Transcript LOCALISM AND NEIGHBOURHOOD PLANNING FIRST THOUGHTS FROM MICHAEL PARKES FORMER PLANNING WORKER KXRLG, CLAWS AND PAL MARCH 2011

LOCALISM AND NEIGHBOURHOOD PLANNING
FIRST THOUGHTS FROM
MICHAEL PARKES
FORMER PLANNING WORKER KXRLG, CLAWS AND PAL
MARCH 2011
PERSONAL BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT
• MEMBER OF KXRLG . PLANNING WORKER 1990 – 2005
• PERSONAL VIEWS .
• KXRLG HAS AS YET NO FORMAL POSITION ON THE BILL
• SUPPORT THE BILL IN PRINCIPLE
• MOVE FROM TOP DOWN PATERNALISM TO BOTTOM UP
“HELPING PEOPLE TO HELP THEMSELVES”
• WELCOME THE INSTITUTIONLISATION OF COMMUNITY
PLANNING INTO FORMAL PROCESS AND PRACTICE
• NEW DELIVERY AND FUNDING MECHANISMS
• EVENTUALLY MERGE / SIMPLIFY LDF INTO SCS / LAA ?
COMMUNITY PLANNING
NEIGHBOURHOOD PLANNING
• SHOULD BE POSSIBLE IN ESTABLISHED NEIGHBOURHOODS
• PREVIOUS RELATIVE SUCCESS ON FAR MORE
CONTROVERSIAL MAJOR DEVELOPMENT SITES eg :1. KINGS CROSS RAILWAY LANDS INTERIM AND PERMANENT
2. ISLEDON ROAD (FPAG) (completely built)
3. SPITALFIELDS (BANGLADESHI CMTY DEV GROUP)
4. STONEBRIDGE ESTATE (TENANTS ADVANCEMENT C’EE)
5. ELEPHANT AND CASTLE 2001 / 2 (E & C CMTY DEV GRP)
6. WHITECHAPEL CROSSRAIL COMMUNITY LIAISON PANEL
COMMUNITY LED NEIGHBOURHOOD PLANNING
PUBLIC / CVS / PRIVATE SECTOR PARTNERSHIP
AND RESOURCES WILL BE KEY
CREDIBILITY AND CAPACITY ON ALL SIDES
1 : COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION : WHY DO IT ?
Community participation can lead to better planning and
delivery by :1. Building in local knowledge, needs and circumstances
2. Developing local partnerships with important public and
private sector interests
3. Building local “ownership” or a tangible stake in the
product
4. Creating a better informed and empowered local
community
5. Developing local capacity to manage, access funding and
even deliver some of the local services and development
eg Community Gardens, Community Nurseries
2 : COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION : WHY DO IT ?
As a result the Plan is :1. Politically and practically deliverable
2. More responsive to demand
3. Easier to manage and maintain
4. More flexible in its response to changing circumstances
5. More economically efficient with potential for jobs and
training for local people
6. More sustainable
FOREWARNED IS FORARMED
• Inner City communities are not in my experience incapable
of thinking strategically and are not necessarily “nimby”
egKXRLG permanent development proposals 1990,
• Regeneration is about People as well as Place.
Disadvantaged communities would generally prefer to stay
and get a “slice of the action” rather than be “squeezed out”
through the unrestrained workings of the property market.
• There is a legacy of distrust, as well as limited capacity, to be
overcome
• Access independent technical aid.
• Access good research and practice.
COMMUNITY LED NEIGHBOURHOOD PLANNING
FIRST THOUGHTS
• CRITICAL PATH / ACTION PLAN : DO NOT START UNTIL
PROCESS , STRUCTURES , RESOURCES, DEFINITION OF
SOME / ALL NEIGHBOURHOODS ARE BROADLY IN PLACE
• OVERVIEW / STEERING : USE COUNCILLORS / VAC / CEN /
OTHER EXPERIENCE
• BE PRAGMATIC – START WITH THE MOST ESTABLISHED ,
MANAGEABLE, LEAST CONTROVERSIAL , NEIGHBOURHOODS
AND CUSTOMISE / ADAPT PROCESSES ACCORDINGLY
• LIKELY TO BE RELATIVELY FREE OF DEVELOPMENT PRESSURE
• OUTCOME MORE LIKELY TO BE ALONG SCS / LAA LINES
• TEMPORARY USES AND SMALL SCALE SPATIAL AND NON
SPATIAL OUTCOMES
SOME PREREQUISITES FOR PARTNERSHIP
OR COLLABORATIVE WORKING
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MAYBE, UP FRONT, A COMPACT OR CHARTER
THE ABILITY TO PUT YOURSELF IN OTHER PEOPLES SHOES - TO SPEAK A
COMMON LANGUAGE OR DIALECTS OF THE SAME LANGUAGE
CAPACITY AND RESOURCES
TRUST AND COMMITMENT OVER TIME THROUGH THICK AND THIN
GENUINE / CREDIBLE / MUTUAL RESPECT / BEHAVIOUR
SOMETHING IN IT FOR BOTH / ALL PARTIES
COMPROMISE
BROADLY COMMON AGENDA AND OBJECTIVES / ACTION PLAN
SHARING OF INFORMATION / RESPONSIBILITY / POWER
WHILE APPRECIATING DIFFERENCES , SOME MEASURE OF EQUAL SAY
APPRECIATING AND MAXIMISING THE STRENGTHS AND PROGRESSIVELY
ADDRESSING THE WEAKNESSES OF EACH PARTY
VALUE OF “EARLY WINS”
RESOURCES
FIRST THOUGHTS
• All Local Authority Planners , as part of CPD, to work at least
one year in the Neighbourhood / community, as Community
Planners.
• Access / fund CEN and existing CVS networks and experience
in Camden
• Access existing Higher Education and University courses,
teachers, students and researchers eg Bartlett School UCL
• Access London wide independent expertise such as Planning
Aid for London, Community Development foundation,
London Civic Forum etc
• Neighbourhood Council as a Community Development Trust
?