Residents in Rayleigh recently became aware of plans for several travellers sites in the locality, one particular in Eastwood Road. This ‘awareness’ near one of the proposed sites, was prompted by an anonymous letter (later the poster revealed himself as Conservative Councillor Jack
We’ve previously reported on the failure of Conservation controlled, Rochford District Council, to have shown any positive steps in fulfilling its legal requirement, to provide travellers sites in the District. This has led to many illegal sites being occupied and in some cases planning permission granted by the Goverment planning inspector.
Outrage ensued, Echo article published and fast forward to the resulting formation of a new residents association – ‘Rayleigh Residents Association’
What is a residents association?
Residents’ associations are organisations formed by groups of people from a specific geographic community who come together to address issues within their local area and act as a voice for their local community. In one form or another they have existed since the mid nineteenth century. In many cases they were founded within newer communities, for example as new settlements were built in British Commonwealth countries, and in the UK many residents’ associations were formed by the newcomer-residents of the housing estates that proliferated between the World Wars.
The majority of associations are structured to include a chair, vice-chair, secretary, treasurer and committee members. These positions are decided by way of nominations at an annual meeting when they can be challenged/altered.
Some associations meet to address one specific issue (and quite often some major and controversial local issue is the stimulus to form an association), while others address a wider spectrum of matters. Some residents’ associations decide to run candidates for local office to increase their leverage, such as the Residents Associations of Epsom and Ewell which has controlled the local authority since the 1930s, while others decide to remain as advocacy or action groups independent of any political process. While generally eschewing national party politics, since the reform of UK electoral law in 2000 several British residents’ associations have been obliged to register as locality-based political parties to enable them to participate in local elections for borough and county councils.
Membership of a residents’ association is normally open to all local people residing in a defined area such as a housing estate, a large residential building, a suburb or an electoral district of local government. They are generally wholly inclusive.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Residents%27_association
Will this new group go the distance? It would appear there are some vocal members of its 1100 strong Facebook group that are not afraid to share their discontent with the Conservative-run Town Council, but it remains to be seen if they will see a way to overcome the barriers that other local groups have come up against in their quest for ‘transparency’ and respect for democracy.
The Rayleigh Residents Association will hold their first meeting on Thursday, 28 February 2019 at 19:30 at The Mill Arts & Events Centre Bellingham lane, SS6 7ED Rayleigh