Meeting overview
The launch of the Downham Assembly held on Monday 23 June 2008 attracted a good turnout of around 70 people from across the ward.
The meeting, chaired by Councillor Julia Fletcher, brought people of different ethnicity and background together to look at the issues of concerns in the area and agree possible solutions for addressing them.
There were a number of people who were very positive about putting ideas into action with a good level of energy on the night. The meeting provided insight into what people living and working in the ward felt was positive or negative.
Some of the positive quotes received from the feedback form completed by participants are as follows:
- 'Great atmosphere, well done, need to keep up the momentum'
- 'Meeting was well planned and everybody catered for'.
There were some useful and helpful feedback which we will look to address before the next assembly meeting as follows:
- young people not represented, get more young people involved to hear young people’s voice and needs in the area
- microphone system can be improved
- local police should attend this meeting.
What we agreed
There were a number of issues raised by participants at the meeting which will help to inform the priorities for Downham, some of them are as follows:
Antisocial behaviour
- Dog fighting, moped riding till late (big problem in area, takes long for police to respond), vandalism.
- Feeling unsafe – crime on increase.
- Noisy neighbours.
- Dog mess on pavements e.g. Downham Way.
- Lack of police patrol in the area.
- Car speeding in residential roads.
Activities and events
- Not enough activities for young people.
- Pubs closing down in the area.
- Too many teenagers roaming the streets during the day.
- Lack of respect for the elderly from younger generation.
- Poor community communication – many people are unaware of activities.
- Lack of support for family to attend meetings (no crèche provision at assembly meetings).
Environment
- Untidy front gardens.
- Too much litter and rubbish dumping.
- Too many cars owned by households taking up limited parking spaces.
- Poor road maintenance.
- Downham Way – and other areas, dog mess on pavements.
- Overcrowded buses during school rush hours - School children taking over spaces and rowdiness.
- Traffic light at junction of Downham Way with Grove Park a major problem resulting in traffic congestion in area.
Others
- Difficult to get authority figures in organisations to take responsibility for actions e.g. Phoenix Housing or the Council.
- Poor state of housing repairs / housing management issues – Phoenix Housing.
- Farmfield Road – many communal gates and fences crumbling.
What's happened
The Co-ordinating group has since met and agreed to address the following issues as quick wins. An update will be reported at the next assembly meeting.
- Wider publicity of activities and events in the area so resident are aware of what is in the area (newsletters – Phoenix, Downham Life, Lewisham Life).
- Publicising area Locality Fund – wider consultation to seek ideas using existing resources (Phoenix newsletter, Downham Life).
- Provision for young people.