On Saturday morning our canvassing team led by County Councillor Claire Watson was on the Pavillions Estate, part of New Bilton Ward. This is recently completed housing and I was keen to visit for two reasons. The first is that there are a large number of new voters there, recently added to the electoral roll who we may not have previously seen. The second was a front page headline in the Rugby Advertiser a month ago "Living in Fear" and giving an account of "gangs of nuisance youths...who run wild" on this Estate. The matter was discussed at the Commity Forum I attended on Wednesday and I wanted to see whether local residents thought that this description of their area was a fair one. I spoke to many people, all of whom said that that there had been the occasional instance of youths making a noise and riding motorcycles, but nothing untoward. I met one lady whose husband had given an account of the area to the Advertiser which was printed on page 8 this week stating that the portrayal of the estate was wrong and that in two years they had never experienced any trouble. It seems most residents agree. So was the paper being sensational and has their report caused the area to be given a wrong reputation? If so, it's not the only area of Rugby where that has happened recently. An arson attack on the mobility scooters of two elderly residents in sheleted housing in Bilton led to their death, and was rightly a serious matter for the Police who have apprehended two teenagers. This reasonably made headline news in national newspapers, but the Daily Mail painted a picture of Rugby that nobody who lives here would recognise. If we are not to see areas "talked down" in this way, it is important that those reporting such instances ensure that there is a sense of balance.
Sunday 21 March 2010
Pavillions Estate Canvass
On Saturday morning our canvassing team led by County Councillor Claire Watson was on the Pavillions Estate, part of New Bilton Ward. This is recently completed housing and I was keen to visit for two reasons. The first is that there are a large number of new voters there, recently added to the electoral roll who we may not have previously seen. The second was a front page headline in the Rugby Advertiser a month ago "Living in Fear" and giving an account of "gangs of nuisance youths...who run wild" on this Estate. The matter was discussed at the Commity Forum I attended on Wednesday and I wanted to see whether local residents thought that this description of their area was a fair one. I spoke to many people, all of whom said that that there had been the occasional instance of youths making a noise and riding motorcycles, but nothing untoward. I met one lady whose husband had given an account of the area to the Advertiser which was printed on page 8 this week stating that the portrayal of the estate was wrong and that in two years they had never experienced any trouble. It seems most residents agree. So was the paper being sensational and has their report caused the area to be given a wrong reputation? If so, it's not the only area of Rugby where that has happened recently. An arson attack on the mobility scooters of two elderly residents in sheleted housing in Bilton led to their death, and was rightly a serious matter for the Police who have apprehended two teenagers. This reasonably made headline news in national newspapers, but the Daily Mail painted a picture of Rugby that nobody who lives here would recognise. If we are not to see areas "talked down" in this way, it is important that those reporting such instances ensure that there is a sense of balance.
