Banner
any day today rss X

News and Comment November 2012

Index: 2009201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024

15 November (Part 2) - Regenerating the truth

Cabinet meeting in ThamesmeadBexley council issued a Press Release today following their meeting with disgruntled Thamesmead residents last Tuesday evening. See below. Council leader Teresa O’Neill is quoted as saying “This is a great opportunity for local residents and community groups to access much needed funding for the projects they really care about. We know local residents are passionate about Thamesmead. By working closely with local residents and organisations, we can support the work local people think is most important”.

One might reasonably assume that Teresa O’Neill was present at the meeting, indeed I thought she was having looked at the photograph available on the Thamesmead residents' website however I have been informed by someone who ought to know that she wasn’t. I think I can recognise a grey haired Colin Campbell in the photo even though he has tried to disguise himself by wearing a tie. But maybe the figure I believed to be Teresa O’Neill is someone else, on reflection the figure is possibly not, ahem, wide enough.

A senior source within the Residents’ Group has described Gallion’s Ian Beckett’s comment about a “hugely positive response from the local community” as a total joke. Always assuming he actually said it of course. Bexley council might well have made it up.


PARTNERS APPROVE A £30,000 FUND TO HELP REGENERATE THAMESMEAD
A £30,000 fund to deliver vital improvement projects was launched on Tuesday night (13 November) at The Link, the new state-of-the-art community hub in Thamesmead.

The Thamesmead Match Fund has been established by the South Thamesmead Regeneration Partnership to support resident-led projects and initiatives. The fund will pay for the materials, tools and professional services needed to deliver local projects, such as improvements to local parks and streets, and much more. The successful bidder will match the allocated funding with an equal contribution, for example, in time, labour or other investment.

Cllr Teresa O’Neill, Leader of the London Borough of Bexley, said: “This is a great opportunity for local residents and community groups to access much needed funding for the projects they really care about. We know local residents are passionate about Thamesmead. By working closely with local residents and organisations, we can support the work local people think is most important.

The fund was launched at the London Borough of Bexley’s Cabinet meeting, where the South Thamesmead Regeneration Framework was endorsed by the Council and its partners. The Framework sets out plans for investment in the area over the next 10-15 years, in order to build on the momentum of recent local projects, such as The Link.

Consultation on the Framework was carried out in the summer with the local community and key stakeholders. The feedback received was overwhelmingly enthusiastic and showed a significant number of Thamesmead residents want to be directly involved in the proposals.

Ian Beckett, Director of Development and Property at Gallions Housing Association, said: “We are proud to endorse the South Thamesmead Regeneration Framework. It is very rewarding for the Partnership to see the hugely positive response from the local community.

Mick Hayes, Chief Executive of Trust Thamesmead, said: “Despite the difficult economic times there is a powerful optimism in Thamesmead, the most hopeful I have ever known. We are beginning to see real progress through the collaboration between Gallions Housing Association, Tilfen Land, Trust Thamesmead, the Greater London Authority and the London Borough of Bexley.

The meeting took place at The Link in order to showcase the state-of-the-art facility to the local community. More information about the activities and services provided at The Link is available at www.thelinkthamesmead.co.uk

The South Thamesmead Regeneration Partnership includes the London Borough of Bexley, Gallions Housing Association, Trust Thamesmead, Tilfen Land and the Greater London Authority. The Partnership was set up to lead the regeneration of South Thamesmead and to develop the Framework with funding provided by the Greater London Authority.

 

Return to the top of this page
Bonkers is a cookie free zone. Not a single one