Getting our concerns about new homes heard
In last month's Southwark Tenant I wrote about Bells Gardens TRA's initial response to the proposed new homes. At our General Meeting this month the discussion continued with vigour. We have a range of concerns about what the building plan will look like and the impact on residents while it is carried out.
As well as the concerns I wrote about last month, meeting attendees raised concerns about losing the football pitch and play area, about the reduction of green space, and about quality of life during the construction being impaired by noise, scaffolding etc. A deeper concern was the degree of distrust of Southwark Council. This was stronger for some than others, but nonetheless undeniable. Distrust stems from both Southwark's treatment of residents in the Heygate estate and other estates being redeveloped and also from their neglect or at least lack of urgency about issues affecting our own estate, not least the lack of secure doors for Edwin House.
By the end of our meeting we had agreed three key points. The first was that we need to formulate a clear and explicit list of demands that we can present at future consultation meetings about the new homes. We will be working on this before our next meeting. The second was that ongoing communication is critical. Not only does Bells Gardens TRA need to keep talking to residents, but the stakeholders in the community centre - the TRAs at the Bells Gardens, Lindley and Oliver Goldsmith estates and SGTO - all need to keep in regular communication, share their particular concerns, and present a united front to Southwark Council when the time comes. We are in the process of organising a meeting between the three TRAs and SGTO to get the ball rolling.
The final point was one I emphasised last month and bears repeated emphasis. Every one of us residents must remain engaged. The Council have full time staff working on this regeneration scheme. We are all individuals with our own jobs and family responsibilities. It would be easy for us to become fatigued in repeating our demands and holding the council to account. It would be easy for the brunt of the work to fall to a few individuals, reducing both their effectiveness and the credibility of their mandate when facing the council. We need to recruit more active TRA members if we want a voice that is both strong and enduring. If you are not already involved, I encourage you to get in touch with your TRA and find out what level of involvement that can suit your availability and abilities. If you are already involved I encourage you to talk to your neighbours about the TRA and invite them to come with you to meetings. It is easy to get a packed meeting room when there is a crisis to cause complaints, but if we can sustain engagement once the crisis ends then we can go beyond putting out fires to bringing positive change to the space where we live.