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Neighbourhood Planning in London Conference
21 September 2022
St Johns Waterloo - 12.30-5.30pm
Neighbourhood planners from across London and beyond will be coming together at our conference on 21 September. You can register free below.
The conference includes a presentation from Tony Armstrong, Locality's Chief Executive, and an update from the Department for Levelling up, Housing and Communities. Locality runs the Neighbourhood Planning Support Programme and the Government update will address the new legislation on neighbourhood planning among other issues.
The event will explore proposals for new Planning Priorities Statements to be prepared by neighbourhood forums with Professor Gavin Parker (Reading University), volunteers from Peckham Vision and Hampstead Neighbourhood Forum and the experience of London Borough of Tower Hamlets in exploring "simpler approaches" to neighbourhood planning with Government support.
We are also running a session on the use of design codes, drawing on the experience of Finsbury Park and Stroud Green working on a pilot programme; and will hear the results of new research into the role of neighbourhood planning and green infrastructure from PhD student Chris Moss.
We are asking all participants to bring copies of their plans, displays and publicity material produced as part of their neighbourhood planning actitvty to share with others.
This is a free event run by volunteers. We will be asking for donations to cover costs.
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Mixed fortunes for new forums - London has four new neighbourhood forums and areas - Lots Road (Kensington & Chelsea), Rothschild Orchard (Ealing), Bell Green (Lewisham) and Charlton (Greenwich). Lots Road and Rothschild Orchard are as requested. Charlton's area was reduced after objections by some councillors and Lewisham rejected a large part of the proposed Bell Green area (excluding the hatch) despite a positive public consultation. Lewisham was also responsible for refusing to renew Deptford Neighbourhood Action as a forum despite its final plan being ready to submit. In better news North Kingston Neighbourhood Forum has been redesignated with full support from Kingston.
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Referendum irregularities in Tower Hamlets - Spitalfields and Banglatown Neighbourhood Forum has mounted a "Defend the Neighbourhood Plan" initiative following serious irregularities in the business vote on its neighbourhood plan. The issues have even reached Private Eye. Tower Hamlets will decide on the plan in early October.
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Distortions in design code funding - The Government prospectus for design code pathfinders reveals significant discrepancies in the way neighbourhood forums are being supported when compared to local planning authorities. Forums can access only £30k compared to £120k and there is a cap on how much they can pay consultants which doesn't exist for local planning authorities. This follows our own research showing local planning authorities in London have received over 50% more financial support from Government to deliver neighbourhood planning than neighbourhood forums since 2013 despite not being responsible for preparing the plans.
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Social Value boosted by neighbourhood planning - The GLA's Sustainable Development Commission has published the results of new research Delivering Social Value through Development and Regeneration: an approach for London. This drew on conversations with a range of community and other groups, including neighbourhood forums. The report identifies neighbourhood planning as showing some of the right ways of securing social value through strengthening the community's role.
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Put neighbourhood planning at heart of a new social covenant - Locality, Create Streets and the New Social Covenant Unit (an initiative of influential Tory MPs) are backing neighbourhood planning in a new report on community-powered planning. It includes support for Street Votes which have received a mixed reception after their inclusion in the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill. Neighbourhood forums are also identified as appropriate forms of local governance to receive additional powers and there is backing for a new community right to own.
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Legislation update - The Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill continues through Parliament, currently under the auspices of Greg Clark as Secretary of State. As Planning Minister he previously led on the Localism Bill that created neighbourhood planning in 2010. We were invited to give oral evidence to the House of Commons Public Bill Committee in July and spoke about the legislation on the 50 Shades of Planning podcast . Our briefing has been widely circulated and explains how the legislation can be strengthened for the benefit of neighbourhood planning.
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State of Neighbourhood Planning in London - Our latest stocktake on neighbourhood planning's progress in the capital was published in June. It's a mixed picture with a rapid growth in the number of completed plans alongside a slow down in the number of new neighbourhood forums coming forward and the average time being taken to complete a plan getting ever longer.
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Neighbourhood planning MAP and LIST - Thanks for all the feedback and updates on the details provided on our Neighbourhood Planning MAP and LIST. Please check your own area and let us know if anything has changed, including contact details, social media, website and your progress with a plan.
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