Showing posts with label proposals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label proposals. Show all posts

Friday 28 August 2015

Comments invited on Old Oak-Park Royal Regeneration community involvement proposals

 
The OPDC boundaries


This is a message I have received from Old Oak and Park Royal Development  Corporation (OPDC). 

 Dear All,

Please find attached the first e-newsletter from OPDC – this will evolve over time and the aim is to keep local businesses, residents and groups up to date with latest information about Old Oak and Park Royal proposals as well as highlight opportunities to get involved in shaping the development. Please help us to make it useful and tell us what you would like to see featured.

Also, our draft Statement of Community Involvement (SCI) is now out for consultation along with our draft Community Charter. The SCI aims to set out how stakeholders will be involved in the planning process and the Community Charter sets out how OPDC’s commitment to community engagement in all aspects of the regeneration in Old Oak and Park Royal.

We would like your comments on these documents, please follow the link to find out how to get involved in the consultation on the draft Statement of Community Involvement and draft Community Charter.

Kind Regards,

Alex Day
OPDC

Tuesday 3 June 2014

Powney calls for councillors to give themselves time to discuss Scrutiny proposals - and not accept a fait accompli

It is good to see James Powney LINK responding to the 'clarification' of Scrutiny proposals which I published from a source very close to Brent Labour earlier LINK

Like me he can see no reference to this detail in the Officer's Report going before Full Council tomorrow and remarks:
If Martin's source is knowledgeable, I wonder whether these are last minute changes to mitigate the apparent intention of removing the operations of the Council from effective scrutiny.  It all seems a very hole-in-the-corner way of doing things.
He says that the requirement that questions to Cabinet members at Full Council be submitted in advance, and without follow-up questions allowed,  will mean that officers will write the answers and they will be read out by the lead members'

He goes on:
All this strikes me as a far cry from how things should be done.  I have suggested that there are three objectives Scrutiny should aim at.  The Welsh National Audit Office has recently gone through a more elaborate analysis.  What the balance between is is an area where I can imagine lots of different points of view, but it is essentially a matter for political value judgements, not simply a technical issue.  Therefore, it should be the subject of a proper debate and decision by councillors, not simply presented to them as a fait accompli within a fortnight of election.

The elected members of the Council should give themselves time to discuss how they want Scrutiny to function, and what they decide should be laid out clearly, not anonymously communicated to Martin Francis. 
I agree completely that a proper report, detailing the proposals and setting out how lay committee members would be recruited is essential for proper consideration of the Scrutiny proposals. Far reaching Scrutiny proposals approved without proper scrutiny would open the Council up to ridicule.

I hope backbench Labour  councillors and the opposition take note and speak up tomorrow.

If you need any persuasion of the confusing aspects of the Scrutiny changes and perhaps evidence of the haste in which they have been prepared see the Supplementary Agenda LINK. Particularly important noteworthy are pages 30 and 48.

If you wish to attend the Full Council on Wednesday as a member of the public you are advised to let Anne Reid of Democratic Services know, as the number of seats is limited:  anne.reid@brent.gov.uk