Notes From The SENA Meeting of 11 July 2011
Introductions
Cynthia Barnes and Kevin Noble were welcomed to this second
meeting of SENA.
Other Earlsdon Neighbours Associations – their issues and
organisation
Cynthia outlined the development of Rochester Road Association,
initially founded in 1990 in response to the proposed development
of the light railway.
- RARA has a constitution and all residents are members unless
they opt to withdraw.
- The association’s regular activities are an annual general
meeting (with wine and cheese and invited speakers) and three
annual fundraising activities – carol singing, open gardens and
a garage and garden sale.
- Communication is via two newsletters a year and the annual
general meeting at St. Barbara’s Church hall. AGM guest speakers
have included, for example, the city architect, city council
representatives, the police.
- Recent issues raised by RARA have related, for example, to
planning, licencing, parking, traffic calming and neglectful
landlords.
- RARA also seeks to work with other local groups such as
Friends of War Memorial Park
and ECAD on Earlsdon-wide
issues.
Cynthia drew our attention to some of the risks of a
well-established group – sustaining momentum, recruiting new
members and, in RARA’s case, a small number of people doing most
of the work.
Kevin outlined some of the key features
of North
Earlsdon Residents Association which was formed eighteen
months ago.
- Residents become members by "declaring an interest" and
joining the mailing list. There is no fee to join.
- Communication is via e mails two or three times a month, via
street representatives and sometimes also via knocking on doors,
depending on the issue.
- NENA meetings are held every two months at
the Criterion
Theatre with guest speakers. There are also regular
meetings of the street representatives and committee meetings
(chair, vice-chair, events co-ordinator, secretary, Treasurer,
fund raising officer)
- Kevin emphasised the importance of a diverse range of
activities and initially, residents were canvassed about what
they wanted to be involved in. Many of the street
representatives are active on particular issues – not everything
is organised by the committee. In June, NENA held a picnic in
the park and a (second) very successful street sale.
- Longer term developments have included tree planting (and
developing an inventory of trees with the city council) and the
redevelopment of Spencer Park. The biggest ongoing issue at
present is the impact of Friargate. Like RARA, NENA seeks to
work collaboratively with other groups on Earlsdon-wide
issues.
Kevin offered to help SENA in its initial setting up process –
an offer gratefully accepted.
SENA – setting the agenda
Following these two very helpful presentations there was a
general discussion on what the implications might be for SENA. We
don’t have a definable centre or social area – a village green or
a park - nor do we have a unifying issue. However, we have had a
good response to the first mailshot (better than the initial
response from NENA residents for example) and an encouraging
number of residents seeking active involvement.
From the responses to the first mailshot and the first meeting
it was clear that there were positive things that residents
wanted:
- A voice
- A listening ear (delegates to go to meetings such as of the
neighbourhood forum, the police, NENA and report back to
residents
- A social network
- Opportunities to be more inclusive; welcoming new neighbours
in their neighbourhood; involving students
- Working collaboratively with other Earlsdon
associations
We agreed we need an executive/management group and street
representatives (preferably two) for every street. Initial
volunteers for street representatives are
- Styvechale Ave
- Moya and Deryck Horton, Sally Vernon
- Warwick Avenue
- Mary and Nigel Lee
- Berkeley Road South
- Simon Shaw
- Osborne Road
- Ray Wilson
- Beechwood Avenue
- Judith Hyman
Other streets do not as yet have a rep.
Communication
Early communication structures have been put in place. Simon
has constructed a Facebook page, and Matthew has set up a SENA
website.
Next Steps
It was agreed that we now needed a second maildrop to ask
residents to:
- Opt in to membership
- Evaluate the issues already suggested following the first
mailing and the first two meetings
- Contribute to a skills bank
A working group of Deryck, Simon, Ray, Matthew and Sally, Mike
and Helen agreed to meet on Monday 18th July to shape the
newsletter.
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Coventry, England