Post by michele cryer on Oct 19, 2005 8:06:19 GMT
Most of what I post on this site from the above, will be placed in sections where the subject matter is most appropriate...
This is just a general introduction to the existence of the above group, which is free for anybody to join, and below are the notes from the Conference/Workshops from which the list/group was organised on June 18th 2005, which was attended by me, Mitch and Octoberlost...
Please feel free to apply to join the Action List:
Community Action Gathering, June 18 2005
Combined Workshops 1+2: Minutes
Theme:
1. Fighting for the local services and facilities we need
How do we put pressure on those controlling community resources and
services to get the improvements we need - education, healthcare, leisure
facilities, parks, playcentres, community centres, council services etc?
Should our communities take them over? If so, how? What is the role for
user groups? Can people set up their own services?
2. Our neighbourhoods- improving our streets, our local environment and
community spirit
What kind of neighbourhoods do we want? How do we get safer, greener and
friendlier streets? How do we get rid of ugly and oppressive features
(billboards, speeding traffic, mobile phone masts, too much concrete etc)?
How can we build up community spirit and neighbourliness, and 'take
ownership' of our areas?
18 people present
Structure of these minutes
- Point raised
o response or related account given
Key questions asked
- Do we lobby for change? Or take direct action?
- How can you begin to build community spirit from nothing?
o One girl gave example of how she had just moved into a new area and
decided to have a street party. She was in the process of knocking
door-to-door down her street, and found it a great project. Glyn, HI, tried
something similar
- Some issues are not clear-cut, and can divide a community. Emma gives
example of closed-street parking
o Other people respond only attempt organising around issues which unite
almost everyone, at first especially.
- Can we take advantage of councils trying to hive off services to other
sectors?
o One replied no, councils are just trying to get NGOs to take over local
services so that they no longer have responsibility, yet they still
maintain overall control since they control the funding. What’s important
is not to take over and run the services with the council pulling the
strings, it’s to force getting a say in how the money is spent Example
given of NMP market [?]
- What position to hold on CCTV?
o Some people said it’s not so useful, and it just helps people negate
their responsibility to their area. Andy, HI, says there is no positive
evidence of crime reduction.
- What to do about political labels and terminology, like class, anarchism,
communism etc.?
o Some said it just put people off, others said not mentioning it was
dishonest
- What to do with council or Labour funding if you get it?
- What to do if there is very little interest in the campaign?
Key general points raised
- Doing something yourself is 100 times more important than asking the
council to do it for you.
- All campaigns which take off are triggered by a crisis
- Lots of struggles ignore community spirit, which is necessary if they are
to be long-lasting after individual campaigns fizzle out
- User groups for services are useful, like parks user groups in Haringey
(HSG involved), or library ones in Hackney (N+E London Solfed involved)
- Important not to be NIMBYist, and not be drawn into trying to win funding
away from other people
o Dave HSG mentions useful way is to unite different groups campaigning on
single issues together in regular forums to beat this divide-and-rule.
Gives the example of the 25 Friends of Parks groups in Haringey which
forced council action.
- For a lot of people just going to one residents’ meeting gives them a
great sense of empowerment. Introducing them to the idea they should have a
say in their community
- Sometimes just having a meeting can scare councils into taking action.
Andy, HI gave example from the Harold Hill IWCA:
o Large community meeting on taking action anti-social behaviour thus
ignored by the council + police immediately led to drastic increase of
patrols in the area
- Door-knocking and surveys are very important
- Don’t go too fast with community organising
- The local media can be very very useful Andy, HI, gave examples, like
rubbish collection above. Also the letters page is an easy way of getting
your message out
- You can get some council funding by bending the facts about events you
are putting on
o Someone got funding for a “Jubilee Party” when in fact it was a non-royal
community one.
- People don’t feel ownership or responsibility for their areas. They often
ask “why doesn’t the council do this, or that?”. These attitudes can change
through struggle.
o Someone gave an example of a campaign around a local market which after a
while developed in this way and started arguing for collective control of
the market.
o Dave, HSG: Helped start a Residents Association (RA) which now, 18 months
on, has 90 members, 8-15 of whom are active. They started meeting, and the
more people started discussing, the wider the subjects became as they
started broadening what they though their remit should be.
- Glyn, HI recommends organising on a ward-wide level as the most effective.
- Make sure your group/campaign never has closed meetings with officials,
to ensure accountability.
- Have a revolution, institute workers’ control
Misc. examples of community action given
- Dave, HSG - a residents’ campaign successfully got an underground car
park in a block of flats turned into a community centre
- Poor rubbish collection was resumed after residents collected it
themselves and displayed it publicly, to local media (Harold Hill IWCA)
- Haringey Action Against Advertising had 30 illegal billboards removed
- “Visionary days” where people get asked “what do you want for your
community?” have proved helpful for some people.'
'*Regeneration, gentrification and planning*
Participants: 3 Hackney Independent, 1 Haringey Solidarity, 1 ICC, 1
Croydon, 1 "somewhere Surrey", 1 Stoke Newington, 1 Suffolk village, 1
"General East End", 1 Edinburgh
Regeneration and gentrification often end up going together especially since
the City Development Corporations of the 1980s- Labour's array of different
schemes are on the same model.
Gentrification is a concerted effort to divide working-class communities
into those that will benefit from trickle-down caused by development (new
cinemas, shops etc) and those that won't.
Just as suburbanisation of housing estates and comprehensive redevelopment
of 1950s and 1960s uprooted community bonds at the same time as providing
better housing
BUT Divisions between land capitalists and other capitalists do exist.
Development plans and regeneration bodies are deliberately kept outside
scrutiny of working-class people- often "unarguable statistics" eg "300 new
jobs" are repeated very deliberately to close down debate.
In arguing about regeneration proposals we must explain how the "benefits"
will occur (i.e. by benefiting someone else much more) & explain why they
are being pushed so heavily & what can happen elsewhere if pressure is not
brought to bear (Docklands city airport & Millwall, Sheffield etc)
We need to be critical and analyse exactly what is being proposed by these
quangos and bodies (adviser to John Prescott is head of company set to
benefit from Pathfinder homes scheme)
Similarly development plans should be analysed closely and control from the
residents not consultation should be argued for.
"Artist led" regeneration (as in Hoxton, Brick Lane, Gateshead Newcastle) is
deceptive- at first house prices do not seem to go up at all but then can
explode.
Gentrification is used to create powerlessness amongst working-class
communities. Richer newcomers into an area disorientate (usually already
weakened from previous planning actions) bonds between neighbours and local
acquaintances.
HI said it is entirely acceptable to use "No yuppies wanted" type
sloganeering.
Local services and the "market" will shift inevitably to respond to the high
purchasing power of newcomers only by making a noise about it before and
during will some measure of control be wrested away.
Private landlord tenure has increased very significantly especially in major
cities across Britain and smaller cities in the South
Contact: Bob & Nathaniel via Hackney Independent- for action/investigation
on private renting tenure.
London Tenants Federation (almost dead) & Camden Tenants Forum (more alive).
Tenants in private landlords should ask other tenants who their landlord is
and what rent they pay as a first step.
================
*Residents action and responding to existing residents' groups*
Participants: 2 Burnley Voice, 2 Haringey Solidarity, 1 AF London, 1 Sussex
village, 1 Tottenham, 1 Colchester, 1 Ipswich(ish)
very difficult at first BUT:
Aim to see whether or not a local group/residents' group exists, approach to
see what the level of activity is, how it is organised, who can join,
Work with them if it is open to all broadly and allows you to "do your
thing" for your neighbourhood
3-4 streets can be enough for a residents' group- if too large cohesiveness
of concerns might be a problem at first-
If a tenants' group exists try to get involved and see where the focus of
the group is directed at- Is it purely issues with estate tenants only and
rent levels etc?
If possible ask those who live directly next to estate/flats with tenants
whether they have a residents' group/what there
Depending on this above you may have to set something up
EITHER try via an invitation for you and neighbours to meet one another with
food/drinks
Ask generally about how the area could be improved, what things/events could
be done together
OR go straight ahead door-knocking asking about what YOU consider to be a
problem and see whether neighbours also find that it a problem, if not ask
them what things could be tackled
Draw up a constitution with routine fortnightly/monthly procedure outlined,
money sources, limits to expenditure (HFRA residents group can provide
templates)
Keep it brief but allow a clause for it to be changed by mutual consent or
overwhelming majority when required- so that there are no disagreements and
enthusiasm at the beginning
Expect enthusiasm to wane but keep plugging with mandates to individuals to
act on physical inspections, letters, telephones to councils, speaking to
residents
Try parties, gatherings, quizzes, conversations in order to gather oral
history, ask for residents who have been living a long time if they have
particular memories, artefacts from the past.
If there are issues about rent and landlords- and landlord and tenant are on
same street in same resident's group then problems can arise.
MPs, party councillors and others will seek to gain kudos, credit by
association with struggles or small achievements of residents' group. Be
prepared- discuss this in advance- argue for not letting the entire
association be associated with an MP say- only individual members.
Do not force your politics- explain your position without using political
shorthand/ knee-jerk lefty responses.
Burnley Voice are expanding and Colchester will try to approach residents
situated directly around a threatened bus station.
===================
If anyone else was there please corrections and additions are welcome.'
This is just a general introduction to the existence of the above group, which is free for anybody to join, and below are the notes from the Conference/Workshops from which the list/group was organised on June 18th 2005, which was attended by me, Mitch and Octoberlost...
Please feel free to apply to join the Action List:
Community Action Gathering, June 18 2005
Combined Workshops 1+2: Minutes
Theme:
1. Fighting for the local services and facilities we need
How do we put pressure on those controlling community resources and
services to get the improvements we need - education, healthcare, leisure
facilities, parks, playcentres, community centres, council services etc?
Should our communities take them over? If so, how? What is the role for
user groups? Can people set up their own services?
2. Our neighbourhoods- improving our streets, our local environment and
community spirit
What kind of neighbourhoods do we want? How do we get safer, greener and
friendlier streets? How do we get rid of ugly and oppressive features
(billboards, speeding traffic, mobile phone masts, too much concrete etc)?
How can we build up community spirit and neighbourliness, and 'take
ownership' of our areas?
18 people present
Structure of these minutes
- Point raised
o response or related account given
Key questions asked
- Do we lobby for change? Or take direct action?
- How can you begin to build community spirit from nothing?
o One girl gave example of how she had just moved into a new area and
decided to have a street party. She was in the process of knocking
door-to-door down her street, and found it a great project. Glyn, HI, tried
something similar
- Some issues are not clear-cut, and can divide a community. Emma gives
example of closed-street parking
o Other people respond only attempt organising around issues which unite
almost everyone, at first especially.
- Can we take advantage of councils trying to hive off services to other
sectors?
o One replied no, councils are just trying to get NGOs to take over local
services so that they no longer have responsibility, yet they still
maintain overall control since they control the funding. What’s important
is not to take over and run the services with the council pulling the
strings, it’s to force getting a say in how the money is spent Example
given of NMP market [?]
- What position to hold on CCTV?
o Some people said it’s not so useful, and it just helps people negate
their responsibility to their area. Andy, HI, says there is no positive
evidence of crime reduction.
- What to do about political labels and terminology, like class, anarchism,
communism etc.?
o Some said it just put people off, others said not mentioning it was
dishonest
- What to do with council or Labour funding if you get it?
- What to do if there is very little interest in the campaign?
Key general points raised
- Doing something yourself is 100 times more important than asking the
council to do it for you.
- All campaigns which take off are triggered by a crisis
- Lots of struggles ignore community spirit, which is necessary if they are
to be long-lasting after individual campaigns fizzle out
- User groups for services are useful, like parks user groups in Haringey
(HSG involved), or library ones in Hackney (N+E London Solfed involved)
- Important not to be NIMBYist, and not be drawn into trying to win funding
away from other people
o Dave HSG mentions useful way is to unite different groups campaigning on
single issues together in regular forums to beat this divide-and-rule.
Gives the example of the 25 Friends of Parks groups in Haringey which
forced council action.
- For a lot of people just going to one residents’ meeting gives them a
great sense of empowerment. Introducing them to the idea they should have a
say in their community
- Sometimes just having a meeting can scare councils into taking action.
Andy, HI gave example from the Harold Hill IWCA:
o Large community meeting on taking action anti-social behaviour thus
ignored by the council + police immediately led to drastic increase of
patrols in the area
- Door-knocking and surveys are very important
- Don’t go too fast with community organising
- The local media can be very very useful Andy, HI, gave examples, like
rubbish collection above. Also the letters page is an easy way of getting
your message out
- You can get some council funding by bending the facts about events you
are putting on
o Someone got funding for a “Jubilee Party” when in fact it was a non-royal
community one.
- People don’t feel ownership or responsibility for their areas. They often
ask “why doesn’t the council do this, or that?”. These attitudes can change
through struggle.
o Someone gave an example of a campaign around a local market which after a
while developed in this way and started arguing for collective control of
the market.
o Dave, HSG: Helped start a Residents Association (RA) which now, 18 months
on, has 90 members, 8-15 of whom are active. They started meeting, and the
more people started discussing, the wider the subjects became as they
started broadening what they though their remit should be.
- Glyn, HI recommends organising on a ward-wide level as the most effective.
- Make sure your group/campaign never has closed meetings with officials,
to ensure accountability.
- Have a revolution, institute workers’ control
Misc. examples of community action given
- Dave, HSG - a residents’ campaign successfully got an underground car
park in a block of flats turned into a community centre
- Poor rubbish collection was resumed after residents collected it
themselves and displayed it publicly, to local media (Harold Hill IWCA)
- Haringey Action Against Advertising had 30 illegal billboards removed
- “Visionary days” where people get asked “what do you want for your
community?” have proved helpful for some people.'
'*Regeneration, gentrification and planning*
Participants: 3 Hackney Independent, 1 Haringey Solidarity, 1 ICC, 1
Croydon, 1 "somewhere Surrey", 1 Stoke Newington, 1 Suffolk village, 1
"General East End", 1 Edinburgh
Regeneration and gentrification often end up going together especially since
the City Development Corporations of the 1980s- Labour's array of different
schemes are on the same model.
Gentrification is a concerted effort to divide working-class communities
into those that will benefit from trickle-down caused by development (new
cinemas, shops etc) and those that won't.
Just as suburbanisation of housing estates and comprehensive redevelopment
of 1950s and 1960s uprooted community bonds at the same time as providing
better housing
BUT Divisions between land capitalists and other capitalists do exist.
Development plans and regeneration bodies are deliberately kept outside
scrutiny of working-class people- often "unarguable statistics" eg "300 new
jobs" are repeated very deliberately to close down debate.
In arguing about regeneration proposals we must explain how the "benefits"
will occur (i.e. by benefiting someone else much more) & explain why they
are being pushed so heavily & what can happen elsewhere if pressure is not
brought to bear (Docklands city airport & Millwall, Sheffield etc)
We need to be critical and analyse exactly what is being proposed by these
quangos and bodies (adviser to John Prescott is head of company set to
benefit from Pathfinder homes scheme)
Similarly development plans should be analysed closely and control from the
residents not consultation should be argued for.
"Artist led" regeneration (as in Hoxton, Brick Lane, Gateshead Newcastle) is
deceptive- at first house prices do not seem to go up at all but then can
explode.
Gentrification is used to create powerlessness amongst working-class
communities. Richer newcomers into an area disorientate (usually already
weakened from previous planning actions) bonds between neighbours and local
acquaintances.
HI said it is entirely acceptable to use "No yuppies wanted" type
sloganeering.
Local services and the "market" will shift inevitably to respond to the high
purchasing power of newcomers only by making a noise about it before and
during will some measure of control be wrested away.
Private landlord tenure has increased very significantly especially in major
cities across Britain and smaller cities in the South
Contact: Bob & Nathaniel via Hackney Independent- for action/investigation
on private renting tenure.
London Tenants Federation (almost dead) & Camden Tenants Forum (more alive).
Tenants in private landlords should ask other tenants who their landlord is
and what rent they pay as a first step.
================
*Residents action and responding to existing residents' groups*
Participants: 2 Burnley Voice, 2 Haringey Solidarity, 1 AF London, 1 Sussex
village, 1 Tottenham, 1 Colchester, 1 Ipswich(ish)
very difficult at first BUT:
Aim to see whether or not a local group/residents' group exists, approach to
see what the level of activity is, how it is organised, who can join,
Work with them if it is open to all broadly and allows you to "do your
thing" for your neighbourhood
3-4 streets can be enough for a residents' group- if too large cohesiveness
of concerns might be a problem at first-
If a tenants' group exists try to get involved and see where the focus of
the group is directed at- Is it purely issues with estate tenants only and
rent levels etc?
If possible ask those who live directly next to estate/flats with tenants
whether they have a residents' group/what there
Depending on this above you may have to set something up
EITHER try via an invitation for you and neighbours to meet one another with
food/drinks
Ask generally about how the area could be improved, what things/events could
be done together
OR go straight ahead door-knocking asking about what YOU consider to be a
problem and see whether neighbours also find that it a problem, if not ask
them what things could be tackled
Draw up a constitution with routine fortnightly/monthly procedure outlined,
money sources, limits to expenditure (HFRA residents group can provide
templates)
Keep it brief but allow a clause for it to be changed by mutual consent or
overwhelming majority when required- so that there are no disagreements and
enthusiasm at the beginning
Expect enthusiasm to wane but keep plugging with mandates to individuals to
act on physical inspections, letters, telephones to councils, speaking to
residents
Try parties, gatherings, quizzes, conversations in order to gather oral
history, ask for residents who have been living a long time if they have
particular memories, artefacts from the past.
If there are issues about rent and landlords- and landlord and tenant are on
same street in same resident's group then problems can arise.
MPs, party councillors and others will seek to gain kudos, credit by
association with struggles or small achievements of residents' group. Be
prepared- discuss this in advance- argue for not letting the entire
association be associated with an MP say- only individual members.
Do not force your politics- explain your position without using political
shorthand/ knee-jerk lefty responses.
Burnley Voice are expanding and Colchester will try to approach residents
situated directly around a threatened bus station.
===================
If anyone else was there please corrections and additions are welcome.'
