the sustainable communities act ameneh enayat local works
TRANSCRIPT
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The Sustainable Communities Act
Ameneh Enayat
Local Works
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Activity
How do you influence change at the local level?
How do you influence your local authority?
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The Sustainable Communities Act
“Britain’s best kept secret”
A channel for influencing change
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Ghost Town BritainThe New Economics Foundation
• Decline in independent shops • Decline in banks and post offices• Decline in public services• Decline in political involvement• Communities fragmenting
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Local Works Formed
• Coalition of over 100 organisations• Sustainable Communities Bill• 5 year campaign to pass the Act• Grassroots campaign• Thousands supported the Bill
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The philosophy of the SCA
• Communities face overwhelming challenges which no council or community can resolve on their own
• Central government is very powerful, they should be able to help, not dictate, with the solutions
• Local people should be the experts to the problems they are facing in their area – they should have a voice
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The Sustainable Communities Act, 2007
• A channel through which local people, together with their councils, can drive government action in their local area
• ‘Bottom up’ power
• You say what you want, rather than Whitehall dictating it
• “I regard the Sustainable Communities Act 2007 as one of the most important pieces of legislation to be enacted in over a decade” Greg Clarke, Minister for Decentralisation, 2007
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The Sustainable Communities Act
Reversing Community Decline
• Post offices and shops closing• Protecting parks and public spaces• Alleviating fuel poverty• Encouraging people to have more say• Influencing public services
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Achievements
• Saved post offices in Sheffield• Discounted business rates to help local shops• Promoted Renewable energy schemes• Closed planning loop holes
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How Does The Act Work?
• Anyone can use the Act, it is not prescriptive
• A council must resolve to use the Act
• The key that unlocks the process
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Activity
• Your council is not using the Act, write down ways you can make your council resolve to use the act
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Please ask your council to use the Sustainable Communities Act!
Write to local councillors requesting that they pass a motion at resolving to use the SCA
Further details: www.localworks.org
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Proposals•Must help the community in a sustainable way
• Promote local economy• Help the local environment• Encourage greater democracy• Encourage greater social inclusion
•Must require government action
• Not valid If the council can already do it
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NOT just another consultation
• Councils must actively seek out proposals
• A legal duty to ‘reach an agreement’ with proposals put forward
• Turning power upside down: “reaching agreement is where you say ‘I can do this and I can’t do that’ and
then have a dialogue about the final decision to be taken together.” Hazel Blears, Secretary for Communities and Local Government in 2007
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The Process
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NOT just another consultation• Government has legal duty to co-operate and reach
agreement on proposals
• Councils have a legal duty to reach agreement with communities regarding ideas they have for help and
action from central government
• The only process that gives local people the power to drive the action central government takes to create local
sustainability
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ACTIVITYYour council is using the act, write down ideas for proposals that would help your area
Environmental - promoting renewable energy, increasing recycling and protecting green spacesLocal Economies – promoting local shops, local businesses and local jobsSocial inclusion – protecting local public services and alleviating fuel poverty and food povertyDemocratic involvement – increasing ways that local people can participate in local decision making, promoting new ways in which people can influence what happens locally
Must be something that requires government action
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www.localworks.org