Community Planning

1 Community Planning Toolkit - Community PlanningCommunityPlanning Community Planning toolkitCommunity Planning Toolkit - Community PlanningDeveloped by Community Places through the support of the BIG Lottery Planning Toolkit - Community PlanningContents1. Introduction 032. Introducing Community Planning 033. Distinctive Qualities of 05 Community Planning 4. Community Planning in Action 085. Community Development Support 126. Skills and Knowledge 16 1. Introduction This section of the Toolkit: introduces and explains Community Planning ; focuses on its distinctive qualities; explains what the legal duties will be in the region; gives examples of Community Planning in action; outlines the support communities need; and presents the types of skills and knowledge needed for Community Introducing Community Planning Community Planning has evolved over many years from local Community action plans to plans developed jointly by communities, public (statutory) bodies and local councils.

2 While this Toolkit will help you with whatever form of Community Planning you are involved in now it has been developed with the re-structuring of local councils and the introduction of a new statutory duty of Community Planning in mind. This new form of Community Planning will aim to improve the effectiveness of public services in meeting people s needs, support the development of local communities and improve the quality of life for Planning will: Be facilitated and led by the new local councils; Include a duty to engage with people and communities; and Require all public service organisations to co-operate in developing and implementing the agreed Community new form of Community Planning will be introduced as part of the legislation which will establish new councils. The reform of council structures and roles is designed to improve public services and make them more responsive to the needs of local people and communities.

3 Community Planning , led and facilitated by the new councils, is central to these aims and to how councils will work with Community and voluntary groups in the future. It is proposed R1 that the new councils will be: Expected to consult and co-operate with all bodies responsible for providing public services; Expected to engage with the Community , other bodies and individuals in Planning the provision of public services; Required to publish, review and amend Community plans to reflect changes in the their area; Required to publish reports on Community Planning including public service improvements. The content, frequency and form of these reports will be specified by the Department .It is also proposed that all departments in the region will be: Required to promote Community Planning and have regard to Community Planning Toolkit - Community PlanningOther public (statutory) bodies across the region will be required to: Participate in and assist Community Planning .

4 These proposals for Community Planning arose out of the wider Review of Public Administration (RPA) which examined how public services are planned, co-ordinated and provided here and in other jurisdictions and the role of local councils. This work R2 included research into different forms of Community Planning here and in England, the Republic of Ireland, Scotland an d Wales. In Scotland the fundamental building blocks of Community Planning are in legislation, Local Government Act (2003), and it is this legislative approach that is being adopted here. It is proposed that there be four inter-linked Community Planning legal duties introduced: A duty on new councils to lead and facilitate; A duty of Community engagement; A duty on public (statutory) bodies to support and participate; A duty on Government Departments to have regard to Community PlansIn addition a Power of Well-being will be given to the new councils. It is proposed that this new power would enable councils to respond to issues identified through Community Planning by undertaking actions which are not already the responsibility of another agency (unless given permission to do so by the agency).

5 45 Community Planning Toolkit - Community PlanningThematic Partnership LevelLocal Area LevelStrategic LevelLayers of Community Planning3. Distinctive Qualities of Community Planning Community Planning will be an ongoing, rolling process of Planning , delivering and reviewing. It will thus not be like previous initiatives which have a fixed lifespan. The engagement of people and communities will be a legal duty supported by statutory guidance which will be binding (as it is in Scotland) R3. See Toolkit: Community Engagement for guidance and resources on engagement. Local councils and councillors will play a leading and facilitating role in the development of Community Plans. This will provide opportunities for Community and voluntary groups and local councillors to work more closely together in ensuring that the needs of communities are recognised, understood and tackled by all public (statutory) agencies. This is developed in more detail inToolkit: Working Together.

6 Public (statutory) agencies in health, education, housing and so on will be legally required to work with the new councils and Community partners in the development and implementation of Community Plans. Their involvement will thus be on a different basis from current and past processes and programme initiatives. There will be a sharp focus on delivering better outcomes from public and Community services and investment and thus improving the quality of life for people and communities in greatest need - See Toolkit: Outcomes Approach. The legislation will require one overall Community plan for each of the new council areas. The councils, Community and other partners can decide to also develop local area Community Plans and Plans for particular themes ( Community safety, good relations, health and well-being, children and young people). These local and thematic Community Plans would be linked to the overall council-wide Community plan and show how it would be implemented in the local areas or relevant themes.

7 These layers of Community Planning are illustrated in Diagram 1: Ministers have stated that there will be a statutory (legal) link between Community Plans and (land use/spatial) Development Plans. This will mean that the Community plan will set the aims and priorities for the zoning of land. This statutory link between the two plans will be particularly useful in addressing segregation along economic, social and cultural lines by providing a platform to address complex issues of multiple deprivation, contested space and Community cohesion. It will also provide the opportunity to share Community engagement, research data and evidence and monitoring and review processes. This will help to minimise consultation fatigue, make best use of resources and more closely align the aims and priorities of both plans. Diagram 1: Layers of Community Planning6 Community Planning Toolkit - Community PlanningThe linkages between the Community plan , local and thematic Community Plans and the land use or spatial plan are illustrated in the diagram below from the Fife Structure plan (where the Structure plan is the equivalent of a Development plan ).

8 Among the practical implications of the linkages shown in Diagram 2 are: The Community plan identifies areas where jobs are most needed and the Structure (Development) plan zones these areas as employment sites; The Community plan aims to create more vibrant and balanced communities (with private, social and rented properties) and this is implemented by the Housing Policy in the Structure plan ; The Community plan identifies the need for new connections (between disadvantaged areas and employment areas; etc) and the Structure plan implements this through zonings for new roads and transport corridors. Fife Structure PlanFife Community PlanA stronger future for Fife (2007)Fife Local Plans St Andrew s & East Fife Local plan Kirkcaldy & Mid Fife Local plan Dunfermline & West Fife Local plan Minerals Subject Local plan Fife Economic Strategy Local Transport Strategy Local Housing Strategy Environmental Strategy Community Safety Strategy Area Waster plan Biodiversity Action PlanScottish GovernmentNational Planning Framework, Legislation, GuidanceFife Council Corporate Improvement PlanDiagram 2: plan Alignment in Fife 7 Community Planning Toolkit - Community PlanningCommunity Planning is most effective when it is focused on issues and needs which are best addressed through collaboration between partners.

9 Any urges to simply combine all existing plans together and call this a Community plan should be resisted. Similarly a restatement of public/statutory services aims and priorities adds little new to making a difference to communities needs. The term collaborative gain is used to describe the added benefits of partners working together to do more or do better than they can apart. Often this means focusing on preventing issues and needs arising or growing. The Scottish Government took this to a new level in 2011 when it announced a 500 million Prevention Fund to focus on: early years; re-offending; and helping older people remain in their own communities. In doing so the Scottish Government recognised that the Community and voluntary sectors are particularly good at providing preventative support and QualitiesFocus on OutcomesCouncil Led & FacilitatedStatutory Requirement on public agencies to participateOngoing ProcessLegal Duty to Engage CommunitiesDiagram 3: Distinctive Qualities of Community PlanningCommunity plan , Thematic & Local PlansCollaborative Gain Statutory link between Community plan & Development Plan8 Community Planning Toolkit - Community Planning4.

10 Community Planning in Action The Belfast Community Planning Pilot supported by the Big Lottery Fund has developed an emerging Model of Community Planning . The Model presents nine core elements of Community Planning processes: Each element of the Model is explained in further detail and the Belfast Pilot sees the Model as an evolving tool R4. The Model drew on the Pilot s own experience and that of other Community focused Planning partnership processes in the city and elsewhere in the region. As Community Planning evolves it will build on good practice here and elsewhere. This will include examples of council-wide Community Plans, local area Community Plans (linked to the council-wide plans and covering smaller areas) and thematic Community Plans (focusing on particular policy issues) Examples of these are: Council-wide Community Plans R5 Cardiff What Matters 2010-2020 The 10 Year Newport Building Our Future Together Fingal Building a Better Fingal Strategy Falkirk Moving Forward Together 2010- 2015.