Council consulting on community involvement in planning

Share this article share on facebook share on twitter

community involvement draftThe latest email newsletter sent out by the Enfield Society draws attention to Enfield Council's current consultation on a draft revised Statement of Community Involvement in Planning.

This updates the earlier policy agreed in 2015 as a result of changes to planning legislation and sets out how the Council expects to consult on a wide range of planning issues including local plans and individual applications. It also sets out what is expected of developers when they bring forward proposals.

The draft document provides a helpful update of planning procedures. The Society will be responding to the consultation during the 6 week consultation period that ends on 9th April 2020.

The Enfield Society also draws readers' attention to Living with Beauty, a report issued by the Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission:

This also has advice and recommendations on strengthening community involvement. In the light of rapid population growth in the Borough and the need to build new homes, the Society wants new developments to be attractive, high quality and in keeping with their surroundings.

Links

Local plan - Community involvement consultation

Living with Beauty - Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission

Enfield Society website

Log in to comment
Posts in discussion: Council consulting on community involvement in planning
Darren Edgar posted a reply
#5272
02 Mar 2020 09:44
Even more "community involvement" will simply empower the N*M*Y* even more at detriment to those desperate to get into much needed housing in the Borough and all manner of other progress and change.
Colin Younger posted a reply
#5276
03 Mar 2020 15:51
Like it or not this is an important document which explains how residents can get involved in planning processes, and how financial levies on developments are made and how they can be used to benefit the community.

However, it's not obvious to me how significantly the latest version has been modified. It would have helped if there had been a summary of these changes.

One of the most useful sections (para 1.7) explains the meaning of key terms behind interactions with the council such as "consulting" defined as" asking for your thoughts and opinions, listening to and acknowledging your concerns and aspirations, and providing feedback on how your input has influenced our decisions".

It's perhaps more limited than might be thought, and doesn't go as far as "involving"(where possible, working with you when designing and developing services to ensure that your concerns and aspirations are properly reflected), or "collaborating" (where appropriate, working in partnership with you when making decisions, seeking your advice and innovation when developing services and utilising your skills and expertise when delivering them.) I won't go in to "empowering"!

The paras on section 106 payments and the Community Infrastructure Levy, though quite complicated are required reading if you want to understand where payments and levys on developments which might then be used to benefit the community comes from and can be used. I don't think that I had seen a reference to the Enfield Neighbourhood Fund before. This benefits from 15% of any section 106 payments (see para 2.7.12).

What I can't see in the redraft is a reference to the Enfield Compact which set out "a code of practice to develop effective ways of joint working across the voluntary, community and statutory sectors." Has it been ditched?
0