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In safe hands: neighbourhood management governance, Bournemouth
Page: 4/6Proudest moments
Both Cutler and Henderson agree that the board is effective and well-run. 'We meet once a month,' says Henderson, 'starting at 5.30pm the other night and finishing at 9pm. We're the residents and we know what's going on.'
Most ideas for local improvements, they say, come from their side of the table. 'I'm renowned for opening my mouth if I see something's not going right,' says Henderson. Her proudest achievement to date, she says, was getting 'hot meals for Kings Park primary'.
A scheme to support people undergoing mental health treatment gets Cutler's vote. Research in Bristol, he says, found that 70% were likely to go back to work if they had the right support, compared to 30% if there was no support. 'The local health care trust approached us through one of the subgroups and we've now granted £140,000 to support the scheme. We are about to appoint someone to manage the project,' he says. 'We hope to be underway by November and, if this succeeds, that for me will be our proudest noticeable achievement.'
Representing private tenants
Tenants forum chair Steve Humphrey with neighbourhood management street improvement coordinator Jo Keats One of the project's early proposals was a forum to represent the area's 9,000 privately rented households. The forum is chaired by tenant Steve Humphrey, who hopes to bid to the single regeneration budget for funding. If successful, the forum will be able to employ staff and rent its own premises.
'If the bid is approved we'll be able to build on and expand our work with street improvement coordinator Jo Keats and environmental health,' says Humphrey. The forum's progress has been slow, he says, with him shouldering much of the work in between battling a Jobcentre decision that his voluntary work and a job placement forfeited his benefit entitlement. He has also negotiated an advice surgery, run once a week by Shelter from the neighbourhood management offices.
'The tenants forum hasn't managed to improve a single house so far but we have a self-build group, we've done mediation training and we've made links with about 30 other organisations,' Humphrey says. 'We're very keen to empower tenants to do some work ourselves, like working out the cost of repairs.' Most tenants, he says, 'are decent, honest and law abiding,' he says, 'but they don't have representation. If we can get rid of one noisy neighbour, the benefits for all the community will be infinite.'
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