Community Safety - and the push for CO detectors

A great Community Safety meeting this month

I dont know if I have talked much about them before, other than to mention the continuing drive to get CO detectors into the area.

They are part of a series of committees set up by Kensington Regeneration (Kensington New Deal for Communities) to look at the key areas the KNDC is concentrating on.

I wont have this exactly right, but there are committees looking at Neighbourhood Services (which I sit on), DEHENS which I dont sit on but think is Housing and the Environment perhaps, Quality of Life and Community Safety. I think there is also a BME committee.

These are chaired by residents and involve any partners that can be brought together to resolve problems.

I dont know how I came to be called upon to sit on these two (and indeed have had an invite to sit on a third but couldnt fit it in, time wise, as they all sit during the day) but I am glad I have been. It is a great chance for residents to explain what needs doing and the partners to work out how to tackle the problems. So on Community Safety for instance we have representatives of the police, fire service, youth service, domestic violence forum, PCT, CCTV and lots of residents, along with C7 staff (the principal RSL) and of course Kenny Regen staff.

We talked this month about some interesting drug dealing issues and the residents gave the police some vital new info about a particular pub in need of some serious attention. We talked about sone very disturbing racial harassment and violent incidents in the Botanic Park and Durning Road area, some of the great work being done by our youth clubs in Edge Hill and Central and generally really got things out into the open.

I was delighted with the ongoing progess to get the Carbon Monoxide detector scheme under way, we only need to finalise the agreeing of expenses for the Fire Service Volunteer group to help install them into people's homes and we can begin the door-knocking to get people to take them.

Great news - I dont mind going to committee meetings if we get things done!