2. Planning For Real

PFR is an idea developed and patented by the Neighbourhood Initiatives Foundation (NIF), a charitable trust based in Telford, as a means of involving local people more closely in local environmental planning problems and decision making. This is achieved through active participation and interaction with large scale physical models of the area which, more often than not, involve using the local community to construct the models. In this particular case local school children helped construct the model after the initial sculpting of the local landscape.

The Slaithwaite PFR exercise was co-ordinated for CVT by NIF and part funded by KMC. A 1:1,000 scale three dimensional model of a 2km² area of the Slaithwaite village and valley was constructed by CVT and NIF with the help of local school children (see Figure 1). This was used as a focus for local discussion about planning issues within Slaithwaite. Local people were invited to register their views about particular issues by placing flags with written comments on to appropriate locations on the model. The results of this exercise were then collated by NIF with the potential to feed them back into the planning process via the Local Authority.

Figure 1: Part of the Slaithwaite PFR Model

One of the main aims of CVT is to consult with local people to find out their views, and involve them in local decision making and actions. The main features of the method are:

• the provision of a large scale model of the chosen area on which the public can place ideas and comments about their community now and in the future;
• a completely open ended approach - anything can be said or suggested;
• it is ideally led from within the community;
• it is open to all members of the community at a time when most can participate; and
• it provides information which can be of use to both the local community and the wider local authority in terms of future planning and knowledge of local opinion.

With particular reference to Slaithwaite, which has problems and concerns in common with other villages in the area, it was decided that the village would be the first in the Colne Valley to have the opportunity to undertake the PFR exercise. Additional problems being faced ranged from the disruption the canal restoration would make coupled with more serious traffic problems. There were also many issues surrounding public buildings and many of the old buildings which are in disrepair. With a diverse set of issues and views potentially being expressed by residents in the village the potential for conflict would appear to be inevitable. One of the advantages of the PFR method is that compromise and consensus become easier as all participants efforts become focused on the physical model. This allows practical non-threatening modes of interaction by being anonymous. The placement of a flag on the model expressing a view point has no attachment to an individual, unlike in a public meeting where people can attach a face to a point of view.