West Cork needs a civic voice

On my recent visit to my hometown of Clonakilty I was so delighted to find a truly delightful Irish country town; the colourful facades; the clean streets; the pedestrian friendly squares; the multiplicity of eating places have made it into a vibrant West Cork town.

In spite of two devastating floods the people of the town, the Tidy Towns group, in particular, have pulled up their sleeves and with the encouragement of the town council and its councillors raised the morale of the populace by restoring it to a vibrant active community. Notwithstanding all the economic gloom, Clonakilty exudes a sense of hope.

On the other hand, I was truly shocked and horrified to hear that the Town council and its elected councillors are about to be abolished. This is a seriously bad decision, a backward step for local democracy.

Who will represent the local community? Are decisions about the town to be made far away in Cork city by people who know little of, or understand even less, the needs of the town? Is this democratic? Far from it. A democratic deficiency looms over West Cork.

Here in the UK (where I live) there exists a very active and thriving civic movement. Hundreds of towns and villages throughout the country have what is known as a civic society. Cities have multiple groups representing individual suburbs, or as is the case of London, boroughs.

These societies are run by a committed group of local people with a strong sense of civic pride; a strong sense of place. They are not aligned to any political party and are run on a voluntary basis. Each society has a written constitution which embodies their aims and objectives. Their remit is wide and covers both the built and the surrounding natural environment. Those objectives are to promote high standards of planning and architecture and to promote a sense of civic awareness.

Some societies will undertake small local projects such as producing a town map identifying key elements of the town, or compiling a photographic history of the town. Others will undertake much larger and long-term projects, such as the restoration of an historic building providing units for small businesses or art studios. Still others will undertake enormous long-term projects such as the restoration of a canal or a river system. The list of what the civic movement has achieved over the past 70 years is endless. But they all started from small beginnings.

Many of them run their own heritage centres which greatly add to the tourist industry in the area. Most run an educational programme for the local people, heightening their awareness of all aspects of the locality. All have a membership drawn from the local community and publish a regular newsletter keeping local people informed. Needless to say, politicians and councils listen to them.

There already exists in Clonakilty (and I’m sure in other towns also) a core group of committed townspeople, ready to form the Clonakilty Society in preparation for and before the demise of their town council and its councillors. Now is the time to get it off the ground.

West Cork needs a civic voice.

Deirdre Clenet (Hurley)

London

England