Continuing the fight to ensure that resident councillors can speak and vote on matters that affect their constituents, Cllr Sue Pearson wrote to the Standards Committee about her latest experience of trying to get a dispensation to speak and vote at a meeting of the Community and Children’s Services Committee on the 12 July. You can read an extract: More dealings with the Standards Committee

Cllr Graeme Harrower (member for the business ward of Bassishaw) wrote a scathing and satirical email to all members of the Court of Common Council on 17 July about a secret meeting held by the then members of the Standards Committee in April. He then followed with an email on July 25 outlining the unanswered points about the current standards regime. You can read both here 'Secret Standards' and 'Unanswered Points'

Unfortunately the attacks on Cllr Sue Pearson have continued as the pressure increases on the Standards Committee: Alderman insinuates I'm a criminal

The chairs of the Barbican Association and GLERA have written again to the Standards Committee urging it to listen to the residents and explaining why its policy continues to disenfranchise them. Read their letter: Residents' dismay at response to petition on the standards regime 

The Standards Committee, following a request from some of the newer members, scheduled an additional meeting for September 6. Several residents attended this meeting to hear what the committee members had to say. Unfortunately they found the petition was simply ignored. Read Cllr Harrower's follow up email.

The Standards Committee met on Friday 4 October to make what was scheduled to be a final decision on its dispensations policy. See letter from GLERA and BA noting lack of response to earlier correspondence and concerns about the agenda for the meeting which largely ignores the petition and resident requests.

As suspected the meeting was unsatisfactory, including a bungled vote. See email from Cllr Harrower setting out the main concerns.

More background on the Petition and subsequent issues can be found here.

Image credit: David Rudlin / The Academy of Urbanism

Golden Lane Estate was a very worthy finalist for Academy of Urbanism's Great Neighbourhood Award 2018. We didn't win but came away with a certificate featuring the amazing image above and a beautiful poem by Ian McMillan:

Golden Lane Estate

All you need, anywhere, are streets paved with gold:
The gold of community, the gold of mutual benefit,
The gold of allotments in the early evening sun
That reflects on the windows of places built for living...

Read the rest here or watch the video