Planning: "for professionals by professionals" >>> >>> "Local communities feel disenfranchised by a complex, constantly changing process led by non‐elected Local Enterprise Partnerships and implemented by LPAs with little evidence of effective consultation with local communities."

Last month, a report on the planning system was presented to the government:
Local Plans Expert Group: report to the Secretary of State - Publications - GOV.UK
Local Plans Expert Group report to government | Planning Resource

This is part of a general review of planning - with  the Communities and Local Government (CLG) Committee making recommendations at the beginning of this month:
CLG committee recommends review of NPPF | The Planner

- and a gathering of key players at a 'summit' last week:

Government must not 'cherry-pick' local plan report recommendations | Planning Resource

Meanwhile, the 'non-official' bodies have been giving their input:

From the Campaign to Protect Rural England:
Futures Forum: Greenfield vs brownfield >>> "There are enough suitable brownfield sites for at least 1 million new homes."
Futures Forum: "The proposed changes to the National Planning Policy Framework would further weaken the control of planning authorities over local development."

From the Community Voice on Planning:
Futures Forum: "Councils need to do more to identify suitable brownfield sites and to protect their communities against the threat of undesirable development"

CoVoP has just issued its response to the latest report:

A National Alliance to provide communities with an effective voice on planning

Representation on the Report from the Local Plans Expert Group, April 2016

1. Executive Summary

1.1. We are concerned that this report suffers from at least one of the faults listed in the problems with Local Plans in that it is long, with a number of appendices which make it difficult to understand and to comment on.

We have responded to the call for representations as much as we can but are concerned that this type of document is designed for professionals by professionals and that the planning process also affects local people in local communities with little relevant expertise.

2. Paragraph S2

This paragraph is a reminder that the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) provides that “Local Plans should be the key to delivering sustainable development that reflects the vision and aspirations of local communities”

2.1. Our experience is that local communities feel disenfranchised by a complex, constantly changing process led by non‐elected Local Enterprise Partnerships and implemented by LPAs with little evidence of effective consultation with local communities.

What consultations do take place seem merely to pay lip service to the process with few, if any, changes being made to plans as a result of the community feedback.

16.2. The most common complaint of our members is that, contrary to claims from proponents of the NPPF, the local community voice has been ignored.

It is clear from evidence presented to us by our members, many of whom speak for large numbers of people, that the shared experience is one of frustration and that there is a perception of institutional contempt for local opinion and democracy.

Community Voice on Planning | A National Alliance to provide communities with an effective voice on planning, enabling them to protect their greenfield and green spaces.
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