Tuesday, 26 June 2007

Having (temporarily at least) passed on primary responsibility for our BASIS business plan, I enjoyed a peaceful night’s sleep for the first time in a week.

At WCVS, the big event of the day was the afternoon meeting to discuss the accommodation needs of Watford’s voluntary sector. There is at least £83m of public money available over the next few years to help voluntary groups acquire property and bring it back into public use. And the Quirk Report puts pressure on local authorities to think more strategically about property management, and to engage with the voluntary sector.

And of course the onus is always on the vountary sector to take the initiative, so I was delighted that so many groups seem prepared to do so: Guideposts Trust, Watford Asian Community Care, Newton Price Centre, Mencap, the Muslim Community Project, NYSA / WRAP, YMCA, the Le Marie Centre, West Watford Community Association, Watford Credit Union, Signposts, Watford Women Centre, Watford Rape Crisis and Watford CAB.

There was one particularly interesting discussion about the exact meaning of the term “community purpose” which features in many planning consents. Several people felt that this phase was interpreted too broadly to include religious purposes, when clearly it ought to pertain to facilities and activities open to the whole community.

At the end of the meeting, after much useful discussion, it was agreed to convene a small working group to lead on the development of a proper strategy on the accommodation needs of the local voluntary sector. Today’s meeting was exactly what the CVS ought to be doing, and if the focus and enthusiasm are maintained, there is so much that the voluntary sector can achieve.