Constructing Consensus: The Case For Community-Powered Development and Regeneration

“The key to unlocking our fraught planning system is to give communities more power and influence to shape local development… The focus thus far emphasises top-down mandates combined with deregulation of the planning system… The whole process is set up to be adversarial, so it is no wonder friction is often the result… By opening out the planning process to enable more and deeper community involvement, it is possible to build consensus rather than create opposition. Our proposition is that a more constructive and engaged role for communities can lead to speedier and higher-quality development…drawing on evidence and case studies which show that when communities are given a voice and influence, both quality and quantity of development can be increased.”