Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities
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New funding to give under represented groups a better say on local planning
Up to £5 million will be committed to promoting new ways to encourage community participation in planning Communities Secretary Hazel Blears confirmed today.
The new grants are part of a major Government drive to put communities in control, strengthen active citizenship and give people more say over local services.
Planning is already one of the most democratic processes with the majority of decisions taken by elected local councillors. But too often decisions become contentious because of the perceived lack of public involvement in decisions that leave under represented groups frustrated and disenchanted.
The planning empowerment grants announced today will help tackle this sense of injustice by encouraging councils to secure greater legitimacy for decisions by placing some power in the hands of local communities generating a vibrant, engaged and healthier local democracy.
Eligible councils could receive up to £70,000 additional funding from the Housing and Planning Delivery Grant to strengthen the legitimacy of their consultation and local decision making process. Also funding from the new £7.5m Empowerment Fund will go to third sector groups who promote community engagement in the planning system.
Councils should use the grants to encourage citizens to actively engage in the planning process and the development of their community through new consultation methods and better access to information. Innovative techniques to involve the community would be encouraged such as citizen's juries, charrettes or Planning for Real(r).
Schemes might to involve traditionally unrepresented people or groups, such as minority groups, social tenants or those on waiting lists, in pre-application discussions, large-scale development proposals, local development master plan preparations, neighbourhood regeneration, section 106 (affordable housing) agreements and plans for decentralised or renewable energy supply.
Hazel Blears said:
"Sometimes people feel that planning decisions are made behind closed doors, or that traditional ways of getting involved, like public meetings, are not for them.
"These new planning empowerment grants will help involve under represented groups from the community in planning through things like citizen's juries and planning for real type processes.
"What better way to find the right solution than asking local people who know their communities best - I want to see the system delivering people planning not process planning."
A key aim of the government's planning reform agenda is to place community engagement at the heart of the planning system. Planning Aid funding has already being doubled to £3.2 million this year, to enable more people to engage with the planning system and benefit from free independent advice to help them comment on proposals.
Notes to Editor
1. Charrette
A charrette usually runs between four and seven days (depending on the complexity of the issues) and involves an intensive series of meetings and design sessions. This time compression facilitates creative problem solving by accelerating decision making and reducing unconstructive negotiation tactics. It also encourages people to abandon their usual working patterns and "think outside of the box." An important objective of the charrette process is to identify areas of disagreement.
The goal of a charrette is to bring decision makers and community members together in one place to create a plan that represents a detailed, feasible agreement -- a consensus which can otherwise take months to achieve.
The French word "charrette" literally means "cart" and is used to describe the final intense work effort expended to meet a project deadline.
2. Planning for Real(r)
Planning for Real(r) is a nationally recognised process of community consultation. It begins with contacting the local community networks and reaches a conclusion with the formation of an Action Plan for taking forward the decisions made during the process. http://www.nif.co.uk/planningforreal/
3. Planning Aid
Planning Aid has been at the forefront of engaging communities in the planning process. Now Planning Aid is working to further widen engagement in the planning process and to give an equal voice to all those involved in planning. It provides free, independent and professional help, advice and support on planning issues to people and communities who cannot afford to hire a planning consultant. Planning Aid complements the work of local authorities but is wholly independent of them.
Planning Aid can help people to:
* Understand and use the planning system
* Participate in
preparing plans
* Prepare their own plans for the future of
their community
* Comment on planning applications
* Apply
for planning permission or appeal against refusal of
permission
* Represent themselves at public inquiries.
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