Some of the challenges Community Associations/Organisations face

•  adopting local phone boxes
• running a community centre – its management can suck resources leaving little time for the community üüü (Pinhoe have a community hub and a community Association, in St David’s there is the St David’s neighbourhood partnership and the Exeter Community Centre Trust)
• acquiring a new community building
• involving a diverse community üü – how to consult and young people – identifying needs and involvement
• handovers when people leave e.g. leases and managing ongoing responsibilities
• measure impact
• engaging students who are transient
• how to engage other community groups
• help to set up and promoting what we do
• growth of communities – new development

Feedback on Parks and opens spaces strategy development to ECC

• needs to integrate into everyday activity
• how will it link to Exeter’s Community Strategy?
• have a round table discussion on parks and open spaces – informal and in depth
• start with ‘what we like’
• how does air quality consultation feed into this?
• and relate to other strategies?
• how to involve those who find it hard to be active? How does it rely on those who can’t get round easily?
• how to be involved in the strategy drafting – with community organisations?
• youth strategy – tie to this activity and involvement in design and implementation
• land ownership – kept in public ownership – a community land trust? to hold land in perpetuity and generate income?
• definition of a green space – what’s involved? – gardens? evaluation of trees – what do we have?
• access to green spaces – increasing restrictions e.g. Ducks Meadow, university and developers are closing access and parking restriction
• Transport, consistent polices on issues e.g. permissions by both Council e.g. memorial benches need to be consistently applied
• Need reply to emails and access to information and permissions – names contacts would be helpful
• no green space is ‘pinched’ until there is a policy for the area – developers think they have rights over any green space
• new estates – how to mobilise community to look at it and communication
• income generation to be financially viable – look at case studies e.g. NESTA
• events and café on Parks
• heritage features in parks and gardens are important.