Council commits to a new relationship with residents and communities

Listening better, sharing power and harnessing the knowledge, expertise and passion of individuals and communities will be at the heart of a new relationship between Haringey Council and its residents. 
 
The Haringey Deal was launched today (7 November) in Wood Green.  It sets out a series of commitments being made by the council about how it will work differently in the future.  
 
This includes pledges to focus on building greater trust between the council and residents, getting the basics right, learning when mistakes are made and putting things right quickly, empowering communities to make change happen for themselves, and finding new ways to share power with residents and communities.  
 
The Deal was launched on the first day of the Wood Green Voices project which aims to give the people and businesses in Haringey an opportunity to have their say on what they love about Wood Green, what places and spaces are important to them, and what needs improving.  
 
This project is a practical example of the new way of working under the Haringey Deal, with residents at the heart of the conversation.  
 
Wood Green Voices will be only the first of a new and genuine set of opportunities for residents to have their say in decisions that affect them, help design services they rely on and work with the council to solve long-standing and difficult problems.        
 
Cllr Peray Ahmet, Leader of the Council, said:

Haringey’s people are a huge asset.  With all the challenges we face locally and globally, we know that we need to tap into those strengths.  
 
We have heard what residents have been saying to us. That many do not feel they have as much influence on decisions as they would like. That the council doesn’t always seem as open to listening as we should be. That we don’t always learn from our mistakes. I am clear that we will do better.  
 
If we are to achieve our aspirations for a fairer, greener borough that works for everyone, we will need to work with our communities to make change happen. To do this, we need to change the way we work – listening better, sharing power, drawing on the passion and expertise of local people.  
 
The Haringey Deal sets out what we think that new way of working will be.  We won’t get it right all the time and it will take time to really change some of our culture, systems and ways of working but we will start today.   We also can’t do this by ourselves.  We need residents to share their ideas about how we can work better together and to get stuck in themselves.  You can start today by taking part in Wood Green Voices and sharing your thoughts about our town centre – www.haringey.gov.uk/WGV. 

 
A dedicated page has been set up on the council’s website, www.haringey.gov.uk/deal which will be regularly updated with opportunities to get stuck in and help shape our community.