Community Learning Development Resource 501 – 04
REPORTING COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
AND ACTION
SUMMARY
Reviewing two local newspaper articles – effective and helpful reporting?
A ‘Local News’ article in local weekly newspaper:
HEADLINE: ‘TENANTS URGED TO SET UP ASSOCIATIONS’
‘’Council house tenants are urged to become more involved in running their communities.
The Borough Council is appealing for more people to join their local tenants’ advisory panel, or set up a tenants and residents’ association for their area.
Since the panel was formed nearly five years ago, members have attended tenant participation events and seminars.
They have put their skills to use by helping to improve areas around the borough and becoming involved in the process to see whether the borough’s 3,500 council houses should remain in the local authority’s hands, or get a new landlord.
The cabinet member with responsibility for housing, said: ‘’the tenants advisory panel is an excellent means of allowing tenants to put forward their views on any topic regarding their home or surrounding environment’’.
‘’Along with officers from the housing and ground care departments, I attend meetings, and all of us are committed to the success of the panel’’.
‘’The meetings are non-political, friendly and informal, whilst ensuring that tenants views and ideas are taken seriously ….. Anyone who would like more information is urged to contact ….. on telephone or via the Council website’’
REFLECTION AND DISCUSSION PROMPTS
- What are the messages being given to local people?
- How effectively is this likely to stimulate responses and from whom?
- What might be the learning for anyone seeking to join the panel?
- What learning might need to be put in place to support local tenants wanting to set up a tenants and residents’ association?
Half-page Local News Report in local newspaper
”CAMPAIGN: RESIDENTS JOIN FORCES TO BEGIN TIDY-UP PROGRAMME”
Estate to get spring clean
A week-long campaign is being launched to clean up one of H*****’s estates.
‘’Teams will remove junk, clean gardens, repair fences, removed old cars and even washed down the streets on the W***** estate. The week will end with volunteers carrying out a litter-pick in the final clean-up.
All residents have been given the chance to put forward their ideas after teams from the W***** Community House, went door-to-door asking for views.
On Saturday, the clean-up programme will start with a free collection of large items such as fridges, freezers, cookers and beds by the Borough Council.
The survey of residents found that these items were clogging up people’s gardens and creating an eyesore for neighbours.
H****** Police will also be available at the community house on Saturday. A spokesman said: ‘’we are going to be there for reassurance, offering people crime prevention advice, and the beat bobby, is going to be there for people that want to speak to him’’.
The following Tuesday, council workers will continue the estate clean-up by taking away old cars as part of a free collection service.
About 30 estate volunteers have come forward offering to help smarten the streets by fixing fences and tidying gardens.
Wednesday has been scheduled a gardening day, when the teams will be looking at gardens which have become untidy.
They will offer to tidy up the gardens in the elderly or people too ill to do the job themselves. Attention will turn the following day to repairing broken fences and replacing missing panels.
The council’s street cleaning team will be out on Friday giving them a thorough wash.
This programme ends on the Saturday, with the residents carrying out a litter-pick, followed by a buffet and disco at the W***** Social Club.
The activity is spearheaded by the borough council’s Community Safety Team.
Its antisocial behaviour coordinator said: ‘’the whole estate is really getting involved’’.
For details, call…. Telephone ….’’
REFLECTION AND DISCUSSION PROMPTS
- What does this article say about the W***** community?
- This clean-up initiative was thought up and requested (and negotiated with the council), by a group of local residents – does the article reflect this?
- What significance does the Police involvement have?
- What might be the key learning for local people – before and after the clean-up week?