Ramsgreat XID – community led regeneration

Urban strategist Anupam Yog (based in Singapore) and local community leader Elinor Seath have been working on a pilot regeneration initiative called an Experience Improvement District (XID). This community led, bottom-up approach to regeneration focuses on public realm and investing in social capital.

The pilot started with a local community initiative Happy Mondays, funded by Historic England. Happy Mondays is a weekly social lounge on Ramsgate High Street where local residents can come together, create their own art projects and get involved in wider community benefit projects. Happy Mondays has been running for more than two years and is regularly attended by between 30 and 40 adults, most of whom can’t work due to mental health or physical health challenges.

Since March 2025, the group have been taking part in “mini-place activations” across the town, giving an uplift to forgotten spaces. These can be found near The Flying Horse pub, St Laurence Church Hall, Effingham Street and next door to the High Street Community Hall.

One of the volunteers on this project is Paul, 65, who has been a plumber, builder, handyman and licensee in his working life. “I just needed a project to get involved with; I love being a part of the community”.

The “activation” squad is proving that “small interventions have a wide impact,” says project leader Elinor Seath. These activations are a part of the XID pilot, which is promoting shared experience by improving public realm, an equitable space that can be accessed by everyone.

Happy Mondays takes place each week at Arts in Ramsgate in the High Street from 1pm to 6pm.

If you would like to find out more and / or support the XID project, please get in touch with Elinor Seath by email: elinor@remixd.org.

Written by:
Elinor Seath
Local Community Leader