Agenda item

• Community Council Fund launch - Pauline Bonner, Borough & Bankside and Walworth Neighbourhood Coordinator

• The future of Community Councils

Community Council Fund Launch

Pauline Bonner, Neighbourhood Manager, informed the meeting that the next round of the Community Council Fund was open for applications until 25 May 2012. Residents could apply for funding for community events and activities, which this year should be around three out of the following Olympic values: courage, excellence, determination, equality, friendship, respect, and inspiration. Applications could be made for amounts from £100 - £1,000. This year there was also a focus on new and emerging constituted groups, but individuals could also apply. The decisions would be taken in June or July, at the first round of community council meetings in the new municipal year. In order to allow for administrative time, events which people wanted to apply for should take place from late July onwards. For more information, please contact Pauline Bonner, Neighbourhood Coordinator, Tel 020 7525 1019 or email Pauline.Bonner@southwark .gov.uk.

Tayo Situ Foundation (TSF)

Amos Akin-Adejinmi explained that the foundation had been created to commemorate the work of former Mayor of Southwark Councillor Tayo Situ, who had passed away in May 2011. The foundation aimed at fostering leadership for young people around the Camberwell, Walworth and Peckham areas. There would be many launch activities in May.

Responding to questions, Amos said that Southwark council and councillors had been very helpful in publicising the foundation. Some of the councillors had attended the launch event. The foundation would be involved in many activities in the area, some of which were sports based and others at which local young people would be given awards for having done outstanding work in terms of youth groups etc.  People could help by donating money, or their time.

For further information, please visit the foundation’s website www.tayositufoundation.com.

The chair thanked the speakers for attending.

Future of Community Councils

The chair drew people’s attention to the briefing note contained in the agenda pack, and highlighted that Walworth Community Council would be merging with Borough and Bankside Community Council. While this was necessitated by the budget cuts put in place by central government, there were some synergies between the two areas, as all five wards which currently made up the community council areas bordered the Elephant and Castle area. There was no name for the new area, as yet.

There was a discussion in which concerns were raised about:

• choosing future venues which were unaffected by the congestion charging zone as it may impact on the possible start time of the meeting,
• the number of councillors which would attend the new community council,
• the withdrawal of the planning and other functions,
• making future meetings relevant to residents in all five wards,
• not missing out lesser known or neglected green and open spaces in Cleaner Green Safer (CGS) allocations,
• the impact of the new Localism Act,
• the reduction of staff, and
• alternative ways of making savings which should have been worked out by the community council.

Councillor Neil Coyle urged residents to get involved in organisations such as the Walworth Society to help shape and protect their area. Councillor Patrick Diamond called for more powers to be devolved to the local level and asked people to share their ideas about this. He suggested that ward councillors should organise more ward based meetings about issues of concern to residents.