In preparation for the Part 3 interview in just over a week I have been studying the Localism Bill, laid before Parliament last December and due to be enacted by the end of 2011.
The aim of the bill is to fundamentally change the English Planning System by decentralising control from Central and Regional Government to local authorities and local neighbourhoods.
The main measures of the bill can basically be summarised under the following headings:
1/ Local Government
While there are currently only a dozen elected mayors in England, the Localism Bill will give more cities the opportunity to decide whether they want a mayor. This is in my opinion hugely beneficial in terms of raising the profile of English cities and strengthening the importance of urban planning.
London for example, would not have been the same without Ken Livingstone, who appointed Richard Rogers as Chief Advisor on Architecture and Urbanism. His expertise in the field and intuitive understanding of how cities and people interact have contributed greatly to London's recent development and hence his continued role as design advisor to Boris Johnson.
2/ Communities/Individuals
The Localism Bill is aimed at giving local communities groups the right to express an interest in taking over the running of a local authority service.
In consideration of the vast number of trained architects in the country, this will better allow proactive members of the profession with good educated ideas to put them forward and drive improvement at a more local level, potentially reviving the diminishing role of the profession.
3/ Planning Reform
This is in my opinion one of the most controversial part of the bill. The bill highlights that the current planning system does not give members of the public enough influence over decisions that make a big difference to their lives, and contains proposals to make the planning system more democratic. However, a careful balance will need to be struck between democracy and development in order not to slow development and jeopardise the global status of some of England's cities.
The proposal for neighbourhood development plans would be beneficial for smaller cities and towns where the bottom-up approach can sure be applied.
4/ Social Housing
I am most in favour of this section of the bill, which exposes the fundamental flaws of the current social housing system and proposes reforms that will mean more decisions about housing are taken locally, and to make the system fairer and more effective.
Currently, social landlords are normally only able to grant liftime tenancies. As exposed on national news, this can mean that people acquire a social home at a moment of crisis in their life, and continue to live there long after their need for it has passed. 人神共憤. This is only unfair and represents a poor use of valuable public resources.
In summary of the above, I am largely in favour of what the Localism Bill promises. In connection with the issue I had highlighted in my previous post - Rioting & Urban Planning - the bill will make it easier for people to take part in the development of the their communities and hence foster a personal sense of attachment and purpose.
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