PUBLICATION OF NOTES ON COOPERATIVE COUNCIL CONSULTATION

As promised, Lambeth Council have now released their notes on the Public Consultation which took place on the evening of 29 August.


The notes can be found at -


http://www.lambeth.gov.uk/Services/CouncilDemocracy/MakingADifference/TheCooperativeCouncil/CooperativeCouncilCommissionMinutes.htm 

Sadly, however, the notes are very condensed and lifeless, and in no way convey the widespread (and unexpected) enthusiasm for the project that was expressed by those attending the meeting; nor do they record the many good (and often highly original) ideas that were put forward by those members of the public who attended and spoke. This is particularly disappointing, as -

1. Only five members of the Commission were present at the meeting, so, presumably, those ideas will be lost to the others; 
2. Those members of the public who attended and contributed may well be discouraged from participating in future meetings, as they may believe this to be another routine formal consultation intended merely to satisfy the requirement to consult: and,
3. Those who did not attend, but might feel minded to contribute to the discussion on the project, could be deterred from participating after reading the plodding and lifeless notes that have been published.

As I understand that more than one device was used to record what was said at the meeting, so it is extraordinary that we have not been presented with a better narrative.

David Prichard-Jones