Regarding community
planning, the Local Government Act of 2000 places a statutory duty
on local authorities to prepare a Community Plan. A Community
Plan is a new type of plan set in the context of
‘neighbourhood regeneration’. It sets out a vision for
the future to improve the well being of communities in economic,
social and environmental terms. Community plans are likely to
be led by communities and produced in partnerships between the
various sectors in the local authority area, including the Council
and other public bodies, businesses, and representatives from the
voluntary sector. It is therefore important to introduce
planning and the management of plans as a practical skill in all
communities.
The strategic aims
of the planning process are to seek to coordinate long-term action
between communities and community support sectors to deliver shared
aims. The ultimate community- planning unit is the
neighbourhood, as defined by a group of people who live and work in
a distinct geographical area. It is at this neighbourhood
level that a bottom-up approach to planning is essential. From the
local authority level, grass roots community plans will provide an
over-arching strategic vision and inputs for other strategies and
plans, particularly the Local Agenda 21, and Local Heritage
Strategies. Both of these top-down strategies focus on the
creation and operation of local bottom-up action plans by community
volunteers. Unfortunately, it is at this level that there is
a dearth of tools and skills in making and sustaining operational
plans year on year, and maintaining top-down/bottom up
communication. Throughout the country, strategic plans
produced by councils commonly hang in a vacuum between the planning
department and the people in communities who have to operate
them.
The UK plan for
sustainable development published in 1994 envisaged communities
managing their own green heritage assets and communicating outcomes
and know-how via a ‘citizen’s environmental
network’. The belief was that a strong local culture,
networked with others, creates a positive identity and functions as
an important ‘place marker’, particularly in a climate
of ‘community regeneration’. This vision will
only be tested and implemented when planning skills suitable for
volunteers have been embedded in communities.
