Update 21 Nov 2015

There are a lot of unanswered questions about the Big Local and there have been requests for a central place of information ie a website.


There is a plan for an open meeting

the Big Local Rep (read the About Big Local post for more information) has explained to me that the proper so-called Steering group/Partnership would start then, after the open meeting.

(Previously [at the lunchtime Sunday 1-4pm Drop-In] residents were not invited to join in, only “to endorse a steering group”  This was planned by an organisation assigned to support the setting up of a partnership/steering group.)


Why not invite residents to meetings now?  

There is an idea that residents do not want meetings, because of arguments.  This is not the case.  Why not invite people and see?  Everywhere else has meetings without problems and can eg restrict each person to speaking for 5 minutes if need be.  There has also been six very good Big Local resident-led meetings here open to all, with up to 27 residents attending.  

(There has also been an idea that the funding will be lost, it seems, if more residents are included as though meetings would take more time [if all were invited it would be clearer however regarding eg what residents want rather than just a few people trying to choose between a few ideas and not agreeing].  A deadline of March has been given to obtain the first year’s funding – although there doesn’t seem much to do before then except to include people [this would make any work involved easier too]!!!?)


Big Local

There are “Big Local” meetings being held but one recent meeting had only three people attending and the vast majority were not invited just a few favourites of the organisers involved and a few others. (One explanation is that to be involved training is required but there was no information about this despite a request, and if “training” was required there would have been only one person at a recent Big Local meeting.)

The Rep’s idea is to have votes for a Chair (for the meetings, etc) at a future open meeting – however there is a question of whether residents will be able to know who to vote for in this way (through not meeting each other), unless they happen to know each other anyway.

The meeting is also said to decide on what kind of charity organisation to set up.  However, this would seem to be quite a complicated decision and so it would seem to be a good idea to involve interested residents in this kind of decision beforehand, and not just leave all decisions and plans to a few residents (as well as information).


I have requested (to the Councillors who met with the Rep, the Rep and some residents on the steering group) that:

* residents be invited to meetings.  

(when I last met the Rep he intended writing a statement so that I could email all the residents on the email list, 150.)  

* that there is a website for information eg about meetings.  It is also to enable residents to post ideas and comment including those residents unable to attend).


The only people being invited onto the steering group are organisations.  I don’t know if this is to join immediately.  The concern is that residents will be overwhelmed with organisations, and it is not necessarily the case that they have the interest in Somers Town but they may well hear that the Big Local is unable to function as it is meant to in this area and therefore that funding is available.  

Someone has suggested dividing up organisations to be LTO /banker (currently the Local Trust is fulfilling this role) to be aligned with different subject subgroups and look after the funding for that subject subgroup.  This would seem to be a meaningful way of involving organisations, who are interested in the Big Local idea (I’m not sure if that would mean that funding decisions were being made by the subject subgroups to some extent – that would encourage residents to attend if that was needed).

(the important) Transparent accounts (which 19 residents have previously requested – in May - by letter to the Local Trust from the Rep along with a request for meetings):

More residents should be making decisions on funding eg whether to spend £6,000 on an event.  This is said to be for residents to comment on the plan (is this the wider resident involvement required without meetings?) which someone from the organisation brought in to support the forming of a Partnership has been paid to write, which will describe what residents think funding should be spent on and their vision for their area.

This is not a full breakdown but is what I was told by the Rep:

£2,000 for marquees
And according to the Rep £4,000 for:
food, a licence from the council to be on the Plot 10 park, security (is that needed?), and music – and heaters for the marquee.  

To me, this would seem about £3,000 too much.  Maybe the idea is that it is there just in case (contingency)  Is anything being put aside however for inviting residents and for a website so that residents can keep in touch with what is going on.

One resident couple have considered whether they might be able to get married in there  

Prior to the “steering group endorsing” meeting, the plan (of someone from an organisation) had been to knock on doors (and many doors were knocked upon by several paid workers, I think during the day time). However, those residents were presented with no clear plan, just a possible offer to meet with a non-resident (who works for a Camden organisation) and for no clear reason. This was obviously not inspiring for people who would be interested in a resident-led project, and only one member for the partnership was found in this way.

The little that residents were told by way of a plan for the Big Local on a flyer which they had produced, and was given to residents at the front door, did not actually materialise either (ie that there was going to be local small area meetings - because only one happened, and those residents it seemed, in addition, were not aware of the “endorsing meeting” subsequently).