The past month has been dominated by local meetings in my ward. Although lacking the Town Hall fairtrade biscuits, these do tend to be far more useful in terms of the issues that drive your work as a councillor. But there is something slightly odd about spending the dark winter nights in a variety of brightly painted community halls, so for the uninitiated I’ve attempted a whistle stop tour of my world of meetings below:
Tenants and Residents Associations
These are groups of residents who get together to address issues on their estates. In some dog poo and bins dominate. In others, bigger regeneration issues of an entire block are on the table. In another, a student journalist wanders in and sits optimistically in the corner with a notebook expecting to report on something big. But these meetings are essential for councillors – holding the estate managers to account and trying to secure improvements.
Only it’s never quite that simple, and there are obscure budgets to negotiate, hidden away amongst layers of bureaucracy – and the realisation that yes, it can take five months for Hackney Homes to prune one particular tree (don’t ask). A seven year old girl came to a TRA this month for the first time and completely unfazed by the grumbling adults in the room, lobbied for a play area. I really hope she wasn’t put off for life.
Resident Associations
There are also Resident Associations for street properties. These tend to rely on a group of residents organising themselves around a particular issue, and the role of a councillor can range from being genuinely helpful to being a focal point for general rage. I was invited along to one to speak about a road safety campaign in one part of the ward. On the downside, I was hissed at for the first time ever in a meeting. On the plus side, someone voluntarily put up their hand and congratulated the council on the excellent services it provides (I should have got her name, taken her photo – what a missed opportunity!) and someone came up to me afterwards to apologise for the hissing bit.
Meetings with the police
These come under the catchy title of ‘Community Advisory Panels’ (CAPs). I’m willing to hold up my hand and say that I actually look forward to the bi-monthly CAPs. We know that the fear of crime reduces when people have contact with the police and hear about their work, and I, like other residents in my ward, like to know that there were x number of burglaries on my road, and that it’s probably best to avoid taking that particular shortcut late at night. The meetings are far from perfect – members of the Safer Neighbourhood Team can outnumber members of the public. But having the chance to set local police priorities is a positive step for local community safety and I do spread the word far and wide (well, to the limits of the ward boundary anyway) in the vain hope that one day more people will come along.
The Business Association
Takes place in a local pub. Need I say more.
So this month has got me thinking about community engagement and empowerment and the various forms it takes in my area. In many cases real attempts are made to bring services closer to residents – even though the ability to influence them can be frustratingly slow.
Some familiar problems remain:
– for most people, attending meetings is not the ideal way to spend an evening
– the same issues come up because often the same people attend. And often you find yourself speaking up for the people you’ve met as a councillor, but will probably never attend a meeting
– making sure that people follow through on what they’ve promised to residents
– And finally, letting the people who don’t come to meetings know something’s actually happened
Inevitably, that requires another set of meetings entirely.