Sustainable Communities Act 2007

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2008)

The Sustainable Communities Act 2007 (c.23) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Brought to Parliament as a Private Member's Bill, it received Royal Assent on 23 October 2007.

The Sustainable Communities Act represents the culmination of efforts by the campaign group Local Works to introduce legislation that will help reverse the trend called 'Ghost Town Britain'. Ghost Town Britain refers to the ongoing loss of local facilities and services including amongst others: shops, markets, post offices, pubs, banks and health centres. The term 'Ghost Town Britain' was initially coined by the British think-tank New Economics Foundation in their 2002 report.

[edit] How the Act works

The Sustainable Communities Act will work by giving increasing devolved powers that local council representatives have to empower them to solve the problems within their local communities. Central government will be required by law to provide for the implementation of local sustainability strategies that communities will be invited to draw up themselves together with their councils. Importantly, this new process will be participatory not consultative.

Under the Act, local sustainability has four measurements:

• Thriving local economies
• Environmental protection
• Social inclusion
• Active democratic participation

Councils will be given funding from central government to make sure that all people in their communities are able to participate in the new 'bottom-up' process.

The local sustainability strategies will state ways in which community decline is to be reversed and local sustainability is to be created. This could include measures to promote local shops and services, local jobs and local businesses; measures to reduce social exclusion and increase active citizenship; as well as measures to improve the local environment.

Local people will be able to set targets for these measures, or even introduce new measures and indicators, and these may differ from area to area. There may even be local referendums on issues such as whether a new superstore should be built.<

[edit] External links

• Parliament: Sustainable Communities Bill

v • d • e United Kingdom legislation Acts of Parliament by states preceding the Kingdom of Great Britain Acts of Parliament of England to 1601 · 1603–1641 · Interregnum (1642–1660) · 1660–1699 · 1700–1706 Acts of Parliament of Scotland Acts of the Parliament of Ireland to 1700 · 1701–1800 Acts of Parliament of the Kingdom of Great Britain 1707–1719 · 1720–1739 · 1740–1759 · 1760–1779 · 1780–1800 Acts of Parliament of The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 1801–1819 · 1820–1839 · 1840–1859 · 1860–1879 · 1880–1899 · 1900–1919 · 1920–1939 · 1940–1959 · 1960–1979 · 1980–1999 · 2000 to date Church of England Measures List · Church of England Assembly (Powers) Act 1919 Legislation of Devolved institutions Acts of the Northern Ireland Assembly · Northern Ireland Parliament · Scottish Parliament Measures of the Welsh Assembly Orders in Council for Northern Ireland Secondary legislation United Kingdom Statutory Instruments · Scottish Statutory Instruments · Act of Sederunt