council – Page 2 – The Community Planning Toolkit

HMOs (Houses in Multiple Occupation)

Crowded privately-owned accommodation with a constant turnover of tenants, some of whom behave badly and landlords who seem to see the neighbourhood as simply somewhere to take rent from without putting anything back into it…

In more detail

Poorly managed Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) can endanger the lives of tenants and reduce the quality of life in neighbourhoods in which they are focused. Parliament has given local councils powers to licence some types of HMO; and to ask government for approval to extend these powers more widely to cover HMOs in certain areas.

Legal Definition
An HMO is a building or part of a building (like a flat) which is occupied as a main residence by more than one household (individuals count as separate households and accommodation like Bed and Breakfasts don’t count as HMOs unless they are not the occupants main residence)in return for some form of payment (rent, fees etc) and:

In which more than one household shares an amenity (or the building lacks an amenity) such as a bathroom, toilet or cooking facilities
OR which is a converted building that is not entirely self-contained flats (whether or not there is also a sharing, or lack, of amenities as described above)
OR which is a converted building made up entirely of self- contained flats but where the standard of conversion does not meet the minimum that is required by the 1991 Building Regulations, and more than one third of the flats are occupied under short tenancies.
AND which is occupied by at least three people, none of which is the resident landlord.

Licensing of HMOs
The Housing Act 2004 introduced licensing for HMOs. Under the law there are two types of HMO licensing: mandatory and additional licensing:
Licensing is mandatory (compulsory) for all HMOs which have three or more floors and are occupied by five or more persons forming two or more households.

Councils can impose additional licencing on other sorts of HMO in its area which are not subject to mandatory licensing. A local council can do this if it considers that a significant proportion of these HMOs are being managed poorly enough to cause a problem to tenants or the wider neighbourhood.

Before designating an area to be subject to additional licensing, the local council must be sure that a significant proportion of HMOs in that area are causing problems for tenants or the neighbourhood due to poor management. The council must then apply to government to allow it to extend licencing to the area. The landlords who would be affected are consulted and government approval is needed.

Once an area has been designated, the licensing of HMOs in it becomes compulsory. HMO licensing requires landlords to apply for a licence every five years from the local council to run the property as an HMO. The council can issue a licence for a shorter period if it decides to and it can charge landlords a fee to cover the costs of licensing. Councils do not have to inspect premises to licence them, but they can. They can also require other information that will show the HMO is well- managed.

In making a decision about whether to licence an HMO, the council must decide whether the accommodation is suitable and fit to be used for the purpose; whether the persons running it are fit to do so; whether the property is unsafely overcrowded. Landlords must for example fit smoke alarms, have gas and electrical appliances periodically tested and issue statements of rights to tenants. The council can attach conditions to the licence including stipulating how the licence holder must respond to the behaviour of tenants and the way the property is used.
Unlicensed HMOs

If the council turns down an application to licence a property for use as an HMO, there is a right of appeal to a Residential Property Tribunal. If the landlord is unsuccessful on appeal, then the property may not be used as an HMO. The offence of running an HMO that needs a licence without a licence is punishable by a fine of up to £20,000 on conviction. The council may also gain a rent repayment order for the value of up to 12 months Housing benefit paid to tenants at the property.

Planning Permission

Local councils can require new HMOs to gain planning permission by using what is known as a 'Article 4 Direction'. Some councils have adopted this across their whole council area. Others only require planning permission to convert housing to use as an HMO in certain specified neighbourhoods. In the video below, Councillor Jane Urquhart of Nottingham City Council explains how her council decided to require new HMOs to gain planning permission before conversion:

Key Facts:

Landlords of certain kinds of HMO must apply to the council for a licence. Councils can apply to require additional licensing. Operating without a licence can cost landlords in fines and rent repayments. Many urban councils have taken up additional licensing. You can find out what the rules are about licensing in your neighbourhood from your council.

Page Links from here

HMO Lobby is a network of community groups throughout England who want action on poorly managed HMOs.

The HMO Network provides information about HMOs and licensing. See also - Government information on HMOs

In this toolkit, see:

Antisocial Behaviour

Noise and Nuisance

Licensing

OR you can use the navigation menu above right to look at other parts of the toolkit.

BIRMINGHAM COMMUNITY PLANNING TOOLKIT DEFINITION SHEET This sheet may be reproduced in paper or electromic or any other form but please mention it was made by Chamberlain Forum Limited for Birmingham City Council supported by Department for Communities and Local Government.

created: 2016-06-24 11:28:00

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status: f published

Local Transport Plans

Transport is a key issue affecting neighbourhoods; neighbourhood plans can influence a range of transport issues. There are, however, other ways of influencing issues like parking, cycling and traffic management both at strategic and neighbourhood level.

In more detail

Neighbourhood plans enable communities to influence those aspects of local transport issues that relate to how local land is developed. For example, plans can (given sufficient evidence and so long as what they say is in line with existing local and national policies):

set out the requirement for new roads to support development
earmark sites to encourage ‘modal shift’ away from car use to public transport, walking and cycling
set out measures to tackle the challenges identified in the local transport plan which might include: accessibility; cycleways and footpaths; parking; street traffic and signage.

There are other ways of influencing local transport plans however other than through making a neighbourhood plan.

Who is responsible for what?

There are a number of different types of authority with responsibilities relating to transport:

Highways authorities are responsible for the upkeep of roads including things like potholes,re-surfacing works and .
Traffic authorities are responsible for the way they are used – including things like speed restrictions, parking, road closures and re-design and traffic calming measures.
Strategic transport authorities are responsible for producing local transport plans for their area.

The table below summarises who acts as the Local Highway Authority and Local Traffic Authority; and the Strategic Transport Authority in Metropolitan Areas (West Midlands, Greater Manchester, Merseyside, Tyne & Wear, West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire), London and the rest of England:

	Metropolitan Areas	London	Rest of England
Highways authority for the local road network	City and borough councils	London boroughs	Unitary or County councils
Traffic authority for the local road network	City and borough councils	London boroughs	Unitary or county councils
Strategic transport authority	Combined Authorities	Mayor of London	Unitary or county councils/ Combined authorities

Local councils are only responsible for the maintenance and use of the local road network – which does not include motorways and major trunk roads. The table below shows who is the Highway and Traffic Authority in respect of the strategic road network (motorways and major trunk roads) in the Metropolitan Areas, London and the rest of England:

	Metropolitan Areas	London	Rest of England
Highways and traffic authority for the strategic road network	Highways England	Transport for London	Highways England

Local Transport Plans and Consultation

The first thing to say about local transport plans is that they are not very local. Strategic transport authorities are required to produce them under the terms of the Transport Act 2000 updated by the Local Transport Act 2008. As you can see from the table above, the strategic transport authority is either the Combined Authority (covering several million people), the Mayor of London (serving eight million people) or – outside the metropolitan areas and London - the county or unitary council.

LTPs contain an assessment of the transport needs of the area and sets of proposals for improvement including short term and long term (15-20 years) measures. In general Local Transport Plans: set out the current position with regard to transport, accessibility and pollution in the area; identify targets for improvement; set out the programme for achieving these objectives. This may be split between separate strategy and implementation plans.

LTPs are not neighbourhood level plans but they set the strategic framework within which more local transport plans can be formed. A local transport plan can be a 'material consideration' in determining a planning application. You can find the most recent version online: they were originally to be revised every 5 years, but strategic transport authorities may now produce them as and when they see fit.

The over-arching aims for LTPs are set by government. They include: supporting economic growth; cutting carbon emissions; contributing to safety, security and health; and improving quality of life and the local environment. Local Transport Plans contain an Environmental Assessment which looks at the impact of what is proposed on the environment.

LTPs are subject to public consultation. Groups that must be consulted include public transport user groups, bus and train operators and groups having a special interest, eg disability groups and environmental groups.

The video above is by Bristol Green Capital Partnership - an independent partnership which promotes sustainable transport in Bristol. In the video, Liz Zeidler suggests how transport planning could improve her city. The video is part of a series produced by the partnership to promote Bristol's Good Transport Plan.

Key Facts:

Local Transport Plans (LTPs) are strategic documents which set out how transport will develop in your city or region over the next 15-20 years. Neighbourhood plans can address local transport and traffic issues but they must fit in with the strategic objectives set out in the LTP. The local authority must consult before producing an LTP.

Page Links from here

In the toolkit, see:

Infrastructure

Spatial Planning

Local Public Services

OR you can use the navigation menu above right to look at other parts of the toolkit.

created: 2016-06-23 11:39:41

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status: f published

Commissioning

How local public services are delivered – and by whom – can make a big difference to neighbourhood quality of life. Increasingly, councils and other service providers are ‘commissioning’ services rather than providing them directly…

How local public services are delivered - and by whom - can make a big difference to neighbourhood quality of life. Increasingly, councils and other service providers are 'commissioning' services rather than providing them directly...

In more detail

Commissioning means giving someone the job of doing something. In public services (the council, police and the NHS etc), it means working out the specification for a service collaboratively and then paying someone to deliver it who isn’t directly employed by you. It is not the same as purchasing because it involves working with potential suppliers to see what is possible. It is not the same as direct delivery because the people who do the work are employed by a different organisation.

Public Service Commissioners

Commissioners are people who work for public services to do commissioning. Their job involves translating executive decisions and priorities into practical and achievable work; setting standards ; negotiating with, and supporting partners, to deliver work; tendering contracts; monitoring and evaluating (which means measuring and learning from ) work; and ensuring good social value and value for money in how money is spent.

Social Value and Local Services

Public sector organisations can commission businesses, civil society groups or other public sector bodies to deliver work. Increasingly, when they do, they are being reminded and required to take into account ‘social value’ – the wider benefits to society in the long term of having work delivered in one way as opposed to another. Social value can be added, for example: by using local labour and locally based businesses; or by commissioning local organisations that re-invest any surplus they make back into the local area and for community benefit.

There is support for the delivery of local public services by community-based organisations: for example, through the 'right to challenge' how local services are delivered by councils (which was introduced by the Localism Act); and through programmes like Our Place with is run by Locality on behalf of the government.

The presentation below is by the New Economics Foundation - it sets out their approach to commissioning for coproduction:

Key Facts:

Commissioning means working with alternative providers of public services to see whether they could be done more cheaply and provide more social value. Community groups have the right to challenge the way councils provide local services and there is some support for communities who are interested in running services directly in their own neighbourhood.

Page Links from here

Our Place aims to involve communities in making decisions about commissioning public services

Involving Users in Commissioning Local Services is a research report by Silvia Schehrer and Stephanie Sexton
published by Joseph Rowntree Foundation in 2010 - available for download as a PDF using the link

New Economics Foundation is a London-based thinktank which highlights innnovative economic thinking

In the toolkit, see:

Social Value

Public Services

Health Service Planning

Social Capital

OR you can use the navigation menu above right to look at other parts of the toolkit.

created: 2016-06-17 12:45:07

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status: f published

Community Asset Transfer

What if under-used land and buildings which belong to public bodies could be taken over by passionate community groups and development trusts and used to provide services to the community…

What if under-used land and buildings which belong to public bodies could be taken over by passionate community groups and development trusts and used to provide services to the community...

In more detail

Community Asset Transfer (CAT) is the process by which publicly owned land and buildings can be sold either freehold or leasehold to non-profit bodies at less than market value. CAT can lead to the rejuvenation of neglected public assets - run-down buildings and unloved patches of land.

The video above which suggests how community asset transfer can build community and improve neighbourhoods is also featured in this presentation on CAT made by Hannah Senior in 2013:

The enthusiasm of volunteers and residents to improve these assets when they are transferred to community owenrship has been matched in some cases by the ability of the new owners to attract capital investment from charitable sources including the National Lottery. The real ongoing benefit, however, is the value of the services which community groups are able to provide using previously tired assets.

Linda Hines of Witton Lodge Community Association interviewed on site, by Nick Booth of podnosh, at Perry Common Community Hall which was transferred through CAT to community ownership and has been transformed as a result.

Economic Justification

CAT is justified economically by comparing the additional economic value which the public body would get from the sale of the asset on the open market with the social value which the public body is able to enable by transferring it through CAT.

For example, a patch of disused health service land could be sold on the open market for £5000 to provide two car parking spaces. Alternatively, it could be transferred through CAT to a community group that would pay £500 for it. The group would turn it into a community garden which would produce benefits for local people and a local mental health project and might lead to greater neighbourliness, improved community safety and better recovery from mental ill-health. If the health service trust and its police and council partners value these benefits as being worth more than £4500, then they should choose use CAT to sell it to the community group.

The video below is about CAT in Penny Lane, Liverpool. It was produced by the Asset Transfer Unit (which was set up the Development Trusts Association, which was one of the bodies that came together to form Locality):

Transparency, Fairness and Social Valuation

CAT is potentially open to abuse where it involves transferring public assets to private (albeit non-profit and local) organisations without having a robust means for valuing social worth in place; without sufficient transparency; and without advertising opportunities to a wide range of potential bidders.

For example, a patch of land worth £5000 is sold to a community trust which is in fact a non-profit company owned by members of a local family for £500 on the basis that they will use it for 'community benefit'. What they actually do with it is to create car parking spaces for visitors to their office base from which they provide mental health services on contract with an NHS trust. The person who made the decision to sell them the land at 10% of the full market value is a friend of the family.

Support

The video below presents help and support available for CAT from My Community:

Key Facts:

Community Asset Transfer (CAT) is the process by which underused publicly owned land and buildings may be sold to non-profit organisations at less than market value in return for providing increased social value in the form of services to the local community. CAT has successfully turned ailing assets around, but there is potential for abuse. A robust approach to calculating social value, transparency and advertising opportunities to acquire assets widely all help to prevent abuse.

Page Links from here

Birmingham City Council's Community Asset Transfer website describes one council's approach to CAT

The My Community Rights site section on Community Asset Transfer presents an overview and a link to the toolkit on CAT

More videos about CAT are available on the Asset Transfer Unit YouTube channel

Housing Association Charitable Trust has produced a toolkit for housing providers on Asset Transfer

Have a look at Coin Street Community Builders on the South Bank in London which was one of the groups that helped to pioneer development trusts and CAT

In this toolkit see:

Social Value

Community Assets

Development Trusts

Neighbourhood Companies

OR you can use the navigation menu above right to look at other parts of the toolkit.

created: 2016-06-16 11:18:43

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status: f published

Planning Committee

Local plans make a framework for deciding what development should go ahead and what shouldn’t. Your local council planning committee, however, makes the actual decisions (including on adopting new neighbourhood plans)…

Local plans make a framework for deciding what development should go ahead and what shouldn't. Your local council planning committee, however, makes the actual decisions (including on adopting new neighbourhood plans)...

In more detail

Local government in England used to be run by committees. In most authorities now, however, executive decisions are made by councillors chosen by the council Leader who make up the council Cabinet. Cabinet members have a portfolio for which they are responsible (housing, social services, public health etc). They make executive decisions relating to their areas of responsibility. Other councillors scrutinise those decisions through the work of overview and scrutiny committees.

Non-executive council decision-making

Parliament has given local councils certain sets of non-executive decisions to make. These include decisions about local planning which Parliament has delegated to the ‘local planning authority’. The local planning authority is the unitary local authority or the district or borough council in places where there are two levels of local government. These councils delegate their responsibilities as the local planning authority to a committee of councillors chosen by the full council. This Planning Committee (it might be called the Planning and Highways Committee or the Planning and Licensing Committee or some other variant depending on where you live) is, in effect, the local planning authority.

It used to be said that planning committees were ‘quasi-judicial bodies’. That is, that they had powers and approaches to decision similar to those taken by a court of law. The High Court has ruled this is not the case: councillors are still councillors (democratically accountable to the people that elected them) when they sit on a Planning Committee. Unlike judges, committee members are not required to be independent or impartial: they may clearly be predisposed to agree with one side or another in the debate about planning permission for a contentious development, for example. They must, however, consider fairly the issues before them and make decisions on the merits of the arguments presented to them.

Who is on the Planning Commitee?

The Planning Committee is made of by a balance of councillors from the political parties represented on the full Council. The different parts of the area covered by the committee will also be balance in terms of representation; so that the committee is not dominated by councillors from only one part. Most planning decisions are delegated by the committee to be made by officers. The chief planning officer – who may be called a Director of Planning etc - reports these decisions to the committee. The committee looks in detail at the larger, most contentious or complex proposals.

Meetings of the local Planning Committee should be advertised and conducted in public. Meetings may even be streamed online. The public can be excluded from meetings if confidential matters come under discussion.

Key Facts:

The Planning Committee is the group of councillors in each city, borough or district that exercises the powers and duties of the council acting as the local planning authority. The committee delegates most planning decisions to officers accountable to it. Important decisions – including the adoption of a neighbourhood plan, for example – will be made by your local council planning committee.

Page Links from here

OR you can use the navigation menu above right to look at other parts of the toolkit.

created: 2016-06-08 17:23:39

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status: f published

Sustainable Development

Meeting our current needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs – it is the balancing act that the planning system attempts to fulfill…

Meeting our current needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs - it is the balancing act that the planning system attempts to fulfill...

In more detail

Sustainable development is at the heart of both planning policy and the role of local councils in England.

The National Planning Policy Framework makes clear that there should be a presumption in favour of it running through local plans (including neighbourhood plans) and the decisions made by councils based on them (through local planning enforcement).

Sustainable development is also what the law says councils have a duty to bring about in the places they serve, through improving economic, social and environmental well-being. But what does 'sustainable development' really mean in practice in planning?

If you look it up on the internet, you will find a range of answers so wide that in practice, sustainable development could be taken to mean anything. From no development at all (given that all development necessarily implies some energy and natural resources are used up), to any and all development - so long as we believe that won't stop even more economic exploitation of natural resources in future.

National Planning Policy

Here is what the government's planning guidance says the presumption in favour of sustainable development means in practice:

local planning authorities should 'positively seek opportunities to meet the development needs of their area'
local Plans should 'meet objectively assessed needs, with sufficient flexibility to adapt to rapid change' unless the adverse impacts of doing so would 'significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits', when assessed against planning policy as a whole or any of those policies says that such development should be restricted.

And that councils should:

'approve development proposals that accord with the development plan without delay'
in the absence of a local development plan or where it is out-of-date, councils should grant planning permission unless the adverse impacts of doing so would 'significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits', when assessed against planning policies as a whole or specific policies say that such development should be restricted.

So, the presumption in favour of sustainable development in the spatial planning system means: presuming in favour of development; rejecting development only when there is evidence it will conflict with existing policy; not delaying decisions unnecessarily; and following both national and local policy.

Key Facts:

Sustainable development means meeting current needs without compromising the ability of future generation's to meet theirs. It is the purpose set out in law of local councils - who have responsibility for the economic, social and environmental wellbeing of the places they serve. The presumption in favour of sustainable development in the planning system, however, means more specifically that councils should: presume in favour of development; reject development only when there is evidence it will conflict with existing policy; not delay decisions unnecessarily; and make sure that new policy (including neighbourhood plans) follows both national and local policy.

Page Links from here

Planning Guidance from the Dept of Communities and Local Government on Achieving Sustainable Development

Local Planning System

Your Local Council

Social Value

OR you can use the navigation menu above right to look at other parts of the toolkit.

created: 2016-06-04 13:27:10

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status: f published

Licensing

Some of the commercial activities which are most likely to cause a neighbourhood nuisance – like the supply of alcohol, for example – are licensed by the council. Communities can influence local licensing policy…

Some of the commercial activities which are most likely to cause a neighbourhood nuisance - like the supply of alcohol, for example - are licensed by the council. Communities can influence local licensing policy...

In more detail

A license is a permit which is issued by an authority to own or use something, do a particular thing, or carry on a particular trade etc. The following activities are regulated by your local council in line with policies which they publish and consult on (within the framework set by Parliament). Which means, if these activities are a problem in your neighbourhood, then you may be able to use your council’s licensing system (rather than the planning system) to address them:

Licensed Premises and Clubs - which serve hot food and/or alcohol and may provide entertainment like dancing and live music (see below)
Sex Clubs - which include lap and pole dancing venues, strip shows, peep shows and live sex shows. Venues providing these forms of entertainment (unless infrequently) can be required to be licenced as sexual entertainment venues. A council Sexual Entertainment Venue policy spells out the terms and details of how this is achieved in the same way as the council’s Licensing Policy applies to other licensed premises.
Sex Shops and Cinemas - have to be licensed under the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982.
Gambling Premises – the Gambling Act 2005 requires premises including gaming centres, betting shops, casinos and bingo halls to have a Gaming Premises Licence issued by the council. Other venues with gaming machines etc may need a gaming permit.
Scrap metal dealers
Skin piercers – includes tattoo parlours, acupuncturists and electrolytic hair removal as well as cosmetic ear and body piercers.
Taxis and private hire vehicles.

Licensed Premises

Licensed Premises – anywhere which is used for the retail sale of alcohol; supply of alcohol to club members; to provide a ‘regulated entertainment’ (which includes plays, films, indoor sporting events, boxing or wrestling, dance performances, performance of live music and playing recorded music); or to provide of public late night refreshment (hot food or drink for consumption on or off premises between 11pm and 5am, including mobile vans etc) requires a Premises Licence (or a Temporary Events Notice or a Personal Licence). Operating conditions can specify a limited duration for the licence. If the conditions do not set a time limit, then the licence is valid indefinitely, on payment of an annual fee, until it is revoked, lapsed or surrendered.

Members’ Clubs have an equivalent type of licence – the Club Premises Certificate – which allows these activities on club premises.

Licensing Committee

A committee of councillors, called the Licensing Committee (or something similar) amkes decisions about granting licences. It is a non-Executive committee of the council which works in a similar way to the council's planning committee. The decisions it makes are based on law, local policy and on the basic requirement of the council to look after local economic, social and environmental wellbeing (rather than on the basis of politics).

Statement on Licensing Policy

The Licensing Act 2003 requires Licensing Authorities (which are local councils) to issue an Statement of Licensing Policy. The law also says that councils must consult publicly on this policy and review it regularly, for example every 3 years. The Statement of Licensing Policy must further the objectives of licensing which are: to prevent crime and disorder; public safety; to prevent public nuisance; and to protect children from harm. As well as explaining how the council will further these objectives through its licensing role, the policy can set out:

how the council relates its licensing and planning functions
the processes for granting licenses and for enforcement action
the ways in which residents can make representations and petition in relation to licensing matters
the arrangements for reviewing licenses
licensing of open spaces
policy on issuing temporary licenses and personal licenses.
Temporary licenses and personal licenses are alternatives to premises licenses.

Designated Public Place Orders

In addition to the licensed activities above (and others which may be licensed in some areas), the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 gives councils powers to issues Designated Public Place orders. These are used to create alcohol restricted areas – which may also be called alcohol restricted areas, controlled drinking zones etc. It is an offence to drink alcohol in one of these areas after having been requested not to do so by a police officer.

Key Facts:

Activities which require a licence from the council include running hot food establishements, retail sale of alcohol, live music, sex clubs and sex shops, gambling premises, scrap metal yards, tatoo and skin piercing parlours and taxis and minicabs. As well as making decisions on whether to license these activities on a site by site basis, the council must consult on its licensing policy.

Page Links from here

In this toolkit, see:

Public Health

Your Local Council

OR you can use the navigation menu above right to look at other parts of the toolkit.

created: 2016-06-02 10:37:28

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status: f published

Local Public Services

How reliably the bins are emptied; the maintenance of local roads; how older people are cared for; and whether there is a place at a good school for your children – the way local services work can be major factor in making better places to live. By working with public service providers, communities can improve the way they work locally…

How reliably the bins are emptied; the maintenance of local roads; how older people are cared for; and whether there is a place at a good school for your children - the way local services work can be major factor in making better places to live. By working with public service providers, communities can improve the way they work locally...

In more detail

Your local council provides a wide range of services which can include, for example:

children's social services
public and environmental health
waste collection and management including recycling
highways repairs
social care for older people
planning and economic development
planning and licensing
community centres, park and leisure facilities
libraries and adult education classes
museums and art galleries
democratic services - making sure you get a vote at elections.

As the local education authority,the council still has responsibility for community schools (but not for private schools, academies or 'free schools'). Some other local services, in some places, are delivered by independent trusts etc.

Some local authorities have retained council housing. Others have been through LSVT (Large Scale Voluntary Transfer) of housing stock which is now managed by housing associations. Housing associations are independent non-profit social landlords who now provide housing in many city neighbourhoods.

Other significant public service providers in your neighbourhood are: the police; bodies that are part of the National Health Service and local health centres and GP practices; the fire and rescue service; and schools and further education colleges.

The video below is of Mark Rogers, the Chief Executive of Birmingham City Council being interviewed by Nick Booth talking about The 21st Century Public Servant and the way public service is changing:

Improving Services

All of these service providers have ways of engaging with the communities they serve. This is because they want to provide services that meet the varying needs of different communities and neighbourhoods. By engaging with public services individually and collectively (because the way they work together - or fail to work together- can also be a big issue), your neighbourhood community can improve services and neighbourhood wellbeing.

Running Services

In some places, communities have become involved in the delivery of public services paid for by the council. The Localism Act gives community groups a right to challenge the council if you believe you could run services in your area better yourself.

Key Facts:

Local councils, the police, health service, social landlords, schools and other public service providers play an important role in determining community wellbeing. Engaging with service providers to improve individual services and how well they join up in the streets and households of your neighbourhood, can be a practical way of improving the area.

Page Links from here

The 21st Century Public Servant is a report by Catherine Needham and Catherine Mangan at Birmingham University which looks at how public service and what it means to provide public services is changing. There is a website about the project.

In this toolkit, see:

Local Council Services

Commissioning Public Services

Neighbourhood Management

Neighbourhood Policing

Social Housing

Influencing Health Services

Involving Schools

Local Transport Planning

Planning Authorities

Councillors

Social Value

OR you can use the navigation menu above right to look at other parts of the toolkit.

created: 2016-05-22 14:26:58

by: admin

status: f published

Empty Homes

Houses and flats that could be providing homes for people instead left empty, can attract squatters and antisocial behaviour…

Houses and flats that could be providing homes for people instead left empty, can attract squatters and antisocial behaviour...

In more detail

There are more than 200,000 homes that have been empty for more than 6 months in England and although that figure has been declining, it still represents a massive underused asset.

Local Council Action

If you supply the following details to your local council, they should take action to investigate an empty property:

Full address of the property
Type of property, for example, bungalow, flat, semi-detached house
A description of the external condition of the property
Length of time it’s been empty
Any additional information about the property, for example about the owner or any known occurrences of nuisance
Your contact details.

There are limits, however, on what your council can do to tackle the problem. Councils normally try to contact property owners to see if there ware ways of bringing their property back into use. If property-owners are reluctant, councils have some legal powers they can use, including:

Compulsory Purchase Orders - the council needs to show they have taken steps to encourage the owner to bring the property into acceptable use before considering compulsory purchase. Councils may not have the resources available to do this.

Charges and Enforced Sales- councils can issue and enforce charges against a property. If the owner fails to meet the terms of a statutory notice or where someone owes Council Tax or other debts to the council, they can enforce the sale of the property to pay for them.

Unsecured properties - councils can issue orders to owners to make their property secure.

Empty dwelling management orders - councils can issue an empty dwelling management order (EDMO) to make sure that an empty property is used for housing. The property must have been empty for two or more years and not be on the market to let or sell. An EDMO allows the LA to ‘step into the shoes’ of the owner and make sure that empty properties are occupied and managed properly. The local authority can then bring the property back into use, but ownership does not change hands.

The video above features the work of Empty Homes Doctors - a local social enterprise, in Leeds.

Community action

It is hard to take action on empty homes because, of course, the property in question belongs to an owner with rights over how it is used. However, community organisations can 'name and shame' social housing and private landlords who leave properties empty for long periods of time without any good reason.

Key Facts:

Two hundered thousand homes that could house half a million people are left empty for more than sixth months - and the neighbourhoods in which they stand empty can suffer as a result. Communities can ask the local council to look into why property has been left empty and to attempt to get the landlord to look at alternative uses. Communities can also name and shame social and private landlords who leave homes empty without good reason.

Page Links from here

You can check the number of empty homes by local council area on the DCLG website

Empty Homes is an independent charity which used to be called the Empty Homes Agency. It provides advice and runs campaigns including Empty Homes Week.

In this toolkit, see:

HMOs (Houses in Multiple Occupation)

Social Housing

OR you can use the navigation menu above right to look at other parts of the toolkit.

created: 2016-05-22 12:23:18

by: admin

status: f published

Involving Schools

Local schools can define a neighbourhood and attract people to a place – perhaps more than any other public service. Can schools, however, be involved in making better places to live through community planning?

Local schools can define a neighbourhood and attract people to a place - perhaps more than any other public service. Can schools, however, be involved in making better places to live through community planning?

In more detail

‘The schools’ – is one of the most common answers if you ask people what attracts them about a neighbourhood. The contribution a good community makes to a school is perhaps not so well acknowledged, but having the support and involvement of the community – including parents and families – is an important ingredient in the success of a school. If you are planning a better neighbourhood, local schools are natural supporters and useful partners. The video below is tips for making school-community links from the US:

How Schools Add Social Value

Ways in which schools play a part in making better neighbourhoods include:

social capital – schools act as the centres around which social networks form
community cohesion – different communities are frequently brought together by a shared interest in a local school
involving young people – schools are not the only way, but a very important way, of involving local young people in community planning and work to improve the neighbourhood
community assets – school buildings and land are assets necessarily with restricted use but can still be used for community meetings and events .

Schools are also important to involve in neighbourhood plans in terms of transport issues. Many schools, for example, encourage safe routes to school and other initiatives aimed at cutting car use.

Types of School

The most common types of school are:

Community schools – funded and owned by the local council and staff are employed by it. Community schools are run by a board of governors typically including representatives of the council, the staff and parents.
Voluntary aided and foundation schools – are funded by the council but the land and buildings may be owned by a trust. These schools include many faith schools. The school is run by a board of governors which may include representatives of the faith community or the trust. Foundation schools must still follow the national curriculum but have more freedom to run things in their own way; they employ their own staff and may receive funds from other sources as well as the council.
Academies – are run by a governing body, independent from the local council - they can follow a different curriculum; may own the land and buildings themselves and are funded directly from Whitehall, not the council. The governing body can include business sponsors, faith representatives and others. Academies can set their own selection criteria. They do not have to employ qualified teachers. The governing body is appointed by the academy trust which runs the school.
‘Free schools’ – are a type of academy set up by businesses, charities, universities, religious groups, educational groups, teachers or parents. They run independently of the state and do not have to follow the national curriculum. They can set the pay and conditions of staff and can make changes to the length of the school day etc. They cannot select on the basis of ability (unlike grammar schools, below). The governing body is a board appointed by the organisation which set them up.
Grammar schools – can be run by the council, a foundation body or a trust. They select all or most of their pupils based on academic ability and there is often an exam to get in.

The video below is from Canada - Education Minister George Abbott describes how and why his state government in British Columbia wants to encourage links between schools and communities:

Engaging with Schools

Ways of engaging schools include through: contact via the governing body and/or headteacher; engaging with individual teachers including those with responsibility for citizenship education or community links; engaging through associations associated with the school; and engaging through national campaigns aimed at making links between schools and communities. These include, for example, Eco Schools; Sustrans’ Safe Routes to School; and Living Streets’ Walk to School Walk.

Key Facts:

Schools and communities can have a mutually beneficial relationship. Schools add value to neighbourhoods in a number of ways including by creating social links and networks. Sometimes a school can subtract value too - with disputes about antisocial behaviour and parking and congestion during pick-up and drop-off times, for example. A good school adds to the finanical value of local housing. Understanding the school structure is important - not all schools are the same these days. You can find ways in to engaging with schools through governing bodies, the headteacher, the staff and through national campaigns like Walk to School Week.

Page Links from here

In the toolkit, see

Local Authorities

Local Democracy

Local Public Services

OR you can use the navigation menu above right to look at other parts of the toolkit.

created: 2016-05-22 10:19:28

by: admin

status: f published