Notes by Jo Nean
We met for our first neighborhood group meeting on Thursday 13th March at 7pm in The Roundhill pub on Ditchling Road.
There were 7 people present (5 from Roundhill, 2 from The Triangle):
Jo, Terry, Jess, Ted, Maureen, Richard and Jenny.
After introductions and a brief summary of Transition Brighton and Hove, and Transition Towns in general, we got to talking about visions, plans and aspirations for our area.
We came up with five main ideas to take to the next meeting to be developed and debated:
1. Making our neighborhood a visually green and beautiful area, 'the hanging baskets of Babylon', encouraging people to grow food, plants and flowers in their front gardens and hanging baskets. It was pointed out that living in a green and beautiful area can have positive effects on mental health and wellbeing, which in turn leads to a happier, more vibrant community. The Triangle have already begun thinking along these lines with their 'Greening the Triangle' project.
2. Rebuilding community through local events and strengthening residents associations. Although environmental concerns are the main factors behind the Transition Towns movement, community is seen as a primary positive solution and this is what people locally may find it easier to relate to. There were concerns about the need for money and funding. The Triangle have already begun fundraising for initiatives in their area so we have some knowledge of the process within our group.
3. Car sharing. Hanover have their own car share scheme and there are others popping up around the city. It was pointed out that such a scheme would be a good way to cut down on car use and the amount of cars within our area.
4. Community composting scheme. This is something that comes up fairly often and it was generally felt that this is something we should look into setting up.
5. Solar panels and other forms of energy generation. It has been brought to our attention that people are having applications for solar panels turned down in Roundhill on the grounds that it is a conservation area. We wondered at how we will be expected to power our homes in the future. It was also mentioned that cars are not particularly Victorian looking, yet they are allowed!
Other topics talked about included;
* How to get more people involved, perhaps making posters and other publicity for future meetings.
* Permaculture and food growing Vs local planning issues.
* The lack of open spaces.
* Lack of council involvement in the community
* Our experience of community - what is it, where is it and who is it? The idea that there are multiple, overlapping communities in existence that are no longer based on geographical areas but on cultures and subcultures. How do we as residents define our community?
* Strengthening connections between the Roundhill Society and Triangle Group.
* "Living Streets" (www.livingstreets.org.uk)
* IDEA: A festival held in local pubs on one evening with lots of different events happening in one night. A sort of Roundhill and Triangle Festival. It was felt that this sort of event would be too ambitious for us to take on at this time but that we should put it to one side to think about in the future when there are more people involved in the group.
A date was set for our next meeting: Tuesday 8th April, 7:30pm in The Park Crescent. Jo to talk to Kat, who runs the pub, in advance.
All are most welcome
Notes from first meeting of Roundhill / Triangle neighbourhood group – Thu 13 March
