The Civic Trust charity has folded.
This is terrible - one of those news items that kicks you in the stomach. And aren't we getting a beating? How will we hope to 'recover and excel' if we lose such a lot in the pit of recession? It started with the banks (and they got bailed out prolifically) then property, manufacturing, retail, local authorities, charities and now the very definition of civic society - the organisation that looks after civic or amenity societies.
I work for the Development Trusts Association and generally we feel somewhat vindicated by events (we try to be constructive rather than saying 'I told you so'!). Development trusts are (and have been since the 1970s) about creating wealth in communities and keeping it there, about being enterprising and ethical in equal measure, about existing at community level in the gaps between the formal sectors in order to take opportunities, make things happen, and strive to make things last.
The QC from the civic trust says the answer is lots of grassroots, bottom-up activity to set up a new organisations. He's right. But it's a great shame to lose an organisation with 5 decades of experience that did some truly excellent work in its time, both at national and local levels (a seminal regen plan for Deptford in the late 1980s for example).
We need solidarity now more than ever - membership networks that are themselves enterprising and active (like the DTA) will help individual organisations survive and thrive.
Jess Steele, 17 April 2009
The Civic Trust charity has folded - a further sign of the catastrophic effect that local councils' financial situation is having on the voluntary sector.
The half-century-old charity that represents more than 700 civic societies across England said it had been hit particularly hard by "the squeeze on local authority spending in the current climate".
The news will be a blow to hopes that residents associations and other informal groups might be able to step in to take over the running of parks, gardens and civic spaces as councils tighten their belts.
The Society of Local Authority Chief Executives & Senior Managers (Solace) and the Chartered Institute of Pubic Finance & Accountancy (Cipfa) are currently working on scenario planning for a period of drastically reduced council funding.
The work could lead to councils seeking greater volunteerism for services such as litter collection and parks maintenance.
Speaking to the BBC on behalf of the Civic Trust, Philip Kolvin QC said: "I still passionately believe in the civic movement, but it now needs grassroots members of vision and energy to start afresh with a new organisation, working within its means and building gradually from the bottom."
Author: Dan Drillsma-Milgro