Delivering effective neighbourhood planning in rural areas

With the Localism Act receiving Royal Assent in November 2011, neighbourhood planning is now seen as a key vehicle to take forward a ‘new localism’ in England, and with the Neighbourhood Plan becoming a formal part of the planning system. However, to date there has arguably been less focus on how neighbourhood planning is being taken forward in rural areas, and the barriers and opportunities arising. This PhD focuses on how local contextual factors, governance / political structures and thematic priorities may impinge on the nature and effectiveness of rural neighbourhood planning. But in so doing, the research also considers the inter-scalar and network relationships that are of relevance, and the extent to which neighbourhood planning is indeed delivering a ‘new localism’ vis a vis the top-down imposition of a ‘new centralism’.


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