Civic Voice to hold fringe event at Conservative Party Conference

Civic Voice to hold fringe event at Conservative Party Conference
Conference debate to ask “How can we give communities a greater say in the planning system?”

Civic Voice will be continuing it's efforts to raise the profile of the civic society movement by holding a fringe event during the Conservative Party conference. The event, taking place in Birmingham on Monday 29th September, will discuss “How can we give communities a greater say through the planning system”

The event is being hosted by Civic Voice – the national charity for the civic society movement who represent over 75,000 individuals. The event will feature:

  • Brandon Lewis MP, Planning Minister, Conservative Party
  • Max Farrell, Partner, Farrells
  • Justin Griggs, Head of Policy and Development, National Association of Local Councils
  • David Tittle, Chair, Design Network
  • Chair of debate: Eric Ollerenshaw MP, Vice-Chair, APPG for Civic Societies
  • Other invited panellists

Freddie Gick, Chair of Civic Voice said “In attending the Party Conferences for the first time, Civic Voice will be pressing for radical changes to the processes by which local communities can contribute to local planning decisions. While Civic Society members across the country recognise the need for extra housing and have considerable experience to bring to bear, they are often faced with very limited opportunities to respond to consultations on unsustainable plans that are not right for their areas. We want to see a new approach in which local authorities are required to demonstrate that local planning decisions can be made only after it has been demonstrated that there has been active participation in the process by members of the local community. We look forward to an interesting debate on this and other issues.”

The meeting, being sponsored by Argent, will take place at Brindley Place and is from 10:30-12:00noon.

To attend this free event individuals are required to book via the booking website here when they will receive full joining information.

NOTES FOR EDITORS

Civic Voice is the national charity for the civic movement. We work to make the places where everyone lives more attractive, enjoyable and distinctive and to promote civic pride. We speak up for civic societies and local communities across England. We believe everyone should live somewhere they can be proud of and we know how people feel about places because we feel the same way. Civic societies are the most numerous participants in the planning system. Since its launch in April 2010 Civic Voice has been joined by over 290 civic societies with 75,000 members. Further information is available at http://www.civicvoice.org.uk including how to join Civic Voice (£10 individuals) and contact details for local civic societies.