Southgate District Civic Trust is hoping to enlist the support of local MP David Burrowes for a new Parliamentary grouping that will be seeking to ensure that the views of local communities are taken into account in the planning process.
The new All Party Parliamentary Group for Civic Societies has been set up in conjunction with Civic Voice, a national charity to which Southgate District Civic Trust (SDCT) is affliated. Its initial focus will be on the historic environment, in which context there is concern about the loss of conservation staff employed by local authorities.
SDCT suggested to David Burrowes that he should join the new all party group in order to represent civic societies in his constituency. However, it is unclear whether or not he intends to do so.
See the following communication from SDCT.
Message from Southgate District Civic Trust, 16 November 2015
Please see a press release from Civic Voice concerning the first meeting of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Civic Societies.
With all the changes in legislation, particularly planning, civic societies need help from our politicians to ensure our views are heard. SDCT asked our MP, David Burrowes, if he would be joining this group to represent our local civic societies. Unfortunately, we have not yet received a reply, so we have to assume he was not there.
We will continue to press our MP, to support us.
Civic Voice, the national charity for the civic society movement, held the first meeting of the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Civic Societies today.
The launch, which saw Craig Mackinlay MP proposed and elected to the position of Chair, also decided upon some of key themes for discussion for the group throughout meetings during the coming year. The inaugural meeting also instated William Wragg MP, Natascha Engel MP and Cat Smith MP into officer roles.
The recommendations from the meetings concluded that the group's aim over the next months should be to focus on the historic environment. The meetings during the coming year should specifically reference the impact of the loss of conservation staff, the importance of community involvement in local heritage listing and the impact of development on Cathedral cities.
Ian Harvey, Executive Director for Civic Voice, said "The first meeting of our All Party Parliamentary Group is a really exciting and interesting occasion. The meeting coincided with national Parliament Week when Civic Voice teamed up with Parliament to deliver a series of workshops across the country. As an organisation who values collaboration and who makes the most of the collective strengths of the movement, we are always excited to add new expertise to our group and look forward to working with Craig and others to make the case for the historic environment in the coming months. "
He added "We are fortunate that our movement will now include the breadth of knowledge offered by our Chair, Craig Mackinlay MP and also our Vice-Chair, William Wragg MP".
Craig Mackinlay MP, newly elected Chair of the APPG, commented "The conclusions drawn by the meeting are for the group to focus on the impact of the loss of conservation staff, the importance of a community voice when protecting the local historic environment and the future of Cathedral cities. I now call on all communities across the country to tell their MP to join the All Party Group and to give Civic Voice examples of what is happening to your local historic environment. We will debate these issues in future meetings."