Post by Joe K on Jul 18, 2014 7:14:22 GMT -5
This meeting has been arranged with reluctance, following efforts, over a year ago, to pursuade the partnership to sponsor a monthly opportunity for Barton residents to make their views known to councillors and police, efforts which came to nothing. Even an email notifying the committee of the intention to book the meeting, and another confirming the booking, was met with stony silence.
Still, residents shouldn't be put off attending by the likelyhood that those they want to be heard by may not attend. They should be put off attending by a genuine belief that they have no real worries. That the area between Asda and One-Eyed Jacks isn't plagued by prostitutes and their pimps, that there are no street drinkers loitering on Barton Street, or in the Sinope St carpark. That fly-tipping is being effectively dealt with, and the culprits caught and fined, rather than the city council spending taxpayers' money hand over fist to take away the piles of rubbish and appease, even encourage the criminals. Residents should be confident that the council and its employees aren't bending over backwards not to see potholes and sinkholes and broken kerbs, or litter in St. James' Park, leaving that for the public to report, because it buys time, and a problem may not even be reported at all, if they're lucky.
(They aren't always lucky - Fix My Street reports, Barton & Tredworth)
If residents are happy that we have a Barton Mock Mayor, whoever that is, but no Barton Fayre any more, there's no need to go to the meeting, or even turn up at Asda just before 7, to see if anybody else has.
Then again, if someone does have something they want to say, but they are unable to attend, they can say it here instead. There's no need to register to post a comment, it can be done as a guest (though it helps to put a name, or alias, in the 'Guest Name' box, so guests can be distinguished from each other). Whether raised at the meeting or posted here, any opinions or calls for action will be presented to the authorities for a response.
The Barton Residents Association, which once held monthly meetings, was dissolved a good few years ago. Jean George, chair at that time, said in explanation that this was because the community had become too 'diverse' for the association to deal with the various problems that were arising. It seemed to me that that was not necessarily the association's job, and that identifying those problems and ensuring the council/s and police were aware of them should have been enough. If this meeting is a wash-out, it probably won't be repeated. If there is reasonable attendance, and feedback to deliver to those authorities, then subsequent meetings may be held to convey whatever answers are forthcoming, and hear residents' responses to them, as well as new concerns. Perhaps there will even be biscuits, and soft drinks.
Or perhaps there are no real worries for ward residents to highlight before next year's general election, the one time councillors really do listen.
Still, residents shouldn't be put off attending by the likelyhood that those they want to be heard by may not attend. They should be put off attending by a genuine belief that they have no real worries. That the area between Asda and One-Eyed Jacks isn't plagued by prostitutes and their pimps, that there are no street drinkers loitering on Barton Street, or in the Sinope St carpark. That fly-tipping is being effectively dealt with, and the culprits caught and fined, rather than the city council spending taxpayers' money hand over fist to take away the piles of rubbish and appease, even encourage the criminals. Residents should be confident that the council and its employees aren't bending over backwards not to see potholes and sinkholes and broken kerbs, or litter in St. James' Park, leaving that for the public to report, because it buys time, and a problem may not even be reported at all, if they're lucky.
(They aren't always lucky - Fix My Street reports, Barton & Tredworth)
If residents are happy that we have a Barton Mock Mayor, whoever that is, but no Barton Fayre any more, there's no need to go to the meeting, or even turn up at Asda just before 7, to see if anybody else has.
Then again, if someone does have something they want to say, but they are unable to attend, they can say it here instead. There's no need to register to post a comment, it can be done as a guest (though it helps to put a name, or alias, in the 'Guest Name' box, so guests can be distinguished from each other). Whether raised at the meeting or posted here, any opinions or calls for action will be presented to the authorities for a response.
The Barton Residents Association, which once held monthly meetings, was dissolved a good few years ago. Jean George, chair at that time, said in explanation that this was because the community had become too 'diverse' for the association to deal with the various problems that were arising. It seemed to me that that was not necessarily the association's job, and that identifying those problems and ensuring the council/s and police were aware of them should have been enough. If this meeting is a wash-out, it probably won't be repeated. If there is reasonable attendance, and feedback to deliver to those authorities, then subsequent meetings may be held to convey whatever answers are forthcoming, and hear residents' responses to them, as well as new concerns. Perhaps there will even be biscuits, and soft drinks.
Or perhaps there are no real worries for ward residents to highlight before next year's general election, the one time councillors really do listen.