The Legal Implications of the Coalition Government's Localism Agenda Essay

The Legal Implications of the Coalition Government's Localism Agenda - Essay Example â€Å"Big Society† is the tagline used by the Coalition Government to signify that it trust people â€Å"to take control of the decisions that affect them by devolving power closer to neighbourhoods, increasing citizen participation, promoting community ownership, lifting inspection burden on councils and removing regional government.† (Structural Reform Plan, 2010; Pickles, 2012). The rationale of localism and the Big Society is incorporated in several acts of legislation, one of which is the Decentralisation and Localism bill of 2010 (NCVO, 2011). Additional laws were passed in January of 2012, but majority of the proposed legislation is expected to be passed in April 2012 (Localism-agenda.com, 2012). The Localism Act The Localism Act, which became law on November 2011, signalled a â€Å"radical shift of power from Westminster to local people,† according to the announcement of the Coalition Government (Silver, 2010). ... Increased involvement will be drawn from voluntary and private sector organisations in the running of public services, and a â€Å"fundamental redefinition of the role of the state as a provider of public services† (Silver, 2010). Easily, there is seen a great appeal in allowing local decision-makers to tailor local services, particularly local planning, The Planning System under the Localism Act 2011 There are several key issues that are seen to be relevant to the adoption of localism in development planning. Since the bulk of additional legislation will be introduced by April 2012, it is not clear at this point how many of these concerns will be eventually addressed by the appropriate statutes. They include, among others: How equal representation may be guaranteed for everyone in formulating neighbourhood plans Provision of financial and intellectual support for neighbourhood forums The prescribed process of adapting valid local plans in light of the Localism Bill Ensuring c ollaboration between local authorities in arriving at strategic plans Coordinating at a national level through the National Planning Policy Framework How effectively the New Homes Bonus and a reformed CIL will be in incentivising development The practical application of ‘presumption in favour of sustainable development’ Ensuring transparent & effective consultation with neighbourhoods by businesses Maintaining a balance between participation & representation by holding local members to account (Chelgate, 2011) Other than these issues, the new legislation imposes an expanded set of responsibilities for both local authorities and developers. Cook (2011) conducted a poll among