Lewisham Council looks set to scrap ward assemblies as it battles to cut its spending by £35m. Ditching assemblies would save the council around £200,000.
A council report on budget savings proposes “ending the funding for the assembly programme.” This would involve a reduction in staffing and the “end of community engagement” through the assemblies.
The 19 assemblies, considered ground breaking at the time, were first set up in 2008 to encourage resident involvement in local issues and improve the engagement of councillors in the communities they represent.
The report acknowledges that local assemblies “are an important consultative mechanism” and provide a way for the local community to prioritise local issues and advise the council.
But in recent years the assemblies have seen their funding all but disappear as Lewisham has struggled to balance its budget in the face of deep government cuts.
Grant funding which enabled local residents communities to fund community initiatives (school clubs, comunity gardens, arts festivals) has gone to be replaced by largely “top down” NCIL funding controlled by council officers and councillors.
Ladywell’s streetscape makeover study more that 10 years ago was funded through the assembly and helped push the council into making a bid for project funding to carry out the work.
Assembly volunteers say ditching ward assemblies would end one of the few ways many local residents can question council officers and councillors on council policies and performance.
“Its disappointing Lewisham council seems to have been steadily eroding and diminishing the assemblies ever since it completed a local democracy review in 2019 aimed at strengthening local democracy and improving the transparency of council decision making,” said one Ladywell assembly volunteer.
“Council decision making can be opaque to most residents at the best of times. Surely ending assemblies will make officers and councillors even less accountable for their decisions.”
Robert Smith, foundeer of the Ladywell Society, said “the last mayor’s democracy review turned out to be a damp squid with the council seemingly even less willing to take account of local groups.
“This issue with the assemblies would seem to be just a further step along the road of this democratic deficit.”
Local groups like the Ladywell Society “now have to step up and, working with our excellent ward councillors, pursue the best interests of Ladywell and beyond.”
Jean Branch, another volunteer on the Ladywell assembly coordinating committee, says ditching the assemblies will be a real loss.
“The assemblies have been a great way of getting input from more people in the wards- for residents to feel they have access to their councillors and to be able to discuss local issues.
“From CPZ’s to local developments, safer neighbourhood policing, the assemblies have provided opportunities for local residents to request council representatives to come and explain plans and initiatives to residents. “
But a council report says the assemblies “are not representative of Lewisham’s communities” and have seen attendance drop in recent years.