What the CCA needs to be successful
There are three aspects to this, the committee, our team of collectors, and our membership. We have outlined the role of each below.
The Committee:
A full committee is a chairman, vice chairman, secretary, membership secretary, treasurer and seven further members. The aim is to meet around four times a year for about two hours. With a full committee tasks can be divided up into sub-committees, members can focus on their own area of interest, and no-one need be overloaded.
The Collectors:
The collectors deliver newsletters door to door two times a year. Ideally a collector will cover their immediate area only, delivering to as few as twenty homes. It takes very little time to deliver these newsletters. We also ask that once a year they collect subscriptions. This can be daunting but once started is in fact a rewarding experience. It offers the opportunity to meet and talk to your neighbours and find out what is of concern to them, and it is always uplifting to receive the many messages of support. Again this does not take up very much time. The problem comes when we do not have enough collectors so areas become too large, or are simply not covered at all. So we need a lot of collectors and we always need new volunteers to come forward to replace those who move away or feel that they have done it for long enough.
The Membership:
We have a large supportive membership in that most households in our area subscribe to our association, but this is not enough. We need a decent number of members to come to the AGM every year and to put themselves forward as collectors or for the committee. This is not a commitment for ever, just decide to do it for three years or for whatever period you are comfortable with.
What the CCA has achieved
It is surprising how few people write to East Hertfordshire District Council (EHDC) to set out their views on planning matters. Such letters can be effective. Equally representations made by the CCA count as representing the views of our membership. We have supported Stop Stansted Expansion (SSE) through the delivery of newsletters and donations. We have worked with Bishop's Stortford Civic Federation (BSCF) encouraging their efforts to represent the community associations in the town as a whole, and commenting on the Local Plan. We have commented on planning issues that damage the character of our area. We have assisted members with their particular concerns, e.g. speeding, over grown verges. We have helped local residents coordinate various campaigns on transport issues. We made representations on the proposed schools' relocation to a site of Whittington Way.
Why the CCA is worth preserving
Just look around the town. Look at the new build, look at how the character is changing, look at the pressure on the infrastructure. The impact of the airport is huge, not just noise and pollution and the health threats that that brings, but the extra development, the loss of green spaces and the damage to Hatfield Forest. The schools proposal would have had a hugely damaging effect on the town. Whilst it is not too hard to keep the CCA going, once gone it will be really hard to recreate.