Area Panels
Change to Community Assemblies
Huge changes to put local people at the heart of decision making, including devolving budgets for parks, libraries, and street cleaning, are being proposed.
Plans for seven Community Assemblies, which will change the way the Council is run, are being drawn up, with a view to their implementation in May 2009.
The new Community Assemblies will build on the success of the current Area Panels, which have been in place for over 10 years. During that time the Panels have successfully engaged residents in local activity and supported the development of voluntary and community groups. However, they have been restricted by limited funding and a lack of power to directly influence and make decisions on local service delivery. This will change with the introduction of the new Community Assemblies.
Area Panels
Sheffield embarked on its Area Action initiative in 1995 and since then has developed a well-established infrastructure of Area Panels engaging all of the city's 84 Councillors in 12 corporate areas. The Panels are an integral part of the Council's political management structure and are at the heart of an approach that aims to:
- Increase the local voice - Regular public Area Panel meetings that debate and inform action on local priorities
- Improve local service - Established networks of link officers (from wide variety of services including those provided by partners) who are engaged in joint working and improving service responsiveness at the local level. Production of annual area plans that outline area needs, priorities and actions that have been agreed to improve on them.
- Support local regeneration - joint working with local regeneration boards, development trusts and forums to achieve a better fit between mainstream and community regeneration activity. Considerable investment of resources by Area Working in helping to strengthen local infrastructure for regeneration and neighbourhood renewal.
The Area Panel meetings are open to the public and are normally held at a local venue in the evening. Meetings are less formal than other meetings of the Council and public involvement is welcomed. There is an opportunity for members of the public to ask questions and submit petitions at these meetings (see the item on the agenda called 'Public Questions and Petitions').
Panels are also consulted on major Council policies and plans which will impact on their particular area.
Agendas and Meeting Dates
Use the links on the left for details of the members on each Panel, meeting dates and agendas (including the minutes and any available reports).
Contact Us
For more about Area Action and each of the twelve areas go to the Area Action webpages. You can also contact the Committee Secretariat (email committee@sheffield.gov.uk or phone 0114 273 5033).
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