OPPOSED TO THE BORIS NEMTSOV MEMORIAL DEPOSITED ON SWAINS LANE ROUNDABOUT?
The Issue
THE BORIS NEMTSOV MEMORIAL WAS DEPOSITED ON THE SWAINS LANE ROUNDABOUT ON MONDAY 14th NOVEMBER
NOT CONSULTED?
CONCERNED AS TO HOW THIS COULD HAPPEN?
YOU ARE NOT ALONE!
We object to the lack of due process by Camden Council in the naming of this roundabout.
Regardless of Camden Council insisting that this initiative was executed in the name of Democracy, the process is has been anything but democratic.
There has been no transparency, no local engagement, and no discussion to speak of; residents had no idea what was really to come.
At a time of great financial hardship, Camden Council has spent taxpayers money on a memorial to a person with no connection to the area. Information acquired through the Freedom of Information Act reveals that a minimum of £15,000 has been spent on this memorial. Further information may revise this figure upwards.
Presented quietly as a simple street naming initiative, our research has revealed that this project is anything but. It is a political memorial and an act of political grandstanding by Camden Council at the request of a Russian lobby group who have no connection with the Swains Lane area, but have dictated the process every step of the way.
No neighbourhood should be redesigned, renamed, framed and casually gifted away to lobbyists by virtue signalling councils!
Additionally, in depositing this memorial on the roundabout in Swains Lane, Camden have breached their own ARTWORKS STATUES AND MEMORIALS GUIDANCE 2019. Please see the update posted alongside this petition 14.12.22 which details how Camden have breached almost every single point of their own guidance. One glaring requirement of the guidance is that the memorialised person must have been dead for over 20 years, whereas Boris Nemtsov died in 2015. This is but one of dozens of breaches so please read and pass the message on.
THE ROUNDABOUT AT SWAINS LANE DOES NOT NEED A NAME.
Please sign and share this petition to force Camden Council to remove the signs, remove the plaque, remove the planters and to give the place back to its people, the people that know, love and care for it.
Please note donations made here do not go to supporters of this petition - they are kept by change.org to fund their work.
We plan to further investigate the unjust processes employed which have railroaded this roundabout naming onto the local residents. To this end we have lodged FoI requests with Camden Council and are hopeful this will give us an argument to request removal of the name.
This petition is brought to you by the fledgling organisation the HIGHGATE VILLAGE GREEN PRESERVATION SOCIETY [website coming soon]. To ensure we live in a just community in which democratic values are upheld, join the HIGHGATE VILLAGE GREEN PRESERVATION SOCIETY by emailing HVGPS@outlook.com and requesting subscription.
https://news.camden.gov.uk/camden-council-applies-to-name-area-in-highgate-boris-nemtsov-place/
Petition Closed
The Issue
THE BORIS NEMTSOV MEMORIAL WAS DEPOSITED ON THE SWAINS LANE ROUNDABOUT ON MONDAY 14th NOVEMBER
NOT CONSULTED?
CONCERNED AS TO HOW THIS COULD HAPPEN?
YOU ARE NOT ALONE!
We object to the lack of due process by Camden Council in the naming of this roundabout.
Regardless of Camden Council insisting that this initiative was executed in the name of Democracy, the process is has been anything but democratic.
There has been no transparency, no local engagement, and no discussion to speak of; residents had no idea what was really to come.
At a time of great financial hardship, Camden Council has spent taxpayers money on a memorial to a person with no connection to the area. Information acquired through the Freedom of Information Act reveals that a minimum of £15,000 has been spent on this memorial. Further information may revise this figure upwards.
Presented quietly as a simple street naming initiative, our research has revealed that this project is anything but. It is a political memorial and an act of political grandstanding by Camden Council at the request of a Russian lobby group who have no connection with the Swains Lane area, but have dictated the process every step of the way.
No neighbourhood should be redesigned, renamed, framed and casually gifted away to lobbyists by virtue signalling councils!
Additionally, in depositing this memorial on the roundabout in Swains Lane, Camden have breached their own ARTWORKS STATUES AND MEMORIALS GUIDANCE 2019. Please see the update posted alongside this petition 14.12.22 which details how Camden have breached almost every single point of their own guidance. One glaring requirement of the guidance is that the memorialised person must have been dead for over 20 years, whereas Boris Nemtsov died in 2015. This is but one of dozens of breaches so please read and pass the message on.
THE ROUNDABOUT AT SWAINS LANE DOES NOT NEED A NAME.
Please sign and share this petition to force Camden Council to remove the signs, remove the plaque, remove the planters and to give the place back to its people, the people that know, love and care for it.
Please note donations made here do not go to supporters of this petition - they are kept by change.org to fund their work.
We plan to further investigate the unjust processes employed which have railroaded this roundabout naming onto the local residents. To this end we have lodged FoI requests with Camden Council and are hopeful this will give us an argument to request removal of the name.
This petition is brought to you by the fledgling organisation the HIGHGATE VILLAGE GREEN PRESERVATION SOCIETY [website coming soon]. To ensure we live in a just community in which democratic values are upheld, join the HIGHGATE VILLAGE GREEN PRESERVATION SOCIETY by emailing HVGPS@outlook.com and requesting subscription.
https://news.camden.gov.uk/camden-council-applies-to-name-area-in-highgate-boris-nemtsov-place/
Petition Updates
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Petition created on 7 November 2022