It's time to show some community spirit

Published on Thursday 17 January 2008 08:32

Lack of local facilities is failing the Capital's most needy, says Jason Rust

'DO our communities fare better by themselves or with support and encouragement from their local authorities?" This question was posed in Colinton recently but had to remain unanswered on account of a manifest absence of support for community facilities from the city council.

As in other parts of the city, the lack of community activity and meeting spaces is an ongoing problem.

We wanted to retain Bonaly Primary's annexe for community use when the building ceases to be used as a school in the summer. However, on the day that proposals were being put forward by the community to raise sufficient funds to save the listed building, it was being advertised for sale by the council, unbeknown apparently to even the executive member for children and families.

Despite hundreds of letters from residents, pledges of financial support and strong representations on their behalf, the city council resisted all attempts to postpone the sale to allow the community time to raise enough money.

True, the nature of "community" evolves; no longer is it simply geographically based. Work, school, shopping, even Facebook all represent communities but arguably the decline in church attendance, the potential closure of post offices or schools and the absence of community centres all threaten our neighbourhoods. The council can remain passive but do we want to reach a stage where the only thing that binds people universally in an area is that having a certain address may sell your house?

Colinton and indeed Fairmilehead may be bereft of community facilities and in one sense deprived, but what of our most disadvantaged communities? Where are the signs of council commitment to their centres and to future sustainable arrangements for the Community Regeneration Fund, Community Voices and other programmes? In Oxgangs the local newsletter, The Peak, faces the end because no financial support is forthcoming from the council.

The loss of a once in a lifetime opportunity to support a community facility in Colinton is one thing but the abandonment of our more vulnerable communities is a dereliction of duty and represents a failure to provide an equality of opportunity for all our citizens.

There is some hope on the horizon. The new Neighbourhood Partnerships should see the council along with community councils, police and other providers working together for the benefit of our communities in a uniform way and developing sustainable neighbourhood plans.

Of course, it's not all down to the city council. Perhaps we all have to ask of ourselves not what our community can do for us but what we can do for our community.

&#149 Jason Rust is a councillor for the Colinton/Fairmilehead ward