Who We Are

What is Transition Norwich?

Transition Norwich – officially launched at a meeting of 400 people in St. Andrew's Hall on 1st October 2008 – is an affiliation of ordinary citizens who are actually excited about the idea of a post-oil based Norwich.



We are part of Transition Network – a national and international lattice of villages, towns, cities and communities - who want to get on and build the local structures which will enable true community and justice to thrive at a local level, and reduce our climate impact at the same time.

To make this transition – from the business-as-usual oil-intensive economy, to a resilient local economy – takes imagination and commitment. Fortunately in Norwich we have an abundance of these. Our job is to harness this abundance, and together, turn them into practical projects that will stand the test of time and and make Norwich a more resilient and enjoyable place to live and work.

What is the structure of Transition Norwich?

Each transition initiative evolves its own structure, and Norwich is no exception. When we launched in 2008,  over 14 'theme groups' were explored and over time new ones have formed, and others have dissolved. The spirit of transition is that how it looks, and what it does, is decided by those who are committed in it.

Originally we had a 'core group'  to review all the strands of TN, as the initiative progressed, In line with the original 12 Steps of Transition, this groups dissolved at the beginning of 2011. Transition Circles - personal reduction neighbourhood groups - were began in 2009. Until 2012 the different strands were cohered within the regular reports/bulletins from the Communications group via our two blogs. The community blog, This Low Carbon Life, ran daily for three years (now more occasional).

At the moment (2013) we have two 'Circles' (Earlham and Hethersett) and several working projects, most notably Nortwich FarmShare and Magdalen Street Celebration now in its fourth year. Each group is autonomous to decide what it does and how it works within the overall umbrella of 'transition'.

For a recent update on Transition Norwich here is a report written by Sabine Virani for the Norwich Magazine (January 2012)