Community Planning Toolkit
Introduction
Planning with your communities is at the heart of a successful Community Plan. Choosing the most appropriate tool relies on building connections and collaboration between the Parish Council and their community to understand what is most important to them and begin to identify priorities to move forward with.
The toolkit provides a framework and practical guidance to use these approaches to help communities identify what is important to them, how they work together to gather evidence, develop shared goals and plan for their future which is the essence of community planning.
The toolkit is intended to support the process for communities who have identified an issue and who might want to make a plan and develop practical ways to improve their area, such as through a Neighbourhood Development Plan (NDP), Village Design Statement (VDS) or Parish Plan. Local organisations like Parish and Town Councils or collaborative community groups like a Community Land Trust are at the core of this process.
The toolkit is structured into a series of annexes, which each set out the specific tools that are designed to address issues that have been identified by communities, such as the need for more family housing. The Annexes C to G should be read in tandem with Annex A which provides a reference point for the engagement that needs to take place throughout a community planning exercise and how that engagement should be carried out.