Transcript Slide 1

Locality Working Conference
Friday 4th March, 2011
University of Cumbria, Newton
Rigg
Welcome and Introduction:
Will Williams
(Cumbria Leadership Board)
Policy Context:
Clarissa Corbisiero
(Local Government Association)
Localism Bill
Clarissa Corbisiero, Senior Policy Consultant
Local Government Association
The Bill in numbers
– 405 pages
– 208 clauses
– 24 schedules
– Over 140 regulation making powers, order
making powers, guidance, statutory
requirements, duties.
7 Parts of the Bill
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Local government, inc. General Power of
Competence, elected mayors, standards, pay
accountability, repeals of previous legislation
EU Fines
Non-Domestic Rates
Community Empowerment
Planning, inc. neighbourhood planning, Community
Infrastructure Levy, enforcement
Housing, inc. allocation, tenure reform, housing
finance
London, inc. transfer of housing functions and Mayoral
Development Corporations
Powers and Governance
•
General Power of
Competence
•
Elected mayors
•
A return to the
committee system
•
Standards
Big Society
• Local issues referenda
• Community right to buy
• Community right to
challenge
• Neighbourhood planning
Finance
• EU Fines
• Housing Finance
reform
• Community
Infrastructure Levy
• Council tax referenda
Planning and delivery
• Regional Spatial
Strategies
• Duty to cooperate
• Flexible tenancies
• Tenancy strategies
Next steps
• Bill currently in committee
• Write to your local MP or to the Minister
• Template letters available on the LGA website
• Get in touch - [email protected]
National Perspectives on Localism and
Locality Working:
Nick Chase
(Action with Communities in Rural
England)
Locality Working Conference
Locality Working Conference
Nick Chase
ACRE
Director
Policy and Research
What is the Big Society?
• Re-balancing relationships, and expectations,
between the state and civil society
• Local people taking action for themselves
• A focus on small neighbourhoods
• Policy initiatives to support bottom-up decisionmaking and responsibilities
• A shift from ‘engagement’ in shaping public services
to allowing communities to empower themselves
The Localism Bill
• Decentralisation - ‘growth brings reward’
• Neighbourhood Planning – parish councils propel a
community-led vision into a statutory framework
• Right to Build – communities able to develop small
scale mixed developments to bolster sustainability
• Assets of Community Value – safeguarding pubs,
shops or land needed for existing purposes BUT not
NEW purposes
• Right to Challenge – negotiating with public service
providers to retain services in different ways
The Localism Bill (Finance)
• Developer pre-application discussions with
communities as well as local authorities
• Community Infrastructure Levy & devolution to
communities
• New Homes Bonus & devolution to communities
• Cross subsidy – market sites with community
facilities and affordable housing
• Will the ‘rewards for growth’ concept apply to
communities too?
Rural ‘Big Society’ in action
• Independent neighbourhood governance
• Most local community assets under local ownership
• Already delivering some ‘public services’
• Culture of community-led planning to decide on
local priorities
• Support systems well developed
• Rural innovation – integrated services, cross sector
partnerships
Community Led Planning
• 20 years of history of inclusive collaborative
democracy leading to community-led action
• Community organised, involving parish & town
councils and all existing community groups
• Evidenced-based – drawing on community and
public data
• Externally facilitated, but light touch – ensures
inclusion, creates challenge, dialogue and debate
• Takes up to 18 months to complete – the process is
as important as the result
• Facilitation provides brokerage with local
government, service providers and statutory plans
Neighbourhood Planning – we think!
C Explore planning
L
related matters
P
w
o
Remove simple,
r
immediate actions
k
R
H
E
/
etc
Community Led Plan
Neighbourhood plan
Cost actions, define
principles and sitespecific actions
(RtBuild, ACValue)
Section 106/CIL
NDO
Examination
Development Plan Documents
The Localism Bill – the issues
• Centralisation or just premature – significant
aspects to be delivered through secondary regulation
• Sustainable development – how to ensure growth
and protect the environment
• Strategic v. localism – between national and local
government and local government and communities
• Entrepreneurship v. inclusion – impact of articulate
communities and articulate voices within a community
• Empowering v. moribund parish councils – should
they have a privileged position in this?
• Cost, cost and more costs....... Who pays?
ACRE’s involvement with CLG teams
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CLP Local Authority Guide – January
Community Right to Build team– August
Assets of Community Value team – July
Right to Challenge – September
Neighbourhood Planning Sounding Board –
December
Neighbourhood Planning Vanguard Project Steering
Group – December
National Policy Planning Framework – February
Oral & written evidence to the Public Bill Committee
Rural Coalition & Ministerial meetings – December
RICS Land & Society Commission – January
Joint work/meetings with PAS, Planning Forum
RCAN, CLP and planning
authorities
• RCAN members have strategic focus on planning –
have developed LA guidance for CLP
• Only 40% of planning departments ‘supportive of
CLP’, but this was before neighbourhood planning
• Neighbourhood planning – potentially, very expensive
for local authorities – community support is needed.
• Status of LDFs – potential timetabling issues?
• Can we offer a short-cut:
– ‘Fast-track CLPs that have ‘positive planning attitudes’ –
transition to neighbourhood plans
– Can LAs ‘bypass referendum’ stage by inclusion of
appropriate policies in revised LDFs?
Cumbrian Perspectives on Localism
and Locality Working:
Jill Stannard
(Cumbria Chief Executives’ Group)
Workshop Discussion Groups
Cumbrian Locality Working
Practice framing Policy:
Copeland Localities Together
Julie Betteridge,
Head of Development Strategy,
Copeland Borough Council
Presentation Content
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Locality Approach Theory
Locality Development in practice
Resources
Outcomes
Principles
Moving Forward
The Locality Model – West Cumbria
Locality Boards - Governance
Community
Public Service Delivery
Learning Point 1
Early engagement with key partners
Need all three tiers engaged together
For genuine partnership and engagement
Copeland Locality Development
• Commitment to principles, open to
‘participate’ .
• Concerns about the added value.
• Build on existing experience, capacity and
learning.
• Regular Communication – “informed”.
• Support pilot areas – variety approaches.
• Potential to look at long standing issues in
developing locality working arrangements.
Learning Point 2
Recognise sense of belonging and positioning in
and within localities
Work with existing structures where these have
organic roots in the community
Local decisions on sense of place
Learning Point 3
Take time for active engagement
Pace set by local community leaders
Enable sharing and linkages
Learning Point 4
Enable local determination
with
Shared principles, Objectives, and
Methodology
Learning Point 5
Champions essential
Use of advisory mechanisms
Representation agreed at local level
Integration
Enabling resources
Copeland Localities
North
West
Whitehaven
North
East
Copeland
Localities
Together
South
West
Mid
Learning Point 6
Embrace independence and choice
Sustainability of existing community
leadership mechanisms
Inclusive and flexible approach
Learning Point 7
Using and sharing experience and legacy
Balancing boroughwide, locality and
neighbourhood
Widening involvement through doing and
delivering
Learning Point 8
The Plan is the core tool
and requires
Time
To be locally driven
Follow up – Linkages
“enablers”
Focus on Copeland
Partnership Relationships
Communities at core
Neighbourhoods
to
Localities
to
Localities Together
to
Copeland Partnership
Conference
Existing themes
Task and finish
Joint working
Evidence
Resources
Locality Plan
Provider Plans
Evidence
Resources
Influence
Local Input – not just consultation
Shift in service impact assessment
Joint working on LDF and other
strategies
Community Regeneration
Integral elements of Local Strategies
and Plan
Rooted in Regeneration
Rooted in community planning
/development
Learning Point 9
Learning process – building on what
works
2 way process for buy in from
service providers
Sustaining structures need support
Learning Point 10
Listen to past experience
Integrate learning into new designs
Rationalise in partnership
Principles
Activity at the appropriate level
Sustainability through community leadership
role
Inclusive engagement via community planning
and delivery
Evidence based
Shared Partnership (including Locality) Guide
Meeting our Challenges
What
• Service changes and local impacts
• Resource issues
• Communications
How
• Owned and inclusive framework
• Agreed methodology and principles
• Track record - Rooted in community regeneration
• Shared forums
Locality Perspective
Keith Hitchen
Chairman
CALC
Question and Answer Session:
Lunch
Summary of the Morning Workshops
Localism In Cumbria means …
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Building in best practice and pilots
Flexibility
Bottom up, rather than top down
Opportunity to make a BIG difference
The Localism Bill will be good for
Cumbria because …
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Re-energiesing Communities
Enabling Communities
Empowering Communities
Focus on “what really matters”
Consolidating current best practice
What steps can we take to
maximise the benefits?
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Working together, sharing learning
Keep it simple; ensuring engagement
Culture Shift – being open to new ways
Focus on outcomes
Sustainable ways of working and
supporting local economies
The Big Society Vanguard in Eden:
Heart of Eden Development Trust
www.heartofeden.co.uk
Carl Bendelow
Heart of Eden Development Trust
www.heartofeden.co.uk
Heart of Eden Development Trust
www.heartofeden.co.uk
Heart of Eden Development Trust
www.heartofeden.co.uk
The Trust is composed of Directors
representing the local parish councils
Other bodies (District and County Councils,
ACTion with Communities in Cumbria) and
supporting individuals attend board
meetings. These meetings are open to all
who can contribute and are held monthly
Heart of Eden Development Trust
www.heartofeden.co.uk
FUNDING
1 Rural Development Programme England
2 Parish Council Precept
3 County Council grant
Also in time support from
Eden District Council and a host of
community volunteers
Heart of Eden Development Trust
www.heartofeden.co.uk
Action Plan Themes
1 Employment and Tourism
2 Transport and Access
3 Health and Well being
4 Environment
5 Housing
6 Stronger Communities
Heart of Eden Development Trust
www.heartofeden.co.uk
Two new activities since formation of Trust in
September 2010
• Big Society “The elephant in the room”
• Sustainable Energy Eden project (SEE)
Heart of Eden Development Trust
www.heartofeden.co.uk
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The Big Society Eden Vanguard Area
Heart of Eden Development Trust
www.heartofeden.co.uk
Big Society
Support made available for us to look closely at
three projects
1 Transport and access
2 Sustainable Energy from PV’s on Community
Buildings
3 Sustainable Energy from Hydro Power at
Bongate
Heart of Eden Development Trust
www.heartofeden.co.uk
Sustainable Energy Eden (SEE)
Collaboration with consultants (CEA)
• identify which methods of renewable energy are
supported by the local community
• where they could be installed
• how much they would cost
• how they could be paid for
• what they could contribute to lowering our
carbon emissions whilst generating cash and
energy for our community
Upper Eden Community Plan
Libby Bateman
www.uecp.org.uk
What Does Localism Mean For
Planning?:
Roger Roberts
(Action with Communities in Cumbria)
What does Localism mean
for Planning?
Roger Roberts
Chief Executive - ACT
Supporting communities … Championing rural issues
Planning?
Two types of planning
• Spatial/land use – statutory/strategic
• Community led planning –
voluntary/local
Localism = convergence
Neighbourhood Plans “will become the
new building blocks of the (statutory)
planning system”
Supporting communities … Championing rural issues
CLP = Community
empowerment
• Localities defined and owned by the
communities themselves
• ACRE’s 9-step process, best practice tools
and independent support
• Wide and inclusive community involvement
• Effective dialogue with authorities and
agencies
• Focus on actions and delivery
Supporting communities … Championing rural issues
Convergence
Inputs
Process
Product
•ACRE Toolkit
•Facilitation
•Local
Surveys
•Data
Community
Led
Planning
2 part
Neighbourhood
Plan
•LPA dialogue
•Community
views
Supporting communities … Championing rural issues
Outputs
Plan setting out
Local Actions
(incl) Assets of
Value, etc
Spatial proposals
progressed via
Neighbourhood
Dev Order
Discussion
• What would be the benefits of building
on established grass-roots practice?
• What new skills and resources might
be needed:
– By the community?
– In the public sector?
• What difficulties might we experience?
Supporting communities … Championing rural issues
Conclusions and Summary from the
Chair