COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL
GOVERNMENT News Release (255) issued by COI News Distribution
Service. 30 October 2008
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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News Releases: http://www.communities.gov.uk/newsroom