JERICHO ECHO ARTICLE
March 1983
Most people seem to know when they move into Jericho that it is somehow a special place; a General Improvement Area: an inner city renewal area; an urban village. The word "community" gets bandied around and there is a general agreement that it is a GOOD THING. We have a local community paper too, and a school and shops on the street corners "open all hours" . Somewhere too there is a Residents' Association which is obviously another GOOD THING. So can you join it? What.is it and what does it do? How do you get involved?
Joining. You are a member by virtue of residence within the Jericho G.I.A.(General Improvement Area) and there is no subscription. The area is bounded by Juxon Street on the north and Worcester Gardens on the south and includes the west side of Walton Street to the canal.
What is it? Modern Jericho itself is slightly larger than the original area so designated but there is no mystery either as to its name or its growth. The name derives from the Jericho Inn and the pleasure gardens which once lay behind it and it was all part of Walton Manor. During the 1850s-'90s the present street pattern was laid out and the homes built by speculative property owners to house the growing industrial population. Better class family homes of typical style were built on the main roads west off Walton Street and were never considered part of Jericho which was essentially the core of small terrace houses. Building varied very much in quality and a major slum clearance in the '30s got rid of the worst while the G.I.A. in the '60s removed the rest of the buildings which were beyond repair. Jericho's fame dates from the '60s when local residents opposed the second stage in the City redevelopment plan which was to put a ring road through the area and redevelop it as car parks and office blocks . Some of the Councillors, already troubled by the loss of St. Ebbes and its transformation into the brave new Westgate, were induce ! to reconsider and climbed on the new band wagon of Urban Renewal.
What does it do? The Jericho Residents' Association was born out of the need to co-operate with the Council in implementing these plans. The members of the committee got to know the Councillors and officials and were able to help the residents as go-betweens by dealing with the paperwork and explaining view points and difficulties to both sides. This is what they still do though the heady days of replanning whole streets are over.
How do you get involved? Most people come to meetings because they have a problem: a planning proposal, noisy neighbours, a broken pavement or proud manhole or a parking dispute. They ring up or chat to a member of the committee and generally come to the next meeting to talk it over in detail. We will suggest whom to contact, help draft a letter or petition or organize a protest. Committee members will attend public enquiries and will arrange a public meeting with the Council if necessary. Our present headache is to preserve Jericho as a residential area in face of the tide of multi-occupancy which threatens to turn it into "bedsitland" with a here today gone tomorrow population. The Annual General Meeting will be held in MAY. You will be notified by a slip through your door and posters. It is a public meeting at which anyone can speak and vote. Bring a candidate and elect them onto the committee. See you at the A.G.M.. Christine Cowham Hon. Sec. J.R.A,.