Who we spoke to

This research is grounded in the voices, experiences and ideas of people who live and work in the Fens. Over two years, Dan Taylor spoke with more than 125 individuals through interviews, focus groups, workshops and informal conversations.

We wanted to go beyond the usual headlines and statistics to hear directly from local residents – about what matters to them, what makes a good place to live, and how change might happen.

Photo taken from the project focus group. A group of people sat around a table with a scattering of maps, postcards, photos and recording devices showing active collaboration in progress

Photo taken as part of the focus group. A focus on a participate writing on a post-it note. They are surrounded by paper, maps and other collaboration tools.

How we did it

We used a qualitative, community-based approach. Interviews were mostly conducted in person, in familiar spaces: cafés, libraries, parks, community centres, homes, places of worship and local pubs. Participants were paid for their time and reimbursed for travel where requested, and all interviews were fully anonymised unless individuals explicitly chose to be named.

We held:

Over 100 semi-structured interviews across Peterborough, Boston and Wisbech
15 discussion groups and community workshops
A creative workshop with 12–14-year-olds in Peterborough
10 interviews with farmers from different tenures and backgrounds across the rural Fens
A public storytelling event in Peterborough: Beyond Borders
20 creative contributions including poetry, reflection and photography

The project was ethically approved by The Open University Human Research Ethics Committee (reference: HREC/ 2024-0102-3).

Where participants came from:

Peterborough – 44
Boston – 41
Wisbech – 31
Rural farms across the Fens – 10

Who took part?

Age Band Distribution. Segments; 12-18: 12.9%, 19-35: 18.5%, 36-59: 35.5%, 60+: 33.1%

Born in Local Area. Segments; Yes: 50.8%, No:49.2%

Country of Origin. Segments: UK: 77.4%, EU: 14.5%, Non-EU: 8.1%

Gender Distribution. Segments; Male: 52.4%, Female: 47.6%

Summary of attendees:

Roughly equal gender split
Ages ranged from 12 to over 80, with a third aged under 35 and a third aged over 60
Most interviewees were UK-born, but around a quarter were born outside the UK, including:
- EU nationals from Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Bulgaria, Portugal, Italy, and Ireland
- Non-EU nationals from the Philippines, Zimbabwe, Ukraine, Morocco, Belarus, India and Pakistan
Three asylum seekers also took part (from South Asia and the Middle East)

Just over half of all participants were born in the local area. Others had moved to the Fens from elsewhere in the UK (especially London and the South East) or from abroad.

Why it matters?

This project set out to reach a wide range of voices – not just those already active or “the usual suspects”, but residents from many different walks of life. That meant spending time in communities, building trust, and using informal conversations and creative methods alongside interviews.

To get a deeper sense of our recruitment, take a look at our information leaflet. Or, watch our original recruitment videos: