John Langan and Keiran Proffer at the allotment in Bassett Street, Kentish Town

• TWO items in the July 18 New Journal highlight the power of the District Management Committee (DMC) in deciding what happens in the Gospel Oak neighbourhood.

First is Dinah Gallop’s letter (So now our area is to have a ‘vision’…), which laments the junking of the 2016 consultation in Gospel Oak. The DMC deemed this to be too widely drawn, that is, too many people were asked their opinion.

Second is the debacle of the Bassett Street garden where a few people with the ear of the DMC have fed misinformation to the council in order to remove a successful community gardening project from a previously unused and derelict piece of land, (Anger at plan to lock up community garden for private use).

Camden Council conducted a consultation with the community about the future of Bassett Street garden but when the result didn’t align with DMC wishes, Camden stated, as it had with the Gospel Oak example, that the consultation had been “flawed” and had to be done again.

The new consultation excluded the Bassett Street Gardening Club which wasn’t even asked for basic information about its use of the space. Camden’s decision to remove the gardening club was taken with information that’s wrong, which is plainly unfair.

The council has probably always had this sort of bias and power relationship with some DMCs – although not all. It is to be expected that the current Labour administration wants to secure its voter base into the future.

However, the two examples given here show a shocking degree of influence over local government process. We need a new form of local politics for the many not the few.

SUE SHEPHERD
NW3