Warning: This post was written in a state of frustration, high dudgeon and anger.<\/p>\n
I remember advising Chris Johnstone<\/a> many months ago not to get too excited about the Vision for Leeds process. \u00a0I had my own visions of some of the city’s best activists getting drawn into bureaucratic processes that would achieve little, instead of doing what activists do best –\u00a0organising\u00a0campaigns, raising awareness and lobbying for change. \u00a0I was cynical about who would listen and what\u00a0would\u00a0change if we did choose to work with the council on their preferred methodologies of Visioning for the City.<\/p>\n But recently I sensed that perhaps I was wrong.<\/p>\n Council employees started to show interest in what we were doing. \u00a0Some expressed\u00a0opinions\u00a0online. \u00a0 To show up at events where ‘we’, ordinary Leeds residents, were gathering to talk and plan about the future not because it was out jobs, but because it was our futures. \u00a0 The tone may have been\u00a0generally\u00a0apologetic and defensive (on both sides) but at least we were talking. \u00a0They were no longer just inviting us into their territory to help fulfil some statutory obligations around consultation, but to step into ours.<\/p>\n Perhaps\u00a0I should at least reciprocate?<\/p>\n So it was with some\u00a0enthusiasm\u00a0that I waited for the launch of the What If Leeds… site, which promised to be a place to share views on how Leeds can become a better place to live, work and play. \u00a0Not withstanding reservations about branding and design, the intent felt right.<\/p>\n The site launched on Monday. \u00a0I wrote a piece. \u00a0I was encouraged to ‘Do the Math’ to save. \u00a0I did the math. \u00a0And my post was lost into the ether. \u00a0I tried again. \u00a0Same result. I swapped browser. \u00a0Same result.<\/p>\n I tried to look at \u00a0another debate. \u00a0But when I clicked the link I was told the debate I was interested in ‘was not found’. \u00a0So I tried to create it. \u00a0But no luck.<\/p>\n A couple of us decided to set up a site that would do the job. \u00a0A simple grou.ps <\/a>site and a wordpress blog<\/a> that would provide all the functionality we needed for free. \u00a0It took us half an hour.<\/p>\n But we were counselled to be patient. \u00a0Let the council fix the site. \u00a0Don’t set up competing sites. (In our mind it was not so much about ‘competing’ but ‘working’. \u00a0We thought we might\u00a0actually\u00a0be helping…).<\/p>\n The Council site was taken down because of ‘technical difficulties’.<\/p>\n Today, Wednesday it came back online. \u00a0I wrote a post and guess what…Groundhog Day. \u00a0Deja Vu! More wasted time….<\/p>\n I was angry and frustrated. \u00a0I still am.<\/p>\n Not primarily\u00a0because\u00a0my time had been\u00a0wasted\u00a0and my words lost. \u00a0Some will\u00a0think\u00a0that no bad thing. \u00a0But\u00a0because:<\/p>\n And the cynics lie both inside and outside of the council.<\/p>\n I know of at least four influential bloggers and tweeters who have attempted to work with the site and would have happily promoted it to their extensive networks, had it done what it said on the tin.<\/p>\n But I also know people who say to me ‘Mike, why do you bother? Even if the site was well designed and worked, do you really\u00a0think\u00a0they would listen?’ \u00a0People who dispense the advice to me that I had dispensed to Chris all those months ago.<\/p>\n And as my daughter said to me this morning. ‘The Council? \u00a0What have they got to do with us?’. \u00a0And for me this says\u00a0everything\u00a0about the work that needs to be done to build the partnership between council and residents.<\/p>\n You can access the What If Leeds site here<\/a><\/p>\n If you have something to say, but that site won’t work for you, then you can access the site we built<\/a> here.<\/p>\n NB This is not an attempt at ‘council bashing’. \u00a0I know and respect many in the council. \u00a0Good people, doing good work. \u00a0They get much very right. \u00a0I was an employee myself for a couple for years. \u00a0It is just a report of my experience and feelings in relation to this one piece of activity.<\/p>\n And hallelujah that the web makes it easy for me to do so!<\/p>\n\n