Empowered citizens or hopeful bystanders?
The new political appetite for ‘localism’ in town planning has triggered anxiety within local communities and amongst those charged with making it work, according to new research funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). A study led by Professor Nick Gallent of the Bartlett School of Planning, University College London, looked at how communities in Kent have sought to influence the policies of local authorities and service providers and how, in the recent past, they have engaged with planning professionals around the production of 'parish plans'. The results suggest that