Pledgebank in the press

One of the recent pledges on Barnet Pledgebank asked residents to buy a Christmas gift for one of the borough’s young carers. The council offered to collect donated gifts from local libraries and deliver them to the Barnet Young Carers and Siblings centre for distribution. As reported in the local press more than 80 Christmas gifts were donated by members of the public and staff, which means there will be a few extra smiles on Christmas morning.

This is a great example of how Pledgebank can work.

This winter, the council wants to encourage community minded residents to come together with their neighbours and clear their pavements of ice and snow.

The borough has already had a its first few flakes of snow and while I hope the weather doesn’t deteriorate any further, the recent cold snap is a timely reminder to prepare for the possibility of more substantial snowfall.

The council made an offer on Barnet Pledgebank  to help residents clear snow by providing grit and spreading equipment. The pledge has proved popular with local people, who have signed-up to grit more than 20 streets in the borough. Is your street on the list? Is this something you could help with?

I know that some people are concerned they might be legally liable if a passer-by falls on a patch of pavement they’ve recently cleared, so to remove any doubt, the council has also provided insurance cover.

Barnet made a similar pledge to encourage parents to clear snow from their children’s schools by offering the same support. This idea has also appealed to volunteers and the original target of 25 schools has already been achieved.

Why not have a think about what you could do? Is there something you can offer your community? Is there a local project you want to get started? Why not use PledgeBank to make it happen?

Have you signed up for planning alerts?

There is a service available from Barnet Council that makes it easy to find out about planning applications in your area. The council will send you email updates if you sign up for planning alerts at Barnet’s website.

There is a very simple online form that asks you to choose whether you want alerts about planning applications in your local ward or close to your postcode location. Once you sign up, you will receive an email each time a planning application is lodged for a property in your local area.

Barnet is exploring different way to make information available to residents and the planning alert service is a good example of providing information in a more easily digestible manner.

Planning applications have always been available for public scrutiny but by providing an ‘opt in’ alert service the council has made it much easier for residents to access the information they want.

It is important that residents are involved in planning decisions in their local community and this service will encourage more local people to take a more active role.

Planning alerts, along with other website features such as FixmyStreet and Barnet PledgeBank have improved the online experience for Barnet residents and made it easier to interact with the council.

We will continue to explore new way to engage with residents and provide them with the information they want in ways they want to receive it.

Big Lunch Letter

Following on from my post about the sucess of our Pledge Bank and the Royal Wedding Street Parties, in the Barnet Times today Cllr Kate Salinger writes a great letter about the Big Lunch.

As Cllr Salinger says, email barnet.pledgebank@barnet.gov.uk for an organiser’s information pack or call the council on 020 8359 7293.