Residents’ associations are organisations formed by groups of people from a specific geographic community who come together to address issues within their local area and act as a voice for their local community. In the UK many residents’ associations were formed by the newcomer-residents of the housing estates that proliferated between the World Wars.
The majority of associations are structured to include a chair, vice-chair, secretary, treasurer and committee members. These positions are decided by way of nominations at an annual meeting when they can be challenged/altered.
Some associations meet to address one specific issue (and quite often some major and controversial local issue is the stimulus to form an association), while others address a wider spectrum of matters. Some residents’ associations decide to run candidates for local office to increase their leverage, while others decide to remain as advocacy or action groups independent of any political process.
Membership of a residents’ association is normally open to all local people residing in a defined area such as a housing estate, a large residential building, a suburb or an electoral district of local government. They are generally wholly inclusive.
In the past, Alcester has had several active residents associations, some of which have provided an important voice during decisions on local issues. Information on one of these groups is below. However, if you would like to set up a Residents Association for your area please get in touch and we can help you get this started.