Civic Societies Forum

The Civic Trust should reform its regional structure

2009-03-09T20:50:38+00:00

With the proposed abolition of Regional Assemblies in 2010, does the Civic Trust need to continue with its regional structure?
The South East region, in particular, is too large, has no overall identity, is disconnected from its largest influence namely London, and, in short, is unmanageable.
Could we please revert to county structures wherever possible?

Community opposition to demolition of a landmark building on a Transport of London site

2008-07-14T10:22:34+00:00

Has any other Society or residents group had issue over a Transport for London site? A community group in Tottenham, London, is opposing a Local Authority-sanctioned plan to develop a TfL site by demolishing homes and a landmark building which includes an Edwardian indoor market with two beautiful atriums. The plan proposes a gated housing community and a commercial ground floor area. It does not take into account the unique character of this area, and the rich diversity of cultures. The residents group have produced an alternative plan to preserve this key local building, maintain the indoor market for the local traders and develop the upper floors for community services and functions including small business units. However TfL are not considering this alternative option.
Has your group campaigned to preserve a building of community significance from a locally-opposed corporate development?

Your comments on the draft Heritage Protection Bill?

2008-04-03T11:03:36+00:00

The Draft Heritage Protection Bill has been published today on the DCMS website and the Civic Trust is keen to represent members’ views on the subject. Please view the Bill on the link below, and either respond via this forum, or for more detailed responses, please email Michael Hammerson (mhammerson at civictrust dot org dot uk) by mid June 2008.

The Draft Heritage Protection Bill can be viewed by following the link below:
http://www.culture.gov.uk/Reference_library/Publications/archive_2008/pub_drafthpb.htm
Minister Andy Burnham says:
“Heritage protection is as important as anything else we do in this Department. But nobody can sit in an office in London and decide what is heritage or not. Local communities have strong feelings about their own heritage and it is important that those voices are heard. “By unifying the protection regimes, encouraging wider participation, and making the system more transparent we aim to make heritage protection easier to understand and manage, and help it become an integral part of public life.
“The draft Bill we are publishing today follows long and extensive consultation. It reflects Government policy as expressed in last year’s White Paper, and the consensus reached on that. But it is not the last word, because consultation goes on. That’s why we’re publishing it in draft. We welcome the widest possible debate and, if there are proposals for further changes, we will consider them carefully in the light of all the views expressed. I am grateful for the time and trouble that so many organisations and individuals have taken getting us to this point.”

We look forward to hearing from you.

Local Government Reform

2009-02-18T20:59:47+00:00

A recent Conservative policy paper promises to transfer power from the central state to local people.
Let’s hope this means more than the ‘double devolution’ we have recently been promised.
The policy proposes to abolish regional government and to return power to local authorities.
The powerlessness of local government, hobbled by central diktat, is sterilising community involvement.
The Civic Society movement should applaud any measure, which allows local decisions to be taken locally.

see: http://www.conservatives.com/News/News_stories/2009/02/Its_time_to_transfer_power_from_the_central_state_to_local_people.aspx

Friends of Parks Groups

2008-04-23T19:47:41+00:00

I would like to know what other Civic Societies think of the following.

2 Committee Members of the Civic Society have instructed the rest of the Civic Society that they are relaxing the amount of work they are doing with us as they want to be working more on setting up a Friends of Park. They feel we do not take into consideration “parks and green spaces” enough on our agenda (which admittedly can be true at times) but instead of losing 2 committed members we are considering setting up a “Friends of Park Committee” but to tell you the truth we do not know where to start. I have approached other organisations for help and have registered on other Forums but no one has really told us what we need to do other than “organise a protest at the site involved”.

We are not involved in any protests to save green space as no protests exists like this but what we want to do is try and get the other Friends of Parks talking to us and each other so we can all know what is going on.

Any help would be very much appreciated

How do you recruit members?

2008-04-24T08:54:24+00:00

How do other Civic Societies recruit members? We have a wide approach and will do almost anything to persuade people to sign up but I would be interested to learn of any “success stories” or case studies perhaps to show us any innovative ways. I am sure we are not the only group who have a slightly older membership than we would like.

Civic Society Webpage

2008-04-02T09:56:53+00:00

The Civic Trust is keen for all Civic Societies to benefit from the networking opportunities available to them through this site. However we also want to provide a web presence for Civic Societies that do not currently have a website. If you have any images or newsletters that you would like to have displayed on your Civic Society home page email them across to helpdesk at civicsocieties dot org dot uk and we will be happy to include additional information on your page.

Keep watching for updates to the website as soon you will be given the opportunity to update your webpage yourself!!!

Closure of Post Offices?

2008-05-19T19:46:30+00:00

Are any other Civic Societies involved in the the closure of village Post Offices?
We would be interested talking to others and sharing experiences.

Abolish Regional Government and Return Planning to Local Authorities

2008-06-09T09:59:45+00:00

If Regional Assemblies are abolished, we should NOT accept that regional planning is given to Regional Development Agencies. The South East England Regional Assembly has passed the following resolution:

“South East Councils oppose the government’s proposals to transfer strategic planning, housing and transport powers to the unelected development agencies. Given the government’s decision to abolish regional assemblies, these powers should be returned to local government and the South East Councils are ready and willing to exercise them.
South East Councils warn the government that they believe the proposals in the Sub-National Review are not only strongly anti-democratic but are likely to prove unworkable and will delay the delivery of the South East Plan that the Assembly has worked hard to bring to its present stage.”

The Sub National Review is another planning policy driven by the Treasury and primarily focused on economic issues. It is inadequate for formulating a planning system let alone a procedure for local governance.
For the terms of reference see: http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/media/5/E/csr07_subnatecon_tor.pdf

Richard Deane, Salisbury Civic Society - Design Award

2009-03-05T12:21:51+00:00

Richard Deane, Salisbury Civic Society, will be answering your questions about Salisbury Civic Society and the Design Awards organised by the society. Richard will answer your questions based on his experiences between 7 and 8pm, 5th March.

Please post your questions and messages here by clicking post reply.