Civic site makes complaints heard

A website that allows citizens to report problems to their local councils has been launched.

NeighbourhoodFix-It.com has been in test form for a few weeks and has already 'fixed' several hundred problems, including broken paving slabs and unwanted graffiti.

The site was set up by mySociety, the organisation behind the Number 10 Downing Street e-petitions website.

The site aims to make the reporting of local issues a more democratic affair.

Currently there is no mechanism for the public to see what problems have been reported to councils and how much has been done to fix it.

Civic life

The founders hope Neighbourhood Fix-It can address this lack of accountability.

"It is turning the reporting of faults from a private one-to-one process into a public experience where residents can see if anyone else in the neighbourhood has already spotted and reported a problem and to see how their council is acting on it," said mySociety director Tom Steinberg.

As well as seeing what reports have been filed locally, people will also be able to leave feedback and comments on the problems.

The project has been funded by the Department of Constitutional Affairs in partnership with the Young Foundation's Transforming Neighbourhoods Programme.

MySociety is a registered charity, aimed at improving the way people engage with their civic and community lives.

Its portfolio includes two websites designed to improve the relationship between citizens and their MPs - TheyWorkForYou.com and WriteToThem.com.

The organisation hit the headlines when it created a new section of Downing Street's website to allow anyone to address and deliver a e-petition directly to the Prime Minister.

One of the e-petitions - on the issue of road pricing - drew more than one million signatures, causing embarrassment in Whitehall and leading commentators to herald a new dawn of e-democracy.







Story from BBC NEWS:
Published: 2007/03/08 09:32:31 GMT
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