The Tottenham Community Panel
The Tottenham Community Panel is an independent group of local community leaders that formed after the August 2011 riots to look at how to rebuild and improve Tottenham. The formation of the group, chaired by council leader Claire Kober, marked a determination to draw on local ideas and experience to do the very best for the borough both now and in the future. Further information about the group can be found on the about the panel page.
Tottenham Community Panel publishes progress report
The Panel has set out its views on progress in Tottenham since the August 2011 riots (see attached files section for full report).
Panel members unveiled a raft of recommendations in February 2012 that they believed could be key to delivering a brighter future for Tottenham.
The Panel later challenged organisations and public bodies in Tottenham to set out what they’ve done to realise these recommendations. Their report, published as Tottenham approached the first anniversary of the riots, set out where the panel thought progress had been made, and where they felt further effort was needed.
It focused on progress and concerns across the five central themes of:
- Attracting inward investment to create employment opportunities
- Improving the image of the area
- Opportunities and activities for young people
- The relationship between police and the community
- Increasing community involvement
The report welcomes steps taken so far, but says that the pace of change should be accelerated.
Areas welcomed by the report include:
- Progress made in securing investment to improve public spaces and infrastructure and to kick-start major physical change projects
- The commitment to job creation and supporting people into work made by Haringey Council
- The work of organisations who are providing positive activities and opportunities for young people in Haringey
- The funding identified to deliver the new Youth Strategy for Haringey and to support the most vulnerable young people
- The work of Haringey police to bring a greater number of police to neighbourhoods in Tottenham, and to encourage those officers to develop long-term relationships with young people and the community
- The reductions in the use of stop and search and stop and account powers and the shift to a more intelligence based approach
- The example set by young people from Gladesmore School in developing their Song for Tottenham, Everybody Dreams, to share a positive message about Tottenham
Areas where further effort is needed:
- The pace of change needs to be accelerated
- More attention should be given to delivering quick wins and communicating progress
- Maintaining pressure to ensure developers and businesses recruit Tottenham residents, and are challenged to provide positive opportunities for young people.
- Haringey police need to work further to involve the community in the training and orientation of new officers
- Haringey police need to be given more flexibility to continue to keep excellent officers in the borough to provide the continuity in leadership needed for cultural change
- One year after the riots the Metropolitan Police commissioner must urgently deliver his review of community engagement to provide a clear structure through which local people can work with the police.
You can download the interim report from the attached files section below, together with the Panel’s original recommendations After the Riots: Taking Tottenham Forward and notes from the Community Panel meetings.
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