Battersea Arts Centre Citizens' Assembly
Held on 7th July at Battersea Arts Centre
Report on the citizens' assembly held at Battersea Arts Centre, Sunday afternoon, 7th July 2024
Participants:
- 35 local people attended
- The group was more diverse in age than the previous (DRCA) assembly held locally, but far less diverse in terms of ethnicity and nationality.
- We had older and younger participants but not from young families – we may need to think about how to make it easier for these people to find the time commitment involved
- Some older participants noted they would like longer sessions to be able to go into greater depth on specific topics. A transport assembly was specifically mentioned, as was health and housing.
Assembly outputs:
Issues were identified by the participants and then collated. These centred around several 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). The numbers given below are the number of votes given to prioritise the issue:
1. Housing and Planning
- Housing and planning, homelessness and key workers being priced out (14)
- Wealth inequality / lifestyle inequality (6)
2. Local Services and Funding
- Lack of funding affecting core services including youth centre, youth services (12)
- Public health and lack of GP continuity (2)
3. Environment and Sustainability
- Traffic congestion and pollution, too many cars and parking issues (9)
- Food waste and recycling (3)
- Waste and consumerism (4)
4. Transport
- Transport links, including cycle safety (7)
5. Community and Culture
- Culture (4)
- Access to green spaces (4)
- Diversity and community connection (3)
- Digital exclusion (e.g., cashless society, post office) (3)
- Local identity (2)
- Public spaces (1)
6. Education
- Education, especially early years (1)
7. Safety
- Crime and safety on the streets (1)
The groups then discussed what they would like to happen and what changes they would like to see implemented. These proposed actions are grouped into themes and ranked by popularity within the group as a whole, again using a voting system where participants could choose their top 3 priorities:
1. Housing and Community Spaces
- Revamp the system of council tax to improve wealth inequality (8)
- Affordable housing for key workers and young people (6)
- Regulate new housing and private landlords (4)
- Put a surcharge on empty properties (4)
- Improve provision for community, culture and young people (4)
- Reclaim public spaces for communities (3)
- Control landlord ability to increase / set rents (2)
- Solar panels / renewables on housing (2)
- Repair and repurpose unused housing (2)
- Green spaces for nature (2)
- Better signposting and support for community events (1)
- Restrict foreign buyers / investors buying housing
- More access to public spaces for all
- Stop MPs being allowed to be landlords
- Housing is to be lived in not bought as an investment
2. Transport Infrastructure
- Low traffic zones (6) including SUV-free areas, fewer cars, no-car areas
- More bus routes (3)
- Tax SUVs more (2)
- Empower leaders to be braver on transport (2)
- Larger congestion zone (1)
- Enforce no e-scooters on pavements (1)
- Revisit the transport assembly (1)
- Safer cycling
- Free public transport
- More pedestrian areas
- Training for bus drivers re. road respect and cycling safety
3. Education and Taxation
- Invest in nursery education and education in general via taxes (3)
- Investigate and reform the tax system (2)
- Education on food waste and consumerism (3)
This report summarizes the key topics of concern and priority actions raised by residents at the Battersea Arts Centre Citizens' Assembly. The issues and proposed actions reflect the diverse needs and concerns of the local community, with a strong focus on housing, community services, environmental sustainability, and transportation. The assembly demonstrates the community's engagement in local issues and their desire for meaningful change in various aspects of urban life and governance.
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