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Monday 17 January 2011

People Power

Tonight I was proud to attend a meeting of the Paynters Lane End Residents Association. This is a fledgling association that has been going for a couple of months. The estate, which is a mixture of tenants and owners, has decided to come together to build a stronger sense of community through working together with Coastline to address the issues which face them.

The reason that I am particularly happy to see this association up and running is because I was able to play a small part in helping to facilitate its creation. During my election campaign I went round the parish to identify the issues that people thought were important to them. At Paynters lane End one gentleman was very eloquent in describing some of the problems that faced the residents and he said that politicians were prone to saying that they wanted to get things done but then never followed through (especially after the election). I make it a point to never make any promise that I may not be able to keep but I do always promise to do the best that I can to help wherever I might be able to. The gentleman asked if I ‘had the **lls to get something done’. I said that I never made promises but I would do what I could.

To cut the story short I contacted Coastline and after several emails the residents association began to take shape. I can’t and I don’t want to make out that I am responsible for making Paynters Lane End Estate into some sort of utopian society, clearly I’m not. However, I am proud that I have helped to make a small positive difference to people’s lives.

The association is now dealing with all sorts of issues including car parking, traffic calming and consultations. This is real people power in action – people working together and helping each other to achieve more from life for themselves and their children.

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