The Socialist 11 October 2017

Nasty party imploding...drive out the Tories

Nasty party imploding...drive out the Tories

Major attacks 'Universal Credit', half a million more face poverty

IMF helps cause inequality it slams

NHS meltdown - fight the Tory cuts

Hundreds of torture victims wrongly detained

Them & Us

Catalonia: Workers can finish what Puigdemont won't

The fight against racial discrimination is tied to the fight to defeat capitalist austerity

Royal Mail workers fight court attempt to stop national strike

Boeing bust-up threatens thousands of skilled jobs

Who's watching who?: The fight for justice, trade union and democratic rights

Workplace news in brief

Housing crisis: Corbyn's positive measures blanked by Labour's right

No more fire deaths - ensure safety now!

Don't wreck our rec! Campaigning to save green space in Standish

Carlisle NHS campaigners hand in petition to MP

Cardiff Socialist Students confront 'Parasite' Jacob Rees-Mogg

Manchester rally discussed unionisation and nationalisation

Join the Orgreave Halloween rally

Too much to cross the Mersey

Poverty, repression and fightback on the docks

Theresa May, Frida Kahlo and turning women into wares

Shocking insight into Isis

PO Box 1398, Enfield EN1 9GT

020 8988 8777

[email protected]

Link to this page: https://www.socialistparty.org.uk/issue/966/26276

Search the site	Printable version

Home | The Socialist 11 October 2017 | Join the Socialist Party

Subscribe | Donate | Audio | PDF | ebook

Don't wreck our rec! Campaigning to save green space in Standish

Standish recreation ground (Click to enlarge)

Shari Holden, Merseyside Socialist Party

Standish is a former pit village on the outskirts of Wigan, where for some months now residents have been campaigning against proposals to put a car park on the local recreation ground, which was bequeathed to Standish in 1923 for the purpose of a children's playground.

Over the years it has been used by local children for play, football games and by groups such as the Cubs and Brownies.

The car park proposal has come from the local 'neighbourhood forum', misleadingly calling itself Standish Voice, an organisation that many residents believe is more concerned with promoting the interests of local businesses, rather than ordinary residents.

One of the main functions of a neighbourhood forum is to produce a neighbourhood plan, detailing the use of land in the area.

Although Standish Voice is technically open to all Standish residents, at times it behaves in a thoroughly undemocratic manner, and has expelled at least three people with no notification, hearing or appeal. All three have been prominent in campaigning against the car park proposal!

Consultation

The results of at least one consultation exercise conducted by Standish Voice have never been published, presumably because they did not endorse the aims of Standish Voice.

In response to the threat, a 'Don't wreck our rec' group has been formed, which has organised a public meeting, a petition, Saturday street stalls, and has lobbied Standish Voice, Wigan council and the Wigan Labour MP, Lisa Nandy. Organisations like Sport England have also been contacted in order to get advice, and to alert them to the threat to the recreation ground.

This excellent example of local campaigning has put pressure on Standish Voice, to the extent that they have now published the draft neighbourhood plan for public consultation, which has dropped the car park proposal, in favour of putting a park on the recreation ground.

However, elsewhere in the plan it seems to suggest that the car park proposal could be revived in the future. Future campaigning will therefore focus on welcoming this climb down, while alerting people to the continuing threat, in order to encourage a robust response to the consultation, making it clear that the recreation ground must remain a green space.

In this issue

Socialist Party news and analysis

Nasty party imploding...drive out the Tories