Rules to help residents block wind farms and supermarkets ‘tokenistic’
I spoke about Neighbourhood Planning at the summer symposium of the Society of Local Council Clerks on Wednesday. A better and more positive environment amongst people dedicated to local action would be hard to find. I think they also liked what I had to say which helps! In essence my message was that Neighbourhood Planning whilst well conceived has scope for many unintended consequences. My good friend Brian Wilson has been on the case for a while and he completed an RSN based survey with almost 400 respondents on views about NPs six months ago.
This article looks at NPs through the lens of wind farms and supermarkets. It tells us:
The Localism Act gives communities the opportunity to draw up ‘neighbourhood plans’ that councils would have to abide by.
It was hoped the new rules would help stop unpopular development in areas important to the community, such as local parks and green spaces.
The Government also used the localism agenda as a way to justify the controversial National Planning Policy Framework, that the Daily Telegraph and National Trust campaigned to have made into a more community-orientated document.
But the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) believe ‘neighbourhood plans’ will do little to empower local people unless there is more work done to actually engage and educate the community.
The report, written with the think tank ResPublica, describes past neighbourhood consultation processes as ‘tokenistic’ and ‘tickbox exercises’.
The Localism Act gives communities the opportunity to draw up ‘neighbourhood plans’ that councils would have to abide by.
It was hoped the new rules would help stop unpopular development in areas important to the community, such as local parks and green spaces.
The Government also used the localism agenda as a way to justify the controversial National Planning Policy Framework, that the Daily Telegraph and National Trust campaigned to have made into a more community-orientated document.
But the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) believe ‘neighbourhood plans’ will do little to empower local people unless there is more work done to actually engage and educate the community.
The report, written with the think tank ResPublica, describes past neighbourhood consultation processes as ‘tokenistic’ and ‘tickbox exercises’.
If you would like a copy of my presentation on the progress of front-runner areas and or a copy of my summary of Brian’s survey – drop me an email