talk to the invited guests about their work was a bereavement counselling group. The project supports young people in the county who have suffered bereavement and also offers advice to other family members or carers. They really seem to be providing such an important and valuable service to young people that I was delighted we have been able to help them in the past and have again this year made a grant towards their work.
The main thing is that there are lots of great groups doing things and particularly lots of great people who are running these small groups for people in their community. What CCF is so good at is finding these small groups, introducing them to interested donors and then offering grants to help the groups deliver their work. It is often the case that small groups, unlike the bigger charities, don’t know what doors to knock on and they don’t always need huge amounts of money. Often small sums can make a huge difference to help groups get started or to be able to put on a special event. That’s where the work really seems to hit the right buttons, I like the fact that this is getting into the community, supporting people who are delivering great things for the people around them and in their neighbourhoods.
As Peterborough Community Foundation is run as part of Cambridgeshire Community Foundation, is there anything you think PCF should be specifically focusing on for the Peterborough Community?
Interestingly as I understand it many of the problems that we have in Peterborough actually mirror those elsewhere. Areas of real need are next door to areas of opportunity. So some areas of the city are in the top 5% of the most deprived in the country, whilst other areas are actually quite well off and wealthy. The other challenge we’ve got is raising PCF profile amongst Peterborough businesses and local families. I know we’ve had some early success on that but not on the scale that the Foundation has had elsewhere in the county. What we’ve got to do in Peterborough is more of a concerted effort, that includes me, to try and get some of these companies to see the benefits of the Community Foundation model.
What do you hope CCF will be doing in 10 years time?
Well I think we’ll have lots more donors who have set up substantial Funds with us and lots of people realising that it’s not all about big national charities, it’s also about little groups doing things for people in their neighbourhood and supporting each other in that way. Very much the Big Society stuff. To be honest I’d like to think we’d be doing more of the same. We’re in a niche market of helping donors to put their money to good effect locally. Bringing people together to identify needs and collectively make a difference. I think that is why Community Foundations were started back in America in the early 1900s, which seems as relevant today as it did nearly 100 years ago.
How do you see specifically PCT developing in the future?
I think it’s about growing our profile and getting larger businesses engaged in the profile, which Jane and I have been doing some work around. We’ve had some success, doing it in the recession isn’t the best of times. Some businesses are still doing well so it’s about making sure what we are doing is seen to be valuable to them and that they are part of the community as well and by giving Corporate-Social-Responsibility funds through PCF helps both the community and their business.
