Democracy on the cheap

The prospect of community councils being asked to play a more active role in local affairs has increased significantly judging by some of the ideas in the planning consultation.  A more formal contribution to the local planning process, a right to produce local place plans are all mooted as possibilities. But without the investment of new resources to signal serious government intent, it’s unlikely to come to much. Given the paucity of current investment in our most local tier of local democracy, it’s a minor miracle that so many community councils are thriving.