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Yesterday the House of Commons’ Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee issued a first report on The Future of the Planning System in England.  This follows the 2020 Planning White Paper, Planning for the Future which proposed some radical changes to the planning system. Read my digest of the very interesting points made in the ...

Yesterday the House of Commons’ Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee issued a first report on The future of the Planning System in England.  This follows the 2020 Planning White Paper, Planning for the Future which proposed some radical changes to the planning system. In March this year, while researching People in Planning: Considering Consultation ...

For consultation practitioners, there is some very valuable information to glean yesterday’s House of Commons’ Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee report on The future of the Planning System in England. VIEWS OF THE HCLG COMMITTEE There are strong arguments in favour of consulting at an early stage (ie, on Local Plans): Arguments advanced in ...

People in Planning: Considering Consultation Content is the first in a series of e-books on consultation in planning published by Bang the Table. Find out more about the book’s content and download a copy here.

I was delighted to contribute to Regulation of Extractive Industries: Community Engagement in the Arctic – a compilation of expert opinion on consultation and communication, edited by Rachael Lorna Johnstone & Anne Merrild Hansen and published this week. The book demonstrates how effective public participation is fundamental to the process of change brought about by ...

In countries such as the UK (which has eighty-nine percent digital saturation), online communication is increasingly used in public participation because of its accessibility: its ability to reach people at all times, with immediacy, through a variety of means: its ability to overcome language restrictions, access ‘hard to reach’ groups (particularly commuters, families with young ...

In 1969 the US communications academic Sherry Arnstein identified the terminology of consultation in her Ladder of Participation.  In some respects, Arnstein’s theory is a useful resource by which community involvement can be considered today. Arnstein’s Ladder was intended to reflect the relationship between community and government, identifying poorly-led participation as ‘manipulation’ on the bottom ...

Traditional forms of civic involvement have declined during the twenty-first century:  trades union membership has almost halved since the late 1970s and now comprises less than a quarter of the workforce.  Yet membership of special interest groups has increased substantially.  Nearly 4.5 million people, or one in 10 UK adults, is now a member or ...

In the summer of 2020, Penny Norton, as a member of the Consultation Institute (tCI)’s Environment Working Group, designed a research project for a joint initiative between tCI and APSE (Association for Public Service Excellence).

The rise of the ‘hyperlocal’ website is of critical importance to the planner, developer and local authority.  Not only do hyperlocal websites play an extremely constructive role in promoting and debating local issues, they have considerable campaigning potential and such warrant an understanding by the profession. The term ‘hyperlocal’, which originates from the US, describes ...

My book Public Consultation and Community Involvement in Planning: a twenty-first century guide looks in detail at the way in which consultation has changed so far this century.  From an increased use of co-production resulting in a more qualitative approach, to significant advancements in online consultation, change has been substantial. Looking ahead, is consultation likely ...

Understanding of the potential challenges from the outset is necessary in order for them to be addressed – so what are the reasons for common problems? Access Failure to engage with a wider audience, specifically the ‘hard to reach,’ and to gain responses from the ‘silent majority’. Apathy and consultation fatigue. Clarity A lack of ...