Penzance Friends behind Citizen’s Panel
‘It is about putting ordinary people in the driving seat.’
A Cornwall Quaker is setting up a citizens’ panel in Penzance to debate the problem of housing and ‘put ordinary people in the driving seat’.
According to project manager Gavin Barker, from Truro Meeting: ‘The process is as important as the outcome. It is about… allowing them [ordinary people] a real say. It is similar to a court jury process that weighs evidence before arriving at a verdict but with one key difference: the aim is to understand an issue in depth and propose solutions rather than to blame or finger point.’
The fifteen-member panel, drawn up by the Cornwall Independent Poverty Forum, will hear presentations on the challenge of: ‘High housing costs, low-paid insecure work, eviction and homelessness are all issues that blight local communities in Cornwall, including Penzance. How can we as a community come together to address these issues?’
The five sessions, which start on 17 October, will end in a report being sent to Penzance Town Council and Cornwall Council, Derek Thomas MP and local political parties. Speakers will come from groups including Cornwall YMCA and Coastline Housing. The panel was selected at random to ‘reflect the population profile of the town, [in] ages, gender balance and housing tenure’.
