A community project to encourage residents to have a big say in the development of Newington is gathering momentum.
After an inaugural launch in March of the Newington Matters campaign, interested parties are now gathering tomorrow (May 7) at Newington Community Primary School in Princess Margaret Avenue from 7pm to plan the next steps.
Items discussed previously included street cleanliness and litter, safety, communal areas, and civic pride; the next meeting will flesh out these and other initiatives and formulate a cohesive action plan.
Cliff Stokes, head teacher at Newington primary, said: “The whole purpose is to create a format that gives clear direction of where the community can work together to make Newington a better place in which to live and work.
“So much progress has been made in the last ten years and the next step is to build on that enthusiasm and drive it further,
“There is a growing sense of pride in Newington and what has been achieved and this latest meeting is to harness and focus that energy to make a structured impact over the coming years.
“The first meeting was positive with people agreeing on what they like about Newington and what they think could be improved in general; now is the time to be more specific in the goals that can be realistically attained by the community and other agencies available.”
To launch Newington Matters, Mr Stokes was joined by individuals who represented the town and the team remains together for the May 7 meeting at the school in Princess Margaret Avenue.
Mr Stokes added: “The idea is to formulate a long term strategy that covers most aspects of life in the ward, with the accent firmly on the community driving the agenda forward.
“Once the Newington Matters residents’ team has gelled we will offer support but the idea is that they propel the project forward as they are the people who best know what their area needs.”