Weston COG Ideas Jam at Loves Cafe, Weston-super-Mare, 2 May 2012. Picture by Keith Ramsey.

‘Positive warfare’ to help improve town

Report by Alex Evans, Reporter Thursday, May 10, 2012
11:00 AM

SMARTPHONE apps, more independent shops and using community spaces for gardens are just some of the ideas for improving Weston put forward by a new community group.

Weston COG Ideas Jam at Loves Cafe, Weston-super-Mare, 2 May 2012. Photo by Keith Ramsey

Weston Centre Of Gravity (COG) was set up last month and bid for £80,000 of funding to improve the town from the Mary Portas fund, a pot put together by the Government to hand to areas to spend on improvements.

The group held its first ideas session, attended by children, teachers, pensioners and town centre residents in equal measure, at Loves Café in West Street last week.

COG is aiming to harvest ideas before putting them into action itself or taking them to town or district councillors.

Amy Fealey, a teacher at Milton Park Primary School and a resident of Kent Avenue, West Wick, said she wanted to see an app for smartphones to link residents and businesses together.

Such an app could flash up notifications for special deals when passing an independent store using GPS technology, similar to a project currently being trialled in London – Living Plan IT’s Urban OS (Operating System).

Other suggestions included talking to youth groups to ask what they want to see in the town and putting extra train carriages on services.

Sam Maher, one of the leaders of the project, said: “This is about positive warfare. We elect councillors, we pay their money, but we have got to get them to do things for Weston.

“If everyone pitches in, slowly but surely the cogs will turn, because they have to.”

To get involved, go to https://www.facebook.com/WestonSuperMareCommunityCog

22 comments

Revolution is good, at last a group willing to listen to the people and try to implement change, but why do we need such a group when we have a council who will listen and implement change? Don’t get me wrong, if the change that should have been put into practice had happened, we would not be on here complaining and setting up new groups who want to change the world. Oh, by the way I have the Tee Shirt! £80,000 is not going to put a dent in what is needed to restore this town to its former glory, local elections would help, so my suggestion would be vote COG, if they want to effect change and are willing to stand.

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Neptune

Sunday, May 13, 2012
Good man. Stick '@mac.com' at the end of my name to email me and I'll get you on the list. Cheers.

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MarkBradshaw

Friday, May 11, 2012
markbradshaw you send me details and i would gladly attened especially if we could get nsc to sit up and take notice about what people want

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gruf69

Friday, May 11, 2012
Gruf, come to the next meeting, and bring your ideas. I would say that we can't select our diversity though, its either all inclusive or not.

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MarkBradshaw

Thursday, May 10, 2012
your right things do need to improve alot change is good but only if it benefits and so far all the changes in this town seem todo is benefit a minority it would help if nsc listened to the people of this town and not just the old but the young as well we need to stop the rehabs the drunks and the cheap tat shops look back at old books and photos of this town is was once a fantastic looking place with a good divercity of people from working class to the rich now its just yet another town being strangled by politics and the rich few living off perks and sticking 2 fingers up at everyone

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gruf69

Thursday, May 10, 2012
I'm dissapointment at the negativity surrounding something that's been instigated by Weston residents to benefit Weston residents. This isn't about shops and shopping. It is about community development and support. To take back control and have a place that our elderly, young and all in between can enjoy and feel safe in. Trying to attach stereotypes based on views is a little childish. You don't have to be middle class to care. It was, after all, the working class communities of old that had the strongest values and a shared respect and responsibility for those living amongst them. Let's be honest it can't make it worse just based on the real issues people have shared in their comments.

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Catriona Daynes

Thursday, May 10, 2012
The very fact that you are commenting suggests you'd like things to improve, that's great. Do you think it is better that we all stay home & limit our action to commenting on here, or might it be better for us all to get our collective heads together and try to improve things? There's no point arguing about how bad things are, or aren't is there? Personally I'd rather a charity shop than an empty shop, to be honest I'd rather a charity shop than a TopShop but that's just me!

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MarkBradshaw

Thursday, May 10, 2012
Grubby shop fronts that look like they've not had a make over in 40 years. Narrow, dirty streets that aren't, and never were, 'charming'. Old, dilapidated buildings. Oh, and the miserable reactionaries, both in and out of the town hall, who'd like to keep Weston this way..

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shameless contrarian

Thursday, May 10, 2012
I heard a lot of great ideas last Wednesday that could have a real positive effect on this town. They covered sports, cultural events, supporting independent retailers, helping people to get the support they need when seeking workwanting to start up a business, taking derelict and unused spaces and finding uses for them, projects for learning vital skills such as growing, cooking, sewing, finding ways to get the older generations and the younger generations working together on common goals, ideas on how we can band together to make sure we have a strong voice and can tell the councils what we want... Do you want to know how we turn this town around? We try. Us, not the council or the politicians or Batman or whoever else we expect to come rescue us, because they ain't coming. And we stop blaming everyone else for what's happening in this town because if all we do is blame and point the finger, we might as well look in the mirror and point at our reflection. We take these good ideas, we need to find the people who can help us to make it happen and then we need to try. And then we take the next idea. And the next idea. And the next idea. And we engage with everyone - children, teenagers, adults, the elderly, politicians of every hue, working class, middle class, upper class and yes, even the people who are unhelpfully called the underclass. It's my bet that with enough ideas and enough people, we'll pretty soon have a bundle of stuff to be proud of. And if we don't try? If we just sit around on the internet shouting at each other? Well, it's certainly an easier option. But then nothing worth having came easy. I'd rather try than sit by and do nothing. It's up to everyone else in town to make their choice as to which way they'd rather go.

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Sam Maher

Thursday, May 10, 2012
so come on then mark whats your solution to westons problems more rehab places more places for the mindless yobs to sit and drink and abuse members of the public reward the vandals with holidays make sure the old and infirm are too scared to go out or how about free drugs and places to go where a lost generation can shoot up with out fear before planning the next crime to fund a habit most westonians are good people who are fighting a loosing battle in this town with bleeding heart liberals and a council who dont care

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gruf69

Thursday, May 10, 2012
Judgement is not the cure for what ails Weston, it's part of The problem. The small minded attitude of many of westons residents would drive anyone to drink and drugs.

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Mark Anson

Thursday, May 10, 2012
Mark over the past 18 years i've watched this once nice seaside town be destroyed by a constant barradge of bad ideas from nsc friday and sat nights wrecked by mindless thugs and yobs and dont know if you realise we have the highest percentage of drug rehab places and hostels in the uk than anywere else but i guess thats ok because i bet you dont live near the town center so you dont see it day in day out sheltered in your ivory tower sipping g and t and reading the guardian this town needs a big stick taking to it and shaking up and charity and 99p shops arn't the answer

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gruf69

Thursday, May 10, 2012
Those shops you hate so much are there because the market is determined by the buying not the seller. Just don't go in The shop, problem solved. They're not in The way of shops that you want from opening, just looked to all the empty shops for hope that they'll one day open up to sell you A fresh batch of negativity and judgement with your Daily Mail and pepper spray. Some people with addictions are almost human you know. But I've been known to wear a hood so what do I know.

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Mark Anson

Thursday, May 10, 2012
Those shops you hate so much are there because the market is determined by the buying not the seller. Just don't go in The shop, problem solved. They're not in The way of shops that you want from opening, just looked to all the empty shops for hope that they'll one day open up to sell you A fresh batch of negativity and judgement with your Daily Mail and pepper spray. Some people with addictions are almost human you know. But I've been known to wear a hood so what do I know.

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Mark Anson

Thursday, May 10, 2012
Westonman, with all due respect; what?

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MarkBradshaw

Thursday, May 10, 2012
and there are 6 mobile phone shops in the town centre...

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Westonman

Thursday, May 10, 2012
This is organic community activism, plain and simple. Rather than waiting for the council (or the RAF for that matter) to 'fix' things, people are coming together to make their lives and their town a better, friendlier, more interesting place. The council have tried their methods - I'll allow you to judge their success yourselves - and now some people are trying something else. To quote Edmund Burke: "All it takes for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing." WestonCOG cannot be accused of 'doing nothing'.

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Michael Palmer

Thursday, May 10, 2012
This is organic community activism, plain and simple. Rather than waiting for the council (or the RAF for that matter) to 'fix' things, people are coming together to make their lives and their town a better, friendlier, more interesting place. The council have tried their methods - I'll allow you to judge their success yourselves - and now some people are trying something else. To quote Edmund Burke: "All it takes for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing." WestonCOG cannot be accused of 'doing nothing'.

Report this comment

Michael Palmer

Thursday, May 10, 2012
This is organic community activism, plain and simple. Rather than waiting for the council (or the RAF for that matter) to 'fix' things, people are coming together to make their lives and their town a better, friendlier, more interesting place. The council have tried their methods - I'll allow you to judge their success yourselves - and now some people are trying something else. To quote Edmund Burke: "All it takes for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing." WestonCOG cannot be accused of 'doing nothing'.

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Michael Palmer

Thursday, May 10, 2012
how about just closing the town down nsc are doing that already drop a very large bomb on it and start again getting rid of nsc the charity and 99p shops the druggies the alcholics and the hoodies ....

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gruf69

Thursday, May 10, 2012
We are not aiming to 'solve' all the problems this town (and many other towns) face. We are trying to make the place we live in a better place to be, by setting up community projects and spaces that will benefit everyone. And doing it voluntarily too, as we care about where we live. Lyn, there will be more meetings coming up, please come along to one if you have ideas to share on how to improve the town. Want to go on the mailing list?

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karenb

Thursday, May 10, 2012
And this will improve Weston......how? Something needs to be done about the homeless,druggies and alkies as well as getting some decent shops! All we have here are charity shops,pawnbrokers,coffee shops and £99p shops-terrific!

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Lyn Jones

Thursday, May 10, 2012