1. Stable Way Residents Association
Patrick O’Donnell
Rosemary O’Donnell
John Mongan
John Regan
Rose Palmer

2. Background to Stable Way
• Local Authority Registered
site since 1976
• Based in the Royal Borough
of Kensington and Chelsea -
formerly the Westway (also
known as Latymer Road)
• Approx 100 people on 19
plots
• Community hut/school
• 4 families on the site:
– O’Donnell, Maughan, Mo
ngan, Ward

3. Background to the Residents Association
• Oct 2008: RBKC Supporting People dedicated officer
time enabled support for more frequent/organised
meetings
• August 2010: RBKC Supporting People, the Irish
Traveller Movement in Britain and Westway
Development Trust supported the group to
constitute itself as a formal and legal Residents
Association
• Since constituting itself the Residents Association has
developed its Safeguarding Policy, has insurance, a
bank account and has been successful with a number
of small funding applications

4. Background to the Residents Association
Aims and Objectives
• To promote the interests of all residents on Our Site, and to assist in
maintaining good relations between all members of the community.
• To promote all residents rights in the maintenance and
improvement of Our Site conditions, amenities and the
environment.
• To promote good site management
• To ensure residents on Our Site are fully consulted as part of any
site development and that any such development does not further
isolate or marginalise resident families
• To ensure that the Hut is properly positioned on Our Site and
provides learning opportunities for all members of the community.
• To promote fun and creative, social activities for all members in the
community.
• To represent decisions of the Stable Way Residents Association to
various agencies / bodies delivering services in the area.

5. What does the RA mean to residents?
‘As a community we have a voice when it comes to speaking
with anyone about things that matter to us.’
‘We are not heard as individuals though will be heard as a
community’
‘The resident meetings are a place where we go and meet the
right people to get things done’
‘The RA is something to challenge what the council and others
do, what its doing to the repairs; evictions; site management;
new sites ...’
‘Resident meetings are a good place for people to come down
and identify themselves if they want to work on the site’

6. What has happened since
the RA constituted itself
Secured a number of small grants from
Grassroots Grant:
LAPTOP access for all families and Driving Theory sessions
and practical test.
WDT Small Grants:
Continued WI-FI network, RA Insurance and Driving Theory
sessions and practical test
RBKC Youth Services:
Graf workshops and artwork, family trip to Thorpe
Park, Horse riding
Traveller Aid Trust:
Individual Grants given for White Goods and to
support accredited learning
NIACE – Skills for Adults:
In partnership with NOVA New Opportunity and Al
Hasinaya Moroccan Women's Group, to support digital
literacy through a programme of cooking sessions, driving
theory, producing a cooking book, Christmas celebration
event and engaging Traveller worker on fixed term contract

7. What has happened since
the RA constituted itself
Continued Investment
Westway Development Trust
Ongoing support and investment incl. twice
weekly mini-club; children's Christmas Party, trips to theatre, ongoing
yearly development funding and sporting activities – swimming, climbing –
and facilities for children and young peoples football team
RBKC
Services enabled by Supporting People and incl. Health,
Education, Early Years, Youth, Family and Children
Services. Activity inc. Global Girls, Accredited Nail Beauty
and Care course, Foundation in Alternative Education at
Maxilla College, Vaccination sessions, dentistry on site

8. What has happened since
the RA constituted itself
Site Redevelopment
£250,000 for site redevelopment through the RBKC and Hammersmith
and Fulham local authority funding
New Site Management
From January 2012 KCTMO has taken over the site management of
Stable Way. Residents helped inform this process by sitting on the
interview panel and feeding into the selection process.
‘Without a site residents association we wouldn't have been consulted
on this!’
Involvement in Traveller Inter-Agency Forum
Meeting with Senior Local Authority officers to help ensure that
residents are involved in decisions affecting them

9. What has happened since
the RA constituted itself
Football
A partnership between WDT, QPR and the RBKC Youth Services has
resulted in weekly football sessions for Children and Young People.
The aim that one resident will be trained in Youth Sports Leadership
to continue and grow this activity
BTEC in Gypsy and Traveller Site Management
One individual undertaking site management course with SW
Councils and volunteering with the new site management
organisation in order that he is positioned to be able to apply to
tender for future site management contracts
‘Started doing this so that I can be the manager – not a labourer all
my life.’

10. Some learning from the last year
Managing expectations
- Funding has not always been straightforward to secure and it is crucial that the
application process is transparent with residents being part of the process and
aware that applications are not guaranteed to succeed
- Boxing: 2 professional boxers on Stable Way with the skills, understanding and
contacts to develop boxing activity for young people (boys/girls). One has been
delivering his own self funded sessions though the RA has not been able to
identify funding to continue and extend this
- There are still some bays that are in desperate need of new kitchens and this
will be a focus in 2012-13.
Understanding involvement - starting from where the community is at
‘We dont want to lose our community values and beliefs to be involved.’
Participation
Roughly 7 people attend any one Resident meeting
At the moment some families are represented more regularly than others

11. Some learning from the last year
Equal opportunity for all
Activity is available to all. So that for example, with the ICT all families
gained access to a new LAPTOP.
RA officer roles
Despite initially engaging residents to fill all places (Chairman, Secretary
and Treasurer) the Treasurer post is currently vacant
Training for officer roles has been difficult to move forward
Ingredients to this model
1 Legal Advice, Advocacy and Support
2 Community Development approach
3 Local Authority support and officer involvement
4 Traveller participation worker/mentor employed
As a wise head explained recently at a meeting... “There are no models
just committed people that make it work”