This route map lays out reform proposals for empowered community decision-making and the work needed to deliver it. SAS has made some comments (below) which might be useful to remember.
A lot of words, some of them fine, but little practical commitment in the area that matters to us – listening to communities affected by large energy infrastructure planning applications. Still, there are quite a few hostages to fortune, that it might be worth noting, and reminding ScotGov about when they continue to ride roughshod over local communities for the sake of Net Zero. A few phrases taken from sections of the report might embarrass them in due course: “Current approaches rely heavily on statutory consultation and have led in many cases to fatigue and a belief that people are not being listened to, as well as imbalances in representation, all whilst requiring considerable resources from across the public sector to deliver them.”
“It is noted that communities already have statutory rights to input into planning decisions via local place plan processes and therefore these reforms will specifically look to address the need for stronger deliberative and participative mechanisms and rights for community-led planning and to enable greater community participation in the design and delivery of public services.”
“This could include the new models of support for community empowerment, development and participation as well as better co-ordination of existing support services provided by public bodies.”
“It will see a renewed focus on how we support community development in Scotland and how this can prepare and enable communities to take on enhanced powers and responsibilities within local planning and decision-making processes.”
“Developing community groups to the point where they can meaningfully participate in the governance of public bodies, manage complex planning processes, or take informed decisions about public spending requires sustained time, resource and trusted relationships. Without sufficient investment in community development infrastructure, it will be difficult to ensure that all communities – particularly those with fewer assets or greater inequalities – are able to reach the stage of readiness needed to take on enhanced powers and responsibility.”
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