Guisra (Guisborough Residents Assembly) is an association determined to fight for a better town for its residents. As a truly democratic group we aim to demand the improvements the town so badly needs.

The most important thing Guisra will achieve is turning Guisborough into one of the most liveable towns in the UK. We are not about ad-hoc minor changes to deal with issues but rather proactive identification of how the town can be vastly improved.

Our aims are:-

Aims	Description
Proactive	Rather than wait for the council to propose or impose changes to the town we will proactively create policies and plans to make Guisborough a town known for its excellence. Our project teams will create plans that set our expectations out clearly in areas such as housing estate design, walkability of the town and many other areas where residents have identified that vast improvement can be made.
Imaginative	Through our democratic structure and with strong resident commitment we will be able to think bigger than just mitigating or resolving issues. We will drive for change that may not seem imaginable at the moment. Where the council has tinkered we will imagine greater things and make them happen.
Ambitious	Once we have imagined a better town we will be ambitious. We will not be restricted by what seems impossible. Other countries have done great things with their towns. There is no need for us to accept the present mediocre effort as our lot.
Demand not ask	We are the residents. We are the ones who care and want improvement. It is the role of our council to either fully meet the ambitious designs of the town or at the very least have a plan to achieve them with dates. It is the council’s role to demand funding to achieve improvement, rather than doing as it does now and boasts about how it has managed despite funding restrictions.
Truly democratic	If we are to demand and force change in the town then we need to be a truly democratic organisation. Because our organisation represents the voted for requirements of our town then we have a mandate to demand that the council acts in the interest of the town. An example would be proper consultation on planning for new housing and with our defined structure for how we want it carried out we have a solid foundation for ensuring the council upholds our requirements.
Roadmap	We have an expanding portfolio of what we want to achieve in the town. We will prioritise it – not the council. When fifteen million pounds is made available to the town it must be subject to our roadmap. The council stating they are consulting the residents after already planning where they will spend the money is not acceptable.
Hold our councillors accountable	If a few people raise an issue in the town it may get a mention by candidates at election time, but it is too easy for the issue to be lost in all the other the business going on. Our roadmap is democratically decided and as such tells the council what we want resolving. Failure of our councillors to follow our roadmap would be clearly seen and allows us to elect councillors who act in our interest.
Non-confrontational	Just by the very nature of our local politics it is bound to be confrontational. They represent parties and are answerable to the demands of their party. Even Independents have formed alliances with parties that have meant they pre-decide their stance on any given policy. Our model is completely different. We work together to establish the optimum solution. We ensure nobody gets entrenched in a position of power and we make sure that ambition for power is thwarted by the very design of our organisation. Leadership is temporary in our organisation and leadership positions are to serve.
Politically Non-partisan	This is very important to us. Not only are we not standing for political positions or fighting elections – we also do not judge on terms like left-wing or right-wing. We as residents of the town will avoid such labels and concentrate purely on policies to benefit the town. Most people choose their politics based on the outcome they foresee and that is their business. Our business is to deliver regardless of a person’s personal belief system. Our democratic decision-making structure makes this possible.