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 Mathew Humphreys
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Just 16 respond to chance to join regeneration board
DESPITE 5,500 leaflets being sent to people giving them the chance to have their say in the running of a Finsbury regeneration body, only 16 responded.
As well as the tiny response rate, EC1 New Deal for Communities have expressed their disappointment that the 16 respondents were all white and aged over 30.
The £52.9million government-funded body appointed to regenerate Finsbury through a 10-year programme, had hoped to attract more young people and those from ethnic minorities.
The 16 who replied were whittled down to a final eight for a new board, which was announced this week.
Organisers sent out 5,500 leaflets – one to every home in the area.
The board has been shrunk from its previous 24 members, 16 of which were democratically elected, down to eight plus chairman Matthew Humphreys. They are aged between 31 and 62 years old and will sit on the board for an unlimited amount of time.
The reshuffle follows the removal last year of Sharon Hayward and Ben Mackmurdie, both of who were outspoken members.
Matters came to a head after they refused to endorse a scheme to build 295 luxury flats.
To ensure there can be no repeat, Dr Humphreys personally anointed the new members along with outgoing board member David Green and regeneration consultant Joan Toovey.
Ms Toovey will have charged New Deal for her time during the new board selection process.
Ms Hayward said: “What we now have is these are people who are happy doing what they are told to do.
“The truth of the matter is that all they wanted to do with this new board composition was to remove any democratic accountability.”
Other members of the new controlled cabal, many of who sat on the previous board, include Rebecca Cresswell, Jonathan Davey, Owen Davey, David Hyams and Penny Seal.
Also selected was shamed Labour candidate Troy Gallagher who at last year’s local elections claimed to have been president of the Oxford University Union when he had not been.
But Leo Chapman, a longstanding board member and respected community activist, had his application flatly rejected.
New Deal chief executive Andy Murphy said at the time the new selection process was announced: “In the first half of the programme there was a need for a broad input from the local community.
“Now the key task is to deliver the delivery plan between now and 2011, and have something that will continue on after this period”
A New Deal spokesman said: “EC1 New Deal for Communities would have hoped for a broader range of applicants from BME backgrounds who could have been recommended to sit on the new board.
“However, going forward, the organisation will continue to encourage residents throughout the community to participate in the work of EC1 New Deal for Communities.”
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