My own time as Chair of the Cooperative Councils Innovation Network (CCIN) has now come to an end - and I was delighted to see that Sharon Taylor (Council Leader in Stevenage) has succeeded me ... here's an article she has posted on the CCIN web-site:
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Thank you for the honour and privilege you have
given me in electing me as Chair of the Co-operative Councils’ Innovation
Network. I have been involved with the Network since its earliest days
and look forward to playing my part now in shaping its future.
‘The
heart of a town lies in its people’
Our Stevenage motto sums up exactly why the
Co-operative Council model is so right for us and the way we work with our
community.
Stevenage New Town celebrated our 70th birthday in November last year, we were the
UKs first post-war new town, built to deal with the acute housing shortage
after the second world war. New Towns quickly focussed on building new
homes and providing the strong economies that brought good jobs.
Consequently, when the new residents moved to Stevenage they found little in
the way of community services. These early residents soon began to work
together to secure the services they needed and this spirit of co-operation is woven
into the fabric of Stevenage.
Seventy years later we face the greatest period of
change and uncertainty that we have seen in the post-war years, the aftermath
of long years of austerity that have seen public finance decimated, Brexit and
the complexity of Britain establishing a new identity, a turbulent political
world where the evolution of democracy and party politics seems to have been
replaced by a series of earthquakes, the relentless march of technology, and a
geopolitical situation which seems ever more uncertain and threatening.
So how do our co-operative values continue to shine
a light on today’s problems? How are they relevant, especially at our local
level, to creating places that work for the communities and people that live,
work and visit them and which harness the passion, commitment and ideals of our
communities to bring economic, environmental and social ‘dividends’. We
know that people respond most strongly to those things which most closely
affect their daily life. The area they live in, the health care,
education, housing, leisure and quality of environment that they are able to
access locally are all considered to be vital components in people’s perception
of quality of life. But the ability to influence decision-making on all of
those is vital too.
We know that for decades people have felt more
confident in their local council to take account of their views than they do of
Westminster politicians, but we must never be complacent about that -this
was part of the driving force behind setting up the Co-operative Councils’
Innovation Network. We want to reclaim the traditions of community
action, community engagement and civic empowerment which can transform
communities and which will help us deliver radical and innovative programmes
that are designed, led and delivered in partnership with communities and
therefore maximise the social benefit they bring. It has also always been
the purpose of the Network to share our developing good practice and to support
one another in our co-operative aims and values.
The vital thing about co-operative councils is that
they should, and will, look different around the country, because each place is
different. We have different challenges, histories and economies and
there is no one right answer to these. What we are doing in the network
is proposing some of the characteristics of Co-operative places, people
and public services. Please let us know what you think of these, they
will be stronger and more enduring if we all contribute to them.
In Stevenage we are coming to the end of our first
phase of a radical innovation in co-operative neighbourhood planning and
management. We were faced with a regeneration need in the local
neighbourhood centre which consisted of a row of dilapidated shops of which
only two of four were in use, poor quality housing above the shops, a pub which
had ceased to be viable and, although treasured by some community members, had
ever-dwindling custom and a building which required significant
investment. The neighbourhood centre also housed a well-used and well-run
community centre with an active committee but which also had some limitations
because of the nature of the building. As we began to consider how to
tackle these challenges, we were fortunate in that the local residents group
had increased in membership due to a project to refurbish three large
community-use squares. This group was keen to get involved in the
planning and delivery of the regeneration project. We also had the
benefit of a local, and very active group, ‘Friends of Hampson Park’ who were
helping improve the environment in the local Hampson Park.
The other happy coincidence in this project was
that one of our three excellent local councillors for Pin Green has a
background in town planning and was able to help with the facilitation of the
co-operative neighbourhood planning process that ensued.
It is a feature of co-operative council engagement
with communities that they must be able to effect change. The Council had
envisaged that the Community Centre would stay on its original site as the
regeneration happened around it. But our community had other ideas.
They requested the community centre be rebuilt on a new site in Hampson Park
and extended to include additional space and a coffee bar for park users.
So three years on from the very start of the
planning and via a wonderful process that has involved so many groups,
individuals and the local businesses, the area is now transformed. We
have two new purpose-built shops which face the main road (instead of being
tucked around behind the pub where no-one could see them and there was no
passing trade), we have delivered eight new council homes already with another
twenty-two to come early this year. The community centre has been built
on its new site and is already thriving. In addition to this the
community engagement and dedication to the park has earned Hampson Park a
coveted ‘Green Flag’ status, we have been able to refurbish the children’s park
and build a brand new open-access Skate Park on the site for all ages to enjoy,
very significant community dividends which benefit everyone in Pin Green.
Most importantly, we have learned so much through
our engagement with our community. Friends of Hampson Park, and our other
community activists wanted to reach out to a much wider group of residents so
they organised a huge ‘Teddy Bears Picnic’ in the summer where we were able to
encourage the 700 people who attended to contribute to the planning exercise as
well as enjoying the many family activities on offer. Young parents often
find it difficult to attend evening meetings because of other commitments and
this was a great way to engage them as well as other residents who work shifts
or prefer not to go out in the evenings.
We continue our co-operative work in Pin Green and
this year we will roll out what we have learned to two new wards. To help
us manage the increased input we now get from residents about their area, we
have engaged a small group of neighbourhood wardens who will work with our
community and their local partners like the neighbourhood policing team,
community centre manager, local businesses etc to ensure the council plays our
part in getting things done.
Friends of Hampson Park, our ‘Green Space
Volunteers’ have won a ‘Pride of Stevenage’ award for their work, our residents
forum has won two national awards and both are now sharing their experience and
the expertise they have developed to help other areas of Stevenage.
It has been a huge pleasure to participate in this
project which has been the embodiment of ‘Co-operation in Action’.
Councillor Sharon Taylor, OBE
Leader, Stevenage Borough Council
Chair, Co-operative Councils’ Innovation Network
Leader, Stevenage Borough Council
Chair, Co-operative Councils’ Innovation Network
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