Stable Way Residents Association

Patrick O’DonnellRosemary O’Donnell

John MonganJohn Regan

Rose Palmer

Background to Stable Way

• Local Authority Registered site since 1976

• Based in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea -formerly the Westway (also known as Latymer Road)

• Approx 100 people on 19 plots

• Community hut/school• 4 families on the site:

– O’Donnell, Maughan, Mongan, Ward

Background to the Residents Association• Oct 2008: RBKC Supporting People dedicated officer

time enabled support for more frequent/organised meetings

• August 2010: RBKC Supporting People, the Irish Traveller Movement in Britain and Westway Development Trust supported the group to constitute itself as a formal and legal Residents Association

• Since constituting itself the Residents Association has developed its Safeguarding Policy, has insurance, a bank account and has been successful with a number of small funding applications

Background to the Residents Association

Aims and Objectives• To promote the interests of all residents on Our Site, and to assist in

maintaining good relations between all members of the community. • To promote all residents rights in the maintenance and

improvement of Our Site conditions, amenities and the environment.

• To promote good site management• To ensure residents on Our Site are fully consulted as part of any

site development and that any such development does not further isolate or marginalise resident families

• To ensure that the Hut is properly positioned on Our Site and provides learning opportunities for all members of the community.

• To promote fun and creative, social activities for all members in the community.

• To represent decisions of the Stable Way Residents Association to various agencies / bodies delivering services in the area.

What does the RA mean to residents?

‘As a community we have a voice when it comes to speaking with anyone about things that matter to us.’

‘We are not heard as individuals though will be heard as a community’

‘The resident meetings are a place where we go and meet the right people to get things done’

‘The RA is something to challenge what the council and others do, what its doing to the repairs; evictions; site management; new sites ...’

‘Resident meetings are a good place for people to come down and identify themselves if they want to work on the site’

What has happened since the RA constituted itselfSecured a number of small grants from

Grassroots Grant: LAPTOP access for all families and Driving Theory sessions and practical test. WDT Small Grants: Continued WI-FI network, RA Insurance and Driving Theory sessions and practical testRBKC Youth Services:Graf workshops and artwork, family trip to Thorpe Park, Horse ridingTraveller Aid Trust:Individual Grants given for White Goods and to support accredited learning NIACE – Skills for Adults:In partnership with NOVA New Opportunity and Al Hasinaya Moroccan Women's Group, to support digital literacy through a programme of cooking sessions, driving theory, producing a cooking book, Christmas celebration event and engaging Traveller worker on fixed term contract

What has happened since the RA constituted itselfContinued Investment

Westway Development TrustOngoing support and investment incl. twice weekly mini-club; children's Christmas Party, trips to theatre, ongoing yearly development funding and sporting activities – swimming, climbing –and facilities for children and young peoples football team

RBKCServices enabled by Supporting People and incl. Health, Education, Early Years, Youth, Family and Children Services. Activity inc. Global Girls, Accredited Nail Beauty and Care course, Foundation in Alternative Education at Maxilla College, Vaccination sessions, dentistry on site

What has happened since the RA constituted itselfSite Redevelopment £250,000 for site redevelopment through the RBKC and Hammersmith and Fulham local authority funding

New Site Management From January 2012 KCTMO has taken over the site management of Stable Way. Residents helped inform this process by sitting on the interview panel and feeding into the selection process.

‘Without a site residents association we wouldn't have been consulted on this!’

Involvement in Traveller Inter-Agency ForumMeeting with Senior Local Authority officers to help ensure that residents are involved in decisions affecting them

What has happened since the RA constituted itself

Football A partnership between WDT, QPR and the RBKC Youth Services has resulted in weekly football sessions for Children and Young People. The aim that one resident will be trained in Youth Sports Leadership to continue and grow this activity

BTEC in Gypsy and Traveller Site Management One individual undertaking site management course with SW Councils and volunteering with the new site management organisation in order that he is positioned to be able to apply to tender for future site management contracts

‘Started doing this so that I can be the manager – not a labourer all my life.’

Some learning from the last yearManaging expectations- Funding has not always been straightforward to secure and it is crucial that the application process is transparent with residents being part of the process and aware that applications are not guaranteed to succeed - Boxing: 2 professional boxers on Stable Way with the skills, understanding and contacts to develop boxing activity for young people (boys/girls). One has been delivering his own self funded sessions though the RA has not been able to identify funding to continue and extend this- There are still some bays that are in desperate need of new kitchens and this will be a focus in 2012-13.

Understanding involvement - starting from where the community is at

‘We dont want to lose our community values and beliefs to be involved.’

Participation

Roughly 7 people attend any one Resident meeting

At the moment some families are represented more regularly than others

Some learning from the last year

Equal opportunity for allActivity is available to all. So that for example, with the ICT all families gained access to a new LAPTOP.

RA officer rolesDespite initially engaging residents to fill all places (Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer) the Treasurer post is currently vacantTraining for officer roles has been difficult to move forward

Ingredients to this model1 Legal Advice, Advocacy and Support 2 Community Development approach3 Local Authority support and officer involvement4 Traveller participation worker/mentor employed

As a wise head explained recently at a meeting... “There are no models just committed people that make it work”