Rushmoor borough councillors have agreed to work collaboratively to help address residents’ concerns as a result of increased community tensions. The council also agreed a £50,000 budget in place to support the work.
At an extraordinary meeting of the full council, members agreed unanimously a motion that stated:
“This Council recognises that the Borough has made strong progress in becoming a welcoming and inclusive place for all, but notes that local community tensions have been raised in recent weeks; with residents feeling unheard, fearful or both. We call upon all involved in registering protest to do so in a peaceful manner.
"Furthermore, this Council strongly condemns violence and intimidation that threatens our democratic way of life and recognises the exceptional role that our local police services have played in keeping our communities safe in recent times.
"In seeking to show strong joined up political leadership this Council further calls upon:
- The Council’s Chief Executive to write to Central Government and our local MP seeking strategic engagement, support and resources to recognise the strain on resources being experienced in Rushmoor’s towns;
- The Council to establish a cross-party working group to work with local community groups and leaders to better understand and address community concerns;
- Those in the community wishing to make a positive difference to join with the Council to develop an enhanced programme of community engagement events;
- The Council to make available an initial budget of £50k to enable this work."
After the meeting, the Leader of Rushmoor Borough Council, Councillor Gareth Williams, said: "I hope that the fact that all councillors supported the proposed course of action on this serious issue sends a very loud and clear message that collectively, we will stand firm and will not tolerate intimidation and violence in any of our communities.
"We remain fully committed to listening to our residents. We will continue to take forward our plans to have genuine conversations with local people about living in Aldershot and Farnborough, what's important to them, how we can bring people together and what sort of place they want the Borough to be. We will keep everyone informed as this develops so that everyone has the chance to be involved."
The Leader of the Opposition, Councillor Gareth Lyon, said:
“Our councillors have had lot of contact from residents, suggesting that it would be good for the council to show leadership and speak with one voice - which was why we brought our motion forward.
“We’re pleased that all parties have signed up to work together on this and look forward to constructive dialogue in the coming months with the other political groups, and all parts of our community.
“We understand that people have legitimate concerns, but we strongly hope that there will be no repeat of any violence and intimidation in our borough.”
The Leader of the Liberal Democrat group, Councillor Craig Card, said: “We welcome the new resolution which will bring all our communities closer together.
“Community groups should be able to debate issues and come to an understanding of those matters. We have a good cross-community heritage and our group look forward to future involvement in this process. We fully support the police in maintaining order and also welcome peaceful protest in our borough.”
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