A well attended PACT meeting of 45 people was angered on 23 September to find no Somer representative, no local Councillors or Police and Council officers to discuss local issues.
A speaker from the floor said “It is absurd, callous, and arrogant of Somer not to engage with the community.” Another speaker added: “I have come to realise that the Council are not interested in this area, except as a through route and dumping ground".
In the absence of the organisers of the meeting and of the Walcot councillors and Council officers, Alex Schlesinger, Chairman of the London Road and Snow Hill Partnership (LRSHP) offered to chair the meeting.
Minutes of the meeting and further actions to take place can be found
HERE.
It appears clear that Somer does not wish to engage with the local community though they are so readily talking to the Press. Click
HERE for their comments about the meeting.
Here are important points to note:
- Somer had indicated that there is no need to communicate with the local community at this stage and that nothing can be added about the scheme for 3&4 Longacre, hence their absence at the PACT meeting.
- Some correspondence from Somer said that the architectural plans will now be revised only in the next few months but no specific date was given.
- People complained that it is impossible to get any action or response from Somer. It takes months before they can fix any problems on their properties nor do they take any interest in caring for people who live in these properties. A speaker said that she had been intimidated and virtually thrown out of a recent Somer meeting and expressed frustration that there is not one single person ready to take responsibility at Somer.
- A large majority of the meeting considered Somer Housing not competent. The meeting collectively expressed a vote of no confidence in Somer.
- Serious concerns were expressed how the neighbourhood is represented at present and it was felt that Council Officers and Councillors or their partners (Somer) makes local consultation a parody of democracy. The audience made the point that the publicity for the PACT meetings had been terrible, that there was no feedback from the previous meetings, and that there was now nobody present from the local authority, the Police or Somer. “It is appalling to see the contempt of the Council and Somer for this community”.
- The Chairman of the meeting will write on behalf of the meeting to Angela Gascoigne (Managing Director at Somer), to our two Local Councillors, to the Chief Constable, to the leader of B&NES Council, the Chief Executive of the Council and to the Housing Corporation. (Local residents and traders are invited to do the same individually). These letters will be published and will express our concerns about:
1- The poor and near absence of publicity for the public (PACT) meeting;
2- The absence of representatives from B&NES and Somer;
3- The location and format of the next meeting.- Similar concerns were discussed about the absence of a genuine consultation about the Rapid Bus Transit (RBT) scheme. This being in addition to grave concerns regarding the removal of trees, front gardens, impact for the residents and local traders, the increased risks of accident for pedestrians and cyclists or because of the parking situation along the London Rd.
- Noise pollution was also discussed because of Burdall’s Yard late night openings and the impact of the possible extension of their openings hours and due to road works, on the London Rd in the evenings because daytime traffic flow is regarded as more important! In addition people indicated their concerns because of the removal of litter bins on the London Road for no valid reasons while more rubbish are now thrown in the street.
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