East Suffolk Council
Group formed to boost community engagement in planning
A new community engagement group has been established to help further enhance and encourage public participation in planning matters.
The Community Engagement Group (CEG) has been launched as part of an ongoing partnership between East Suffolk Council and East Suffolk Planning Alliance (ESPA) – launched in 2023 with the purpose strengthening community engagement in the planning system.
The alliance has since grown to comprise 56 affiliated town councils, parish councils and residents’ groups, meeting regularly to identify and discuss issues around planning policy, procedure, delivery and sustainability.
An agreement has now been signed to form a community engagement group to work together with East Suffolk Council as stakeholders in the planning and decision-making process, complementing the ongoing and regular engagement East Suffolk Council has with town and parish councils on planning matters.
Cllr Mark Packard, East Suffolk Council Cabinet member for Planning and Coastal Management, said:
“The CEG was formed to help empower our communities to work together, and in partnership with the local planning authority, to ensure that decisions are made in the best interests of the people of East Suffolk.
“The formation of a community engagement group will, by building transparent bridges of communication with residents, help improve understanding of planning procedures for local communities and strengthen engagement on planning matters that concern us all.”
The CEG will meet three times a year at East Suffolk Council’s offices in Melton and Lowestoft, chaired by an elected member and attended by ESPA steering committee representatives, senior executives to represent the Council and its planning community, and associate agency and third parties as appropriate.
The CEG will collect questions from ESPA affiliates for submission, discussion, escalation, and resolution, with the aim of representing the full geography of East Suffolk and providing a forum to question and express views on planning processes, interpretation and implementation of strategic planning policy.
ESPA Co-founder and Administrator, Rupert Herries said:
“ESPA was formed to make sure the wider community's voice and their concerns were given weight and to add balance to both strategic and local planning and development decision making.
“They intend to act as both a critical friend in these matters and as a catalyst for change when the need arises.
“ESPA is also affiliated with the nationwide Community Planning Alliance of more than 500 grassroots groups seeking greater community participation in planning, greater environmental protections, and to ensure the right developments and infrastructure in the right places.”