Report on the citizens’ assembly held at the Doddington and Rollo community centre, 26th June 2024

Participants:

20 local people, mainly residents of the D&R estate.

17 people left contact details.

Candidates from the Green and Reform parties also attended in a listening capacity.
Issues were identified by the groups and then collated. These centred around 3 main areas. Within each topic they are ranked in terms of how important they were deemed to be by group vote (using a voting system where participants could choose their top 3 priorities from the ideas proposed across the groups, so each person had 3 ‘votes’):

  1. Housing
    Maintenance issues
    Access and communication with maintenance and management providers
    Lack of suitable housing (particularly given low occupancy of Battersea Power Station which is very close by)
    Homelessness
    Noise
     
  2. Local amenities
    Schools and activities
    Outdoor space
    Access to council funds and fundraising
    Roads and pavements presenting a safety risk
    Bins and rubbish
    Safety and security cameras
     
  3. Support for specific groups
    Families with children
    Young people, especially teenagers
    People living with addiction
    Small businesses

The groups then discussed what they would like to happen, what changes they would like to see implemented.

These are ranked by popularity within the group as a whole, again using a voting system where participants could choose their top 3 priorities from the ideas proposed across the groups. Interestingly NHS waiting lists only appeared in the top 3 priorities of 3 people; most people’s priorities were closer to home and more immediate to their day-to-day lives.

Residents should have more control and centralised money should be better spent; involve residents in decisions and consult them, stop spending on contractors and employ local tradespeople, in-house some of the services, allow and facilitate groups of residents taking on some basic maintenance tasks

More housing and make use of empty flats; people should not be allowed to buy a flat as an investment and leave it empty, especially in areas with a housing shortage. More social housing provision in new builds, restrict overseas buyers of investment properties

Better support for teenagers and activities for both teens and elders; on teens specifically, better school funding, youth facilities and activities, better SEN provision, open access to buildings instead of schools having to fund raise and charge for usage, free sports clubs for children and teenagers, stop the cycle of repeated school exclusions.

Scrap universal credit and the 2-child benefits cap; some suggested UBI
Residents input into housing decisions: 6 put more power back into the community, allow residents to have a voice in decisions on who gets what

Better communications between those in charge and local residents, more in-person visits, ability to get through to a person quickly on a helpline.

Open the garden in the D&R estate; green spaces were mentioned across many topics, notably here where an available public space has been locked since 2012, Buddha Square. Invest in more green spaces between the buildings

Open and run a homeless centre

Cameras and safety

NHS wait times