Community involvement sits at the heart of the planning process.
Evidence shows that enabling people to participate in the decisions
that affect them improves confidence in dealing with local issues,
builds bridges between citizens and the government, fosters
engagement, and increases social capital. It also increases
people's understanding of how decisions are taken, which can
lead to more effective decision making. It can encourage a sense of
ownership for local people in how their area will evolve,
potentially helping communities to embrace developments that might
otherwise cause conflict such as housing or redevelopment schemes.
It is therefore unfortunate that "planning" and
"housing" issues are outside the scope of the Innovation in Democracy Programme (IiDP), an
ongoing government trial into the involvement of citizens in
decision-making. However, the recent announcement on the IiDP's
pilot schemes, each of which relate to the future of town centres
or improving
