The Neighbourhood Fix It website is an effective way to highlight and report problems in your local neighbourhood.
Put in a postcode and you can pin point the exact location of the issue on a map. Write a brief description, upload a photograph if you wish, and hit send.
Details are sent by email to your local Council and they are published on the Neighbourhood Fix It website, where they remain as a potential embarrassment to your local representatives if they fail to act.
A couple of weeks later you receive an email, inviting you to update the page with details of any action that has been taken.
On a personal note, I’ve found that photographs and video in particular are powerful tools for persuading people to do something. They are hard evidence that isn’t going to go away.
So, upload a pic to Neighbourhood Fix It, print some and send to your local MP or pop your video onto a CD (MPEG1 is a good format that everyone can play) and send it to the local council with a note saying it will be put up on YouTube with full details if nothing happens.
The power of photography
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| On the street where I live, residents were fed up with commuters who left their cars parked in a thoughtless way. They parked at junctions, on the pavement and blocked cycle lanes, creating a dangerous situation for other drivers, cyclists and pedestrians. It seemed as if parking tickets were never issued and no one could remember seeing a traffic warden. |
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| Photographs were taken, printed out and sent to the local MP. A couple of days later this was the scene: parking tickets being issued. The streets now have double yellow lines and a new parking scheme. |