In response to discussions with inner city dwellers I have organised a public meeting on the 17th of June at 7.30pm at St Johns Church Hall in Dixon St to discuss the possible establishment of an Inner City Residents Association.

The growth of the inner city population in Wellington over recent years has seen a vibrant community establishing itself in the inner city. However it is not yet a connected community. While those in apartment buildings usually belong to a body corporate these tend to mainly deal with day to day matters, and predominantly only in relation to the building itself.

In the course of meeting people as part of my campaign, wider issues for inner city dwellers have been raised with me, such as Council consultation on resource consents, traffic and parking, safety, and recylcing and rubbish collection. A residents association would have the ability to collaborate on such issues, and make submissions and representations to Council and other relevant organisations.

I want to state for the record that I believe the Lambton Ward councillors are doing a good job as representatives of the residents. However a residents association fills a different purpose, giving the residents themselves a chance to develop their own issues and campaigns and provide a place to share issues and concerns. There are of course a number of residents associations in other parts of the city, and I am inviting representatives to the meeting to give their perspective on how a residents association might operate.

It goes without saying that this is most definitely not an attempt to create a partisan organisation. I am simply creating the forum to discuss the idea. Its future, or not, is in the hands of residents.You can find more information in the attached media release. I’ve also set up a Facebook event for the meeting. I would encourage all those who live in the inner city to come along.