Meeting overview
There was a really good turn out for the first New Cross Assembly which took place on the 29 May 2008 with 71 people in attendance. The event provided us with some really insightful information on the ward as well as what people felt was positive and negative while working and or living within New Cross. People were really happy that the area had good transport links and that it was a vibrant and multicultural community. It was good to learn that a large number of people felt that the assembly brought people from different backgrounds together and that it allowed people to talk to one another who had never met before. There were some criticisms around the format of the evening which we hope to address before the second assembly.
What we agreed
There were a number of issues which came out of the assembly. The top seven issues in order are as follows:
- crime or fear of crime and anti social behaviour
- traffic (amount of and a number of specific road issues)
- fly tipping and posters / dirty environment
- lack of facilities for young people
- lack of community spirit
- no decent shops
- poor consultation by Council
- poverty.
These issues will help to inform a priority plan for the ward.
What has happened
Fifteen people have put their name forward to be on the assembly coordinating group. This group will meet between the first and the second assembly to discuss the key issues to come out of the assembly and plan the second assembly meeting. Information from this coordinating group meeting will be published on the New Cross Assembly web pages and will be fed back to the next assembly meeting. Further engagement and consultation within the ward will be undertaken to clarify the key priorities which came from the assembly. This will also be reported back to the next assembly.