Government Left Hand and Right to Meet and Talk???

The strange war between Vince Cable and Eric Pickles is currently being waged on various battlefields. The proposal, currently out for consultation, to amend the Use Classes Order to allow offices, factories and warehouses to be turned into housing is one of these battles.

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Localism and Urban Neighbourhood Councils

It is a source of frustration, though not surprise, to many that the silos of Government have not been broken down in the early stages of the Big Society roll out.

Government is currently hitting communities with new initiatives from all angles. Whether it is GP commissioning, free schools, Green Deal or neighbourhood planning it is the community at a local neighbourhood level that needs to respond. In urban areas the governance structures are mainly missing. The lack of a formal organised neighbourhood level structure that can attract people with the time and energy to help support and deliver these initiatives seems pretty fundamental.