Civic Societies together form the largest lobbying group in the UK on matters relating to the urban environment. This Forum is a place for the Planning and Regeneration professions to carefully watch over - excellent for a quick view on any current policy matter affecting Civic Societies.

vernon - 03 June 2010 11:21 AM

Yes I think there are a number of challenges or opportunities. A number of Societies already participate in the Heritage Open Days. Before the election David Cameron talked about celebrating participation in the ‘Big Society’, civic involvement . In 2012 we have the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.
We can either try to compete with these events or try to give them an extra dimension. I feel we should follow the highly successful example of the early Christian church which latched on to pagan festivals.
So, for example, in 2011 we could latch on to Heritage Open days and perhaps add guided walks round bits of our towns which we consider to either be well planned or badly planned or in need of planning

This post makes me repeat my bid for using 24th May—which is far enough away from HODS to not water down that excellent achievement of opening up the built heritage.  Tours are a good idea, but not taking people away from the wide range of heritage focussed places in September.

May is a lovely time to encourage people to open their eyes and get out and about, looking critically.

24th May is before the bank holiday weekend, and it could warm us all up to the ‘summer’.

It also has heritage connections (cultural really), and I think the evolving culture of the civic needs to be re-claimed by local citizens.  It should NOT be permitted to be high-jkacked by local authorities and business boosterism.  It needs to be genuinely locally, organised by local Civic Voice affiliates, perhaps in cooperation with first and second sector organisations. 

I have been very said in the past to see the HODS banner snatched by Swindon’s LA, leaving the Swindon Civic Trust out of the loop, with
events scheduled and promoted in print with no reference to or input from the local Civic Trust.  Let’s make sure that this is a clear local community event, or it will not be worthwhile.  An annual national theme perhaps, but not really necessary.  Better to have national Civic Voice badge and promote a date (24th May!) with the media and other relevant bodies, but leave it to the affiliated CV’s to ‘own’ and shape their day locally. 

How would places which already have something along this line feel about a single date?  What advantages are their to the dates they have been using
—weather, absence of conflicting promotions????

Peter Spawforth - 03 June 2010 12:08 PM

Civic Societies together form the largest lobbying group in the UK on matters relating to the urban environment. This Forum is a place for the Planning and Regeneration professions to carefully watch over - excellent for a quick view on any current policy matter affecting Civic Societies.[/quotet

?...and Market Towns and Villages and Coastal Towns?  Are we thinking of them as small-scale ‘urban’ places? 

Also, I hope to see focus upon People in Places, ie communities or neighbourhoods of PEOPLE not just “environments”.  And I hope to see these people interacting with each other in forming their knowledge base and opinions, not just trying to influence local authoritie/planning bodies.

Now that we are Civic Voice, who will be lobbying “together”?  Shall we rely upon this forum, and act as individual groups, or will there be any coordinated effort to collect, sort and promote any shared (or divergent) views?  Funding….?

I would favour a national Civic Day alot of local events could raise our profiles both locally and nationally

Perhaps we could dissuade David Cameron from using the wince-making “The Big Society Day”, by suggesting a “Civic Action Day” sponsored by Civic Voice.  That would locate the initiative where it should be, with citizens; and perhaps bring the funding needed to make it happen?

Still pushing 24th May…

The Association of Northumberland Local History Societies have been arranging a Round The County Day for some years now and Corbridge Village Trust will host this event in June 2011.
It will be a whole day event and will give us the oppotunity to show off our historic village including guided tours of St Andrewss Church and Historic Dilston, the former home of James Radcliffe the 3rd Earl of Derwentwater.  We will be happy to draw to visitors attention our membership of Civic Voice and will do so again when we host guided walks in the village on Heritage Open Days in September this year. I really feel that there is no place for a Civic Day of this type in the calender.

Michael - the Round the County Day soundls like an ideal initiative which fits very well with the thinking behind the Civic Day.  There is no hard and fast structure for Civic Day - it is a way of providing a focus for the work of civic societies across the country and also helping you gather support and members.