By Deana Perry – SECRETARY, TEAM SOUTHMEAD
There are now four new notice boards dotted around Southmead with another one due to be installed on the Dunmail site once building works have been completed.
The boards were not put up by the Council or indeed paid for by the Council. They are community notice boards and it has taken five years of talking about them, with the last two really focused on applying for funding (big thanks to Karen Green), with regular meetings to discuss the locations and design.
Communication is so important and from our community plan which consisted of the views of 900 residents who completed surveys in 2014, we found that there were only two forms of communication in Southmead. These were word of mouth or The Mead. As The Mead only came out three or four times a year back then it wasn’t easy to get regular information out to residents. Not everyone has access to a computer or a mobile phone and you shouldn’t feel like a second class citizen if you don’t; residents should not feel like this is the only way they can communicate and be pressured into having one. The notice boards will contain information and give details of community events and hopefully will become an important part of residents’ lives.
This project was not an easy one as there was never any money to fund them but with a group of determined residents and the BS10 Parks and Planning Group the notice boards were finally installed in June. As with everything in life you just can’t plan it and I was a bit gutted that they were installed the week I was in Greece!
Our group did have help and support from various Council officers along the way and I think that you will agree that although it took five years it was well worth the wait!
Please contact Karen Green at the Scart Shop if you would like to put something on the new notice boards. email: karen.tgwish@yahoo.co.uk telephone: 0117 903 1623
If you are a small local group or committee the SCART Shop may be able to print your notice for you. Organisations need to supply notices at size A4 maximum.
Thank you Deana for this great up-date. As you say, The Mead used to print up to four issues per year but now we aim to publish monthly. If we can’t print for any reason then items are still available to view on our website 24 hours a day. Anyone can register and self-publish which means items are ready and waiting for us to print in the next available issue.
The Mead is written for Southmead by Southmead and is a space for everyone to contribute stories, news and views and to share events and notices. All events added to the website are printed in the monthly What’s On guide.