Campaigning for 'Meir Town Council'

07/03/2022

❤️

Members of the Meir Matters group believe a town council will give Meir a stronger voice on local issues

21/05/2021

14/05/2021

Thankyou to everyone who has signed our petition today, we are off to a great start but there’s still a lot of work for us to achieve our target of 1500 signatures🙏🏻

please share if you would and talk to your relatives and other members of your household who are registered to vote for Meir❤️

For the residents of Meir North, Meir South and Broadway.

13/05/2021

MEIR MATTERS - LIKE NEVER BEFORE!

The Kings Arms, The Broadway Cinema, Barclays Bank, Britannia Building Society - we’ve lost them all! Why? Because we are not the decision makers.

BUT THAT COULD ALL CHANGE WITH YOUR HELP!

We want to bring home some of the power and decision making. We want by forming MEIR TOWN COUNCIL.

Stoke-on-Trent unlike all other parts of Staffordshire has no Town or Parish Council’s. That means all of the decisions that affect our area are made my people in Stoke who don’t live here!

By creating a Town Council it means local people make local decisions.

Stoke-on-Trent City Council is a unitary authority, which basically means it makes its own decisions and does not report in to Staffordshire County Council. This means it’s a big area and so any money is spread thinly, wide and far

By having Meir Town Council it means we would have a budget to be used solely in Meir for the benefit of Meir people.

The budget can be used to support local charities and community groups, more facilities, reduce crime, litter as well as making the area more attractive to live.

Your signature today will bring us all one step closer to bringing some of the power home!.

For the residents of Meir North, Meir South and Broadway.

10/05/2021

http://ipt.io/TQYDQ

The following map shows the proposed area that Meir Town Council would cover.

You will see that for the most part the map covers the existing boundaries of Meir North and Meir South. However we have also included Broadway given it’s in the heart of Meir centre.

From a Stoke-on-Trent City Council point of view their boundaries wouldn’t change, what we are talking about is a more local tier of council ran by locals for locals. With this in mind you will see that the part of Lightwood covered by Meir South is not part of our proposal.

As a steering group we believe that the Lightwood locality has very different needs to those of Meir and it would not be fair on either areas to include it.

The map covers a large area of housing, Meir centre and some green space which we believe is important for the health and well-being of Meir Residents.

By signing our petition you are supporting Meir Town Council as a corporate body and the proposed boundaries. The petition will be live from 14-5-2021.

http://ipt.io/TQYDQ

10/05/2021

10/05/2021

We have certainly lost a lot of beautiful buildings over the last decade or two, from the kings arms to the station hotel.

As a local council we would have a bigger voice with planning and development, a louder voice to protect our remaining historic buildings.

04/05/2021

**CALL THIS A PUBLIC CONSULTATION**

As a community group the challenge has been dealing with any kind of authority, basically the people who give us the go ahead to bring positive changes to where we live.
Actions or projects voted for by residents that improve our area can be longwinded and near impossible, nothing to do with us.

As a community, How much impact do we have on planning applications? Are we listened to when it comes to changes that directly impact us? No.

Solution : Meir Town Council.

Town and parish councils are the first level of local government. They provide communities with a democratic voice and a structure for taking community action. Theres a few that fall under Staffordshire borough council , Uttoxeter, Fulford, Stone. Currently 0 sit under Stoke on Trent county council so they have complete full control.

Creating Meir Town Council will see the community taking control of local assets, deliver local services and influence decision-making and priorities.

The government wants the experience of creating a town and parish council to become easier for those local communities that believe they would benefit from them. I think that is us.

Proposal;

Change our footprint as evidenced in the document attached to the petition. This will bring Meir South, Meir North and Broadway together as one, as Meir always has been.

We elect 3 committed local residents as councillors for each ward, people who genuinely care about the area in which they live.

We have no political motif, That is irrelevant. The council is to be set up to benefit Meir and the residents only.

THIS GIVE US A LOUDER VOICE.

We will have no contractual obligations to the government like the current council.

Central government are in support of local/parish councils

Communities Minister Stephen Williams:
We want more people to have the opportunity to take control and have a greater say over what goes on in their neighbourhood. Having both a democratically accountable voice and a structure for taking community action.

That is why we are changing the rules and helping campaigners by making it much easier to set them up so they can get on and start making a difference for their local communities.

Could we of saved kings arms? could we of stopped the library move? Could we of saved meir club? No idea but the fact is we need look at the future and only accept the changes that benefit us the people who live here.

If you want more information follow the page, google town/parish councils, message me.

We need 7.5% of residents across the footprint to agree to request a community governance review, the online petition will be released WC 04/05/21

04/05/2021

A community council would deliver:

✅More influence over things that matter to local people;
✅Councillors who live locally and a Community Clerk who can fight their corner;
✅Better services for those living on the housing estates;
✅A local slice of the Local Infrastructure Levy (from planned local developments),
which would reduce any precept;
✅Running some community and leisure facilities, retaining proceeds from their use;
✅A chance to bid to run other local services e.g. managing the Fields and licensing the
market;
✅The development of other community facilities in the locality.

02/05/2021

This is how central government are promoting and supporting the initiative for more local councils👍🏽

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/238996/Government_response_to_consultation_on_making_it_easier_to_set_up_new_town_and_parish_councils.pdf

02/05/2021

As a local council we would operate at a more local level than the county, district and borough councils.

We can impact on a number of local issues, such as the provision of:

✔️allotments
✔️public clocks
✔️bus shelters
✔️community centres
✔️play areas and play equipment
✔️grants to help local organisations
✔️consultation on neighbourhood planning

They also have the power to issue fixed penalty fines in respect of:

litter
graffiti
fly posting
dog offences

01/05/2021

Meir Matters is currently seeking support from local residents for a new local council for Meir to provide improved services, local representation and better support for local voluntary and community organisations.

This is about us controlling our future, rather than relying on others...”

So, just what is a local town council? Local councils are the tier of government closest to the people and usually work in partnership with district or county councils. Across England there are already over 9,000 local councils representing around 15 million people
in areas as diverse as urban city communities, market towns and rural villages. Their aim is simple – to improve community well-being, provide better services at a local level and provide local people with a stronger voice.
A local council could give the local community a greater influence over the issues that affect us all. Local councils across the country are already doing a great deal towards improving community wellbeing and providing better services at a local level.

Local councils might provide, maintain or contribute to the following services: community centres, leisure facilities, local youth projects, crime reduction measures, street lighting, street cleaning, community transport schemes, environmental issues and allotments to name just a few.
Meir matters is petitioning the stoke on trent council to create a new local council for Meir south/Meir North & Broadway.

If we can secure enough signatures stoke on trent council will be required to undertake a community governance review and they will have to consult local residents on the proposal. A community governance review must be completed within 12 months and unless very good reasons exist Meir Matters will have their own local council formed.”

A new local council would provide the community with a focus for tackling the issues that affect us, provide us with a louder voice and enable us to more easily tackle the issues that we face 💕