Whose voice? In prominent Star articles recently, a group calling itself 'Voice of the People' attacked the New Deal regeneration programme. The article quoted Ruggy Johnson and Owen Wright, both Darnall residents, and Ellisa Clarke, an outgoing Burngreave New Deal for Communities (BNDfC) Partnership Board rep. The Messenger can reveal that Ruggy Johnson and Ellisa Clarke recently secured a meeting with Government Office, from which BNDfC was excluded. Rumours are that a proposal was brought forward, including funding for two £40,000 salaries and a £12,000 budget for hire cars. When asked whether Government Office would entertain such a proposal without it going through the usual process, their Press Officer said: "We have advised Voice of the People that any funding proposal must go through BNDfC. Government Office has no funds to allocate."
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in my name Many of us who are active in voluntary and community work in Burngreave are asking who gave 'Voice of the People' a mandate to speak discontent on our behalf? Or when community approval was given for huge financial support for members of the Monitoring Group North, a limited company...? |
| An Apology to Ms Ellisa Clarke regarding the content of this article appears in the May 2003 issue of the Messenger. |
