Community councils, which last operated in Southwark in 2016, are to be restored by the Green and Liberal Democrat coalition that took control of the borough from Labour at last month's elections.
Victor Chamberlain is the Lib Dem deputy leader of the council and holder of the neighbourhoods, strategic planning and wellbeing portfolio. He told Southwark News:
"This is something that both parties are very passionate about and making sure that we are supporting and empowering our diverse communities.
"That’s best done by bringing the council back into their neighbourhoods and making sure the council is visible and responding to different challenges.
"We have different challenges but by looking at those issues at a community level, we can create change in a more effective way and spend money more efficiently than presuming that everything is the same, which the previous administration did by being so top down and having everything run from this glass Town Hall on Tooley Street.
"But actually if we talk to communities, if we empower them again, we’ll be able to deliver better change and more long-term change for the communities."
Bringing councils closer to the people is an authentically Liberal agenda. Labour by contrast, has embarked on another round of centralisation in local government.
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