What NEED does this meet?
Direct and active public involvement in the planning process, allowing complete transparency in te planning process and a vehicle for planning objectors to complain in a more organised and coherent way.
What is the APPROACH?
Endorse or object to a planning application found in the weekly planning list for any given local authority. Anyone can create a campaign asking for endorsements or objections to the selected planning application. They make a statement detailing the reasons for their endorsement/objection. To be fair they should allow their opposition to post similar. Link these statements. Then let the online community contribute. Allow official involvement from people like Heritage and Architectural groups – ie. “Officially objected to/endorsed by …”. Set the deadline for feedback on the application and the day before collate all the material and send it in.
Provide some sort of system for keeping track of applications/campaigns and possibly, a way of ensuring ongoing feedback – especially in the case of public enquiries.
There should also be a way for objectors to make their views known anonymously to the planning authority and to the applicants. Often it is the case that potential objectors are put off by the knowledge that their name and details will become known in this light to planning officers and could prejudice their own planning applications. Therefore a way of anonymously, but validly, posting objections could be used – ie. the site ensures no duplication or spamming and as far as possible correct name and address.
To help involvement there should be a campaign email functionality for campaign leaders to send out summaries and links to like-minded individuals.
There may even be a case for keeping stats on how each planning authority does, especially with “Cause Celebres”.
What are the BENEFITS to people?
Many people only think about objecting after the fact, with this site it becomes easier both to contribute, but also to know what is going on. If there is a way of objecting validly but anonymously there will be more contribution to the planning process, which at all levels seems to be opaque and fairly unaccountable (but that’s my judgement).
What is the COMPETITION?
There doesn’t seem to be this sort of service, only advice.
What BUDGETS & LOGISTICS are required?
Given that the paradigm is already partially achieved through other mySociety sites, and that contacts with local authorities have been forged re: waste, this site is eminently achievable. As to cost: alpha achievable in 6 man-months (given interaction with council sites). And then double it.
Happy to contribute as graphic designer if needed.
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April 26th, 2006 at 10:13am
This is a really important, simple idea which could become used across the country. It uses the best features of online information. I hve recently headed up a big pressure group involving stopping a monsterous tower being built. It would have been tremendously useful to know how other people had opposed similar developments. Instead – I had to start from scratch.
The planning process and guidelines are unbelievably complex and hard to understand. Oh for a website which helped with information in common English,and stories of similar protests etc.
Finally – the one thing which stops people from getting active in figthting planners is the complexity of things. If this was available and simple to use – it could be tremendously effective in stopping greedy propoerty developers from taking over in the ways they seem to be doing.