A new deal for the community? Public participation in regeneration and local service delivery

Abstract

English In the UK regeneration strategies and patterns of local service provision have usually been imposed from the top down. Most communities have had little influence over plans to revitalise their areas or the design and delivery of services. The ‘New Labour’ government has emphasised its commitment to involving local people in a wide range of policy decisions relating to employment, health, crime reduction, education, local government services and regeneration. According to ministers an enhanced role for local people will increase local accountability and improve service standards. Previous experience of community-focused initiatives suggests however that there are significant obstacles to increasing public participation. Moreover, the present government’s commitment to ‘bottom-up’ initiatives and local experimentation may be at odds with its strong centralising instinct and continuing insistence on ‘zero tolerance of failure’.