Scottish Government

Factors facilitating involvement

Planning officers

Involved

Uninvolved

Displays

Workshops

Website

Negative views of local government

More transparency and accountability within the planning system.

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Independent committee or person involved in planning decisions to avoid corruption.

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Include lay people from local area in decision-making.

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Planning decisions to be ratified by full council to minimise risk of external pressures.

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Councils to be more accountable when it has a vested interest.

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Introduce quality audit or ensure 'stable direction' in planning decisions.

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Make planning less developer-led.

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More co-ordination between Departments / multi-agency approach.

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Decentralise planning.

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Planners going into community (earlier and more often) / intermediary role.

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Right attitude in planners towards public involvement.

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Right attitude in planners towards youth: supportive and encouraging learning.

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Educate planning officers to enable them to hold their ground against central government.

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Unawareness about opportunities to participate

Publicity

Better publicity.

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Flyers / eye-catching leaflets at local authority offices.

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Letters with information on events.

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Make items in newspapers visible rather than use Public Notices section, including articles, letters and advertising.

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Publish news items in minority ethnic language newspapers.

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Item in council quarterly bulletin / paper.

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Use a newspaper supplement within local shops.

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Use local TV.

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Use local radio.

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Use trailers at cinemas.

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Use buses to advertise.

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Use billboards.

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Use public places for displays and notices: e.g. pedestrian precincts, empty shop windows.

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Staffed displays in public buildings (e.g. libraries, museums, housing offices).

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Show informative videos / provide information at Post Offices.

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Put material in libraries.

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Put material in retail stores.

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Put material in community centres to reach youth.

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Give school children notices to take back to their parents.

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Engaging with / targeting people directly.

Personal letters of invitation.

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Use personal visits - 'knocking on doors'.

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Leaflets/flyers sent to those affected.

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Extend neighbour notification obligations for large developments.

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Extend notification to all affected.

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PA notifying residents directly.

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Provide copies of plans directly to community councils.

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Providing information for the elderly.

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Provide information for people with disabilities (such as visual impairment).

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Approach small local groups including minority ethnic interest groups rather than traditional groups (e.g. community councils) to reach the uninvolved.

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Planning officers to engage more with ethnic minorities.

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Use existing networks to access people, 'piggy-backing' on other initiatives

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Specific activities to engage young people.

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Quick turn around of responses from planners to young 'involved' to keep their interest.

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More / better information

Provide more information before meetings.

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Provide more information on plan preparation.

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Provide more guidance for planning application forms.

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Use issues paper.

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Circulate written summaries of current and upcoming issues to local areas.

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Provide information in minority ethnic languages.

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Raise awareness

Increase awareness of planning and opportunities for involvement.

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Explain how people can be involved.

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Prepare guidelines for the public on how to get involved.

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Educate children in planning.

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Universities to promote planning as a career choice among ethnic minorities.

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ICT

Use IT/Internet to provide information and allow comment.

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Feeling that views are not listened to or taken into account

Ongoing involvement / communication

Dialogue / involvement between citizens' and planning officers rather than consultation.

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Early consultation / involvement.

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Consult / disclose before planning application is submitted.

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Extension of consultation periods.

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More continuous consultation.

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Improve communication through a single reception point / liaison person at the council that would provide all requested information first hand.

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Effective communication.

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Valuing local views

Give appropriate weight / listen to residents' views.

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Tap into local knowledge (e.g. through workshops and forums).

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Higher recognition of / responsiveness to community councils.

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Value people's time.

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Training

Train planners, architects and engineers to take account of people's needs.

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Joint training involving professionals and community groups.

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Train professionals to deal with disabled issues.

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Make planning committees aware of their responsibilities towards local residents.

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Lack of specialist or technical expertise

Planning issues to be expressed more simply.

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Use of OS maps.

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Use of aerial photographs.

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Use of technology to create impressions of developments for display throughout the local community.

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Use alternatives to maps in structure plan consultations, such as models, artist impressions, aerial photographs.

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More public-friendly policy documents.

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Lack of council response

Provide feedback on the outcomes of public contributions and on the reasons for these outcomes

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Provide named email contacts.

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The nature of the issue(s)

Build on local interest through addressing specific issues

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Make planning more interesting (especially to young people).

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The nature of social activism

Use community council meetings and other public bodies closer to grassroots community level.

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Positive attitude from community councils towards planning authorities.

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Increase membership of community councils.

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Increase financial support for community councils.

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Build community capacity.

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Community mentoring.

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The costs and benefits of involvement

Widely disseminate results of successful public involvement.

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Demonstrate / explain that public involvement can make a difference.

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Explain what is a realistic expectation (e.g. budget limits).

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The nature of participatory techniques

Use of 'neutral' public venues (stadiums, supermarkets, etc).

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User friendly meetings / workshops.

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User friendly timing of meetings.

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Fuller range of procedures allowing public involvement / appropriate techniques.

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'Planning for Real' exercises involving local people, including schoolchildren.

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Community visioning.

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Train facilitators to manage participatory events.

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Procedural aspects

Involve developers in consultation with the community at an early stage.

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Neighbour notification carried out by another body with clear criteria.

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Neighbour notification carried out directly by PA.

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Site visits and public meetings for developments of certain size.

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Grade types of development depending on how it would affect neighbours and treat differently to a normal planning process.

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State deadline for objections in press rather than the number of days to object.

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Introduce third party rights of appeal.

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General aspects

Change the education of town planners to go back to the 'vision' approach.

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Give the planning system a more holistic approach, including economic development.

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Give planners stronger powers to police development.

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PA to have a long-term plan.

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Scottish Executive to set example in consultation.

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Genuine Community Planning as opposed to 'Agency Planning'.

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Shorten time-scales of plans.

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