At our AGM, I remarked that it would be desirable to have someone from the Residents’ Association on the Co-ordinating group for the North Neighbourhoods Partnership. I rashly allowed myself to be nominated and in November duly attended my first meeting. At the start of the agenda, half an hour had been set aside for questions from the public. There were no questions and only two of the public. Had the meeting
actually been advertised, somebody wanted to know. The next item was Local Neighbourhood Renewal Strategy. The North Neighbourhoods has two priority areas, Flower Roads/Hampton Park/Mansbridge (I’m not clear why these are lumped together as one area) and Portswood/StDenys. Action Plans will be prepared setting out the causes of the problems and workable actions to improve things. Consultants have been appointed to assist with the production of the Action Plans which have to be ready by 1st April 2006. The Coordinating Group will consider the consultants’ report and prioritise the actions at a meeting on 23rd February at 7pm at the Swaything Neighbourhood Centre, Burgess Road. There will be a second Action Plan meeting on 15th March at 7pm in the Church Hall, Church of the Immaculate Conception, Portswood Road. The public are encouraged to attend both.
We then turned to the various projects that had been approved: extension of the boardwalk in Daisy Dip; employment of an Environmental Science graduate to work on a feasibility study of Daisy Dip; the provision of hanging baskets and flower tubs; a campaign against the sale of alcohol to underage persons; a community clean
up day and the Breakfast Club at Bassett Green Primary School.
The next meeting of the Co-ordinating Group will be at 7pm on 10th February in the Swaythling Baptist Church, Fleming Road. There will be a presentation on the new Licencing Act. Members of the public are welcome to attend