Street Captains Announced

Gateshead Council have announced that 90 "Street Captains" met at Saltwell Towers to discuss the revitalisation of Saltwell and Bensham.

The Saltwell and Bensham Residents Association, representing 1,000 residents, were not invited.

None of this was unexpected. Back in 2005 Shiela Johnstone, Head of Development, promised the association that we would be fully involved in the plans for the area. Since then the Council has tried to develop it's own consultation body so it does have to deal with an independent residents association. We have never been invited, as an association, to talk to the council since the autumn of 2005.

This is a tradition in Gateshead Council. Normally they set up consultation groups run by the council or neatly padded with local loyal Councillors to subtly push through the Council agenda and silence alternative views. In fact in the early meetings of our association people were astonished that Gateshead Council hadn't taken us over!

By ignoring us and setting up alternative (taxpayer funded) groups they can say to their political masters in London they are consulting local people. This was forced on the Council by the National Audit Office critical report on housing renewal calling for local involvement. However back to the sorry state of consultation in Saltwell and Bensham.

In 2005 the Council claimed it's survey results were "consultation". Most of the questions were heavily loaded to approved demolition yet only 25% of residents approved the Council plans without reservations. Scandously those people with reservations were added to the "approval" list to give a published 74% approval - this little statistical wheeze being spotted by opposition councillors.

So with no real support on the ground they decided to create some. In came Planning Aid North - a national organisation funded by the same Government department that was funding demolition. Planning Aid did some seminars about good design in order to find a "reference group" to discuss Gateshead Council plans. Unfortunately when our members turned up at meetings asking key questions about demolition the council retreated. Planning Aid North claimed they were impartial facilitators however the last seminar was clear designed to convert people to support Gateshead Council's demolition plans.

So that plan failed to get a compliant set of residents who would go along with demolition.

Now we have plan c. Selectively leaflet the area for "Street Captains". Avoid contacting members of the residents association and then announce happy smiling residents supportive of demolishing homes. I guess they hoped we wouldn't notice!