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Hull People's Panel – one year on
It's now more than 12 months since Hull residents signed up to have a say on local issues and help improve Hull City Council services
Thousands of Hull people, from many walks of life, are now members of the Hull People's Panel.
Being a member gives them regular opportunities to make their voices heard about matters which affect their local neighbourhoods as well as the city as a whole.
For example, they can comment about the cleanliness of local parks and open spaces, how well maintained they feel roads and pavements are, and many other issues which affect everyday life in Hull.
The panel carries out four surveys a year, either by post, phone, fax or online to ensure the thoughts and opinions of the people of Hull are taken into account to improve council services.
Pat's story
Pat Sullivan (69) is one of the panel members.
A resident of the Beverley Road and Sculcoates area, Pat is proud of where he lives and membership of the panel is one of the many ways in which he makes a contribution to the community.
Another way he gets involved is as a school governor at Pearson Primary School, a responsibility he has held for 25 years.
But however busy he is, he still makes time for the panel.
"We elect local councillors and pay council tax, so it's right that we can influence what Hull City Council does," he says.
"The panel is a good way to get opinions across.
I joined because I want to help reduce antisocial behaviour in my local area and raise the need for more investment along Beverley Road, so it can be smartened up in the way Newland Avenue has in recent years.
"The panel surveys are easy to do – mine arrives by post and I just fill it in and send it back by post the same day."
Guildhall welcomes Wyke
Around 100 panel members from the Wyke area recently gathered at the Guildhall to meet council officers and the lord mayor to look at their survey results in more detail.
"The survey told us 78 per cent of panel members are satisfied with Wyke as a place to live but we wanted to find out exactly what they think is good about the area and what they want us to improve," says Kate Bowers, director of the Wyke Area Team.
"The event was a chance for them to meet the Area Team and give their views and opinions. It went well and they gave us plenty of feedback.
"We had some productive discussions about satisfaction with the neighbourhood and quality of life issues such as crime and fear of crime.
"Using the panel members' input, alongside the Area Committee priorities and wider council targets, we can now work out what actions should be taken in Wyke and the resources needed for them over the next 12 months."
Recycling focus groups
Members of the panel also recently attended four recycling focus groups and the feedback they gave will directly influence the launch of a major new recycling service for the city.
Around 50 residents attended the focus groups – hosted at the University of Hull and at Unity in the Community on Endike Lane – to look at the best way of informing Hull residents about forthcoming changes to their household waste and recycling collection service.
The panel members reviewed three sample versions of publicity material to communicate the changes and chose the one they felt would get the message across in the clearest and most effective way.
(More details of the new recycling service can be found in next month's Hull in print and every household in the city will also be sent a letter explaining what the new recycling service involves and what the changes will mean to them).
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