Ballot papers need to be returned by 25th May and the three Queen’s Park Councillors say that the election of a Community Council will strengthen local democracy and give residents a stronger voice on local issues.

Councillor Paul Dimoldenberg, Leader of the Labour Group, said;

“We have supported the idea of a Community Council for Queen’s Park since the proposal was first put forward nearly two years ago. A Community Council will build on the work of the previously elected Neighbourhood Forum and we look forward to working closely with the Community Councillors when they are elected. The Community Council campaigners have done a fantastic job in organising the campaign in such a professional manner and this bodes well for the work of the new Community Council over the coming years. But first, residents need to say ‘Yes’ in the referendum and we urge everyone to do so.”

Here are five good reasons to vote “Yes” for a Queen’s Park Community Council:

1. The Community Council will concentrate on making the area safer for everyone.
2. It will bring residents together and celebrate community spirit.
3. It will give a helping hand to the most vulnerable in our community.
4. It will give Queen’s Park residents a voice that will be heard.
5. It will bring new investment to the area.

Look out for your ballot paper in the post tomorrow and the local campaigners in their fetching orange t-shirts calling at your door in the next few days.  Above all make sure you vote “Yes”!  before the 25th May.

This clip is courtesy of the BBC.  For more news coverage of the Campaign see the Press section in the left hand menu

Campaigners met recently to plan the last push in a bid to secure a ‘YES’ vote in the forthcoming REFERENDUM.  It was great to see the energy and enthusiasm for a Community Council as lifted as ever.  People from all parts of the community shared their ideas in the last planning meeting before taking the Campaign to the streets for the last time.

The Campaign by Queen’s Park residents to become London’s first Community Council has put our area centre stage.  The result of residents coming together has achieved things that few thought would be possible, not to mention that it has secured significant additional investment in Queen’s Park already. 

VOTE YES IN THE REFERENDUM to make sure the area is never forgoten again!

…is taking place in May.  Keep your eyes out for your voting slip in the post.

Campaigners will be going door to door and running information stalls throughout May explaining how a Community Council will work and why it is so important for our neighbourhood. For more information or to ask any questions please phone 020 8964 8024, email campaign4qp@gmail.com or drop in to Office 1 at the Beethoven Centre on Third Avenue.

HAVE YOUR SAY!

Join us for a cup of tea and a slice of cake to celebrate St George’s Day at Office 1 in the Beethoven Centre and have a chat to find out more about the referendum for a Queen’s Park Community Council.

The last few days have seen a flurry of news on television, radio and in print and some residents have been busy fielding calls and enquiries.  Inevitably the first question of many reporters concerns the matter of the precept – a small additional charge levied on the council tax to the people living in the area.  The Queen’s Park Campaign Group want it set at about 80p per week per household.  By some standards that is not a lot.  Consider that in the last few weeks local social housing providers have put rents up by £10 a week.  Consider, too, that the Olympic Games is costing every Londoner £1.60 per month but note that we weren’t consulted on that.

The fact is, once the precept is charged and people get used to it, they will probably stop noticing it and stop worrying about it.  After all, even including the precept, residents in Queen’s Park will be paying considerably less than those in the neighbouring boroughs of Brent or Kensington and Chelsea.  But if people are asked out of context simply whether they are prepared to pay more tax, it’s not surprising if the answers sound negative.

The issues at stake here run much deeper than a referendum or scrambled media coverage can do justice to.  We are looking for a way to unlock the potential of our citizens in the longterm rehabilitation of an historically disadvantaged community:

• The motivation is to enable the community to stand on its own feet again, and to break away from a dependency on shrinking public services.
• The vision is of a community where all the different races and religions get along, where people help eachother, where people believe in the area and invest in it.
• We want a future where people feel involved in their community and where their children can grow up healthy and proud of their families.

But this future has not been delivered by the current status quo – so next time you think about the precept, consider what’s really at stake.

A debate would be more appropriate than a Yes / No referendum as a means of testing public opinion; at least that would permit an informed choice.  With scant resources the Queen’s Park Community Council Campaign will hit the road in the next few days in an effort to inform everyone in the area about the referendum.  It is a huge task, but one that the Campaign’s forty or so dedicated campaigners will apply all their efforts to.

Listen out for them and give them your support!

Westminster’s recent Community Governance Review generated more than 400 responses from individuals, groups and organisations throughout Westminster. In light of the responses to this consultation, the council will now consider holding a referendum on the establishment of a community council in Queen’s Park.

This decision will be made on April 16th.

If a referendum goes ahead everyone on the electoral roll in Queen’s Park will be sent a postal vote in May which will then inform Westminster’s final judgement, at the end of June.

It’s crunch time!

After a long drawn out campaign driven by passionate local support and a desire for real and lasting change in Queen’s Park the decision now rests in the hands of the community. It is important residents are able to make an informed choice about what a Community Council will mean for Queen’s Park and how it is funded. With this in mind campaigners will be going door to door and running information stalls over coming weeks to explain how a Community Council will work and what it will do and encourage people to take part in this important referendum.

After 15 months on the campaign trail the committed core are digging deep and summoning the energy to mount a final information blitz across all 4000 homes in Queen’s Park. If you would like to help or find out more please get in touch!

This VT was made last month by local photographer and lifetime chronicler of Paddington community action, Philip Wolmuth.  It captures Paddington residents’ feelings about social action in neighbourhoods where they live, and was commissioned by Paddington Development Trust for their 5th biennial Community Conference, “Making Localism Work”.

Philip has produced a book of his Paddington photographs called “That was then, this is now: community action in North Paddington 1975-2008″ available to buy from the Queen’s Park Forum office, Beethoven Centre.  The video shows that in 2012 Paddington people are just as committed to protecting this rare and inspiring community as ever.