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First Lewisham Assembly
Gets Big Turnout
An estimated 200 people attended Lewisham’s first
ever Assembly held in Sydenham’s Naborhood Centre on Thursday, 6
March.
Local Assemblies are being introduced right across the
borough as a new way of enabling local communities to have a say about their
area and to become actively involved in making improvements that they want to
see happen. Sydenham hosted Lewisham’s first local Assembly with the
second planned in Grove Park on Monday, 17 March.
Chris Best, Lewisham Council’s Cabinet Member for
Community Services, said: “I was absolutely thrilled by the number of
residents, traders and community representatives who turned out for Sydenham
and delighted at the diversity of people who clearly wanted to be involved.
People of all ages were really keen to get stuck in, to have their voices heard
and to get things done. It was extremely exciting.
“The idea of these Assemblies is to provide a
relaxed and informal setting for local people to let the Council and other
service partners know what they think and what they want. If by doing this we
can also help and facilitate communities to organise and do things for
themselves then even better. We want to build closer and stronger relationships
with everyone who cares about the place in which they live.”
At the Assembly, chaired by Chris Best as the Sydenham
Ward Councillor, people joined in round table discussions to give their views
on living in Sydenham – both good and bad. They then discussed possible
solutions and who could make these happen.
Volunteers from the community, including two young
people, agreed to form the Sydenham Assembly Coordinating Group to help plan
the next Assembly meeting in June.
About two thirds of the 100 people who completed the
evaluation forms agreed the Assembly allowed them to learn more about local
issues and influence decisions about their local area. They said it would help
build good relationships between neighbours and encourage people to trust and
respect each other.
Community Quotes
“A great idea to meet neighbours and share views.
Hopefully the people of Sydenham will have more say in what happens in our
area.”
“The table discussions were a good idea - really
informative with people giving honest views and positive suggestions. I look
forward to the next Assembly meeting.”
A summary of the main issues raised at the Assembly
will be posted on the Sydenham Assembly webpage and will be used to help build
Sydenham’s priority plan at the next meeting. This will then be submitted
to the Council for action.
The next Assembly will be held in Grove Park between
7.30 – 9 .30pm on Monday, 17 March at W G Grace Community Centre, 1 Lions
Close, off Marvels Lane, SE9.
More information about local Assemblies can be found
at: www.lewisham.gov.uk/localassemblies
Sydenham Town's own
report can be found «here»
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