community engagement

January 16, 2012 - Communities Minister Baroness Hanham is asking people to vote out policies they think are the weakest links, in a drive to eliminate ineffective and unnecessary regulations from the country's housing laws. more >

January 16, 2012 - Local Government Minister Grant Shapps has insisted that communities will be kept firmly in the driving seat and able to determine the future of their local areas. more >

November 14, 2011 - The much-debated Localism Bill, which includes measures for major reform of the planning system in England, is now waiting for Royal Assent, having completed its scrutiny by Parliament. Read about the Bill online... more >

October 28, 2011 - The government has dropped provisions in the Localism Bill that would have enabled small local groups to call referendums. more >

October 19, 2011 - England needs a networked system of design support, providing local people with access to built environment expertise and advice, according to the newly published Bishop Review. more >

October 19, 2011 - The Brixton Pound marked its second anniversary last month by successfully launching the UK's first local e-currency, as well as unveiling four new banknote designs. The Brixton Pound (B£) is money that sticks to Brixton. It’s designed to support Brixton businesses and encourage local trade and production. more >

October 17, 2011 - The government has produced a new leaflet-form introduction to neighbourhood planning. This is a new way for communities to decide the future of the places where they live and work. This leaflet explains what neighbourhood planning is ; why it matters and how it will work and provides information about the sources of advice and support for communities interested in doing neighbourhood planning. ... more >

October 12, 2011 - Communities will be helped to 'green the grey' thanks to the launch of a new scheme to generate more green space in England’s towns and cities, Environment Minister Richard Benyon has announced. more >

September 7, 2011 - New powers to give local people unprecedented influence to determine the future of their areas are to be tried out in 36 more front-runner areas, Planning Minister Greg Clark has announced. more >

August 8, 2011 - Councils and other public bodies should publish asset lists that will help to identify billions of pounds of potential savings and protect frontline services, Communities and Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles has announced. more >