Community Engagement
At Community Counts we work to improve the lives of residents in Barton, Tredworth and White City and residents are involved in many areas of our work, either in formal or informal roles.
Key Priorities 2008 - 2009
Here are some of our priorities for the coming 12 months...
- Continue to increase the level of community involvement with key areas of Neighbourhood Management work, including offering training and support to volunteers (re understanding key issues / how services work etc)
- Work with partners to develop strong and effective resident-led structures to ensure that local people have an influence over public service decision-making beyond the life of this programme
- Develop closer working relationships between residents and local elected members
- Develop a Neighbourhood Partnership in the Neighbourhood Management area
International Women's Day 2008
Pampering, arts and craft, planting flowers and vegetables, salsa dancing and cooking demonstrations ... These were just a few of the activities enjoyed by women from Barton, Tredworth and White City at a free event organised to celebrate International Women's Day 2008.
Over 300 women representing all ages and cultures joined in the celebrations and over 40 women joined in a lively debate, 'The Changing Role of Women'. The day was a chance for local women to have some fun, celebrate being a woman and try out something new, from tasting traditional African food to trying their hand at making some jewellery.
International Women's Day is an annual global event to inspire women and celebrate their achievements.
Neighbourhood Panel
The Neighbourhood Panel is a residents' group that works with the Safer Communities Police Team to help guide and direct the ways in which the Community Counts areas of barton, Tredworth and White City are policed. Each resident on the Neighbourhood Panel represents a larger group of residents, for example, a Neighnourhood Watch group or a particular street in the area. See Community Safety for more information.
Community Chest
The Community Chest fund encourages grass roots community activity in the neighbourhood, supporting sports, cultural and community involvement activities with grants of up to £1000. Recents projects that have benefitted from the Community Chest include the Ministry of Arts Youth Theatre Project, the refurbishment of the Gloucestershire Lifestyles Charity Shop (right), and a new vegetable and digging patch for Bartongate Children's Centre. See Community Chest for details on how to apply to the Community Chest fund.
Street Reps
Street Reps and volunteers who keep an eye on their street to make sure it stays clean and tidy. They understand how the street cleaning services work and report any work that needs doing, for example litter or graffiti that needs removing, to Gloucester City Council.
In addition to this key role, some Street Reps are involved in monitoring the cleanliness of their street and also the Streetcare Group, a group of residents who meet regularly with representatives from Enterprise (the Street Care company) and Gloucester City Council to oversee the work of the Street Care Team.
The Street Rep scheme has been running for a couple of years and there are currently nearly 30 Street Reps in Barton, Tredworth and White City.