We bumped into a community researcher, a local resident, who had
been busy talking to fellow tenants about their concerns and what they
needed on the Estate. She had been doing this with the support of a
local voluntary group. She was worried and didn’t know what to do. She
had been asked by the local CVS whether or not this work was part of
the Local Area Agreement. If it was not, she was given the impression
that she’d be in deep trouble. What should she do? The voluntary group
decided that now was a good time to have a meeting about the state of
the voluntary sector, the local politics and how to manage the
co-option of their local CVS towards State interests and away from
local autonomy.