Civic Voice has appeared at fringe events at both the Labour and Conservative party conferences to publicise it’s commitment to increase public participation in the planning system.
Entitled “How can we give communities a greater say in the planning system” the events were an opportunity to tell the story of the movement, argue our case and seek to persuade members of every political party of the importance of our agenda and manifesto.
The Civic Voice Manifesto calls on all political parties to commit to:
- Make improving the quality of the public realm in our cities, towns and villages a priority
- Give all citizens opportunities to actively shape the future of their place
- Give local communities the powers they need to enable their city, town and village centres to prosper.
A panel of leading figures in the field attended the meetings including: Max Farrell of Farrell Consultants - author of the recent Farrell report, Justin Griggs - Head of Policy Development, National Association of Local Councils and, at the Labour Party fringe meeting, Roberta Blackman-Woods - shadow Planning Minister.
Marple Civic Society was represented at the Labour fringe meeting by Alan and Gillian Postill. Gillian told the meeting that Marple faced multiple challenges including 2 new supermarkets, a substantial housing development and a wholly unacceptable road traffic scheme adopted without consultation.
Gillian asked how we in Marple could persuade our council (in Stockport) to adopt the inclusive, multi-professional approach to modern placemaking recommended by Max Farrell and others on the panel.
Panel members urged us to consider the adoption of a neighbourhood plan and/or a parish council for Marple if the current local politicians (councillors) and Stockport council are unwilling to adopt this approach.
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