Steering Groups are held on the first Tuesday of the month. The next meeting is Tuesday 6th October 2026.
Our latest Pride Steering Group meeting was a fantastic reminder of why we come together: to build a safe, vibrant, and resilient LGBTQ+ community here in the Moorlands. We took some time to reintroduce ourselves, share our personal motivations for being part of this space, and look back at the very first Pride in the Moorlands meeting. Looking at those original goals, it is amazing to see how many targets we have already hit—and how much exciting work is still ahead of us.
Building a Solid Foundation A major focus of our recent discussion was future-proofing our local Pride. We are currently looking into establishing a constitution. This is a step to safeguard our community from outside political influence, ensure the workload doesn’t unfairly fall on just one or two organisers, and clearly define our shared mission.
We also clarified our partnership with OUTSIDE. While OUTSIDE provides funding and support for arts and culture activities, our Steering Group needs to be ready to take the reins on grassroots community building, education, and local advocacy. To support this, we discussed our marketing strategy, ensuring careful use of AI on social media, and getting the group involved in signing off on promotional materials.
Committing to Inclusivity and Accessibility We also took time to reflect on our ambitions for representative diversity. It is important to us that the Steering Group and our events truly reflect the entire community. To help us engage and meet more widely, we are actively searching for a regular, dedicated venue for our activities. A priority in this search is ensuring that any space we choose is fully accessible for differently-abled individuals so that absolutely everyone can participate comfortably.
More Socials, More Events, and… Steam Trains? We brainstormed some ideas for how the group should evolve. To better balance our planning with actual community connection, we are looking at expanding our meetings. Ideas include hosting two meetings a month—dedicating one strictly to organising and the other entirely to socialising—or splitting our existing meetings down the middle so half is dedicated to event logistics and the other half is a community-led social space. We are looking at the steering group taking the lead on organising film clubs, book groups, open mic nights, and—thanks to a lot of enthusiasm in the room—a potential event involving local steam trains!
We Need Your Voice Whether you are passionate about event planning, governance, finding the perfect accessible venue, or simply want to come along for the social aspect and make new friends, there is a seat at the table for you. There is absolutely no pressure to take on big organising responsibilities—sometimes just showing up, chatting, and connecting with others is exactly what makes our community thrive. We need diverse voices and fresh ideas to make these plans a reality.