Rural Localism
The Localism Act came into force on 15 November 2011. The Government has produced an overview guide that describes the main measures of the Localism Act under four headings:
- new freedoms and flexibilities for local government
- new rights and powers for communities and individuals
- reform to make the planning system more democratic and more effective
- reform to ensure that decisions about housing are taken locally
You can download a copy of the guide from the ‘Resources and Downloads’ box on the right-hand side of this screen.
However, please note that communities are not as yet able to use all of the Rights for planning, building, buying, challenging, etc, as different parts of the Act will come into effect at different times. In many cases, the Government will need to set out further details, such as, the exact rules on how different community rights will work. In some cases, the Government will ask the public for their views. Parliament will also have the chance to look at the rules and vote on them before they are made final.
This can affect exactly when different parts of the Act come into force. The Government cannot give a cast-iron guarantee about timing. On current estimates, however, they are aiming for many major measures to come into effect in April 2012.
Cambridgeshire ACRE has produced a series of factsheets explaining the different rights that communities now have as a result of the Localism Act. These are available to download deom the Resources and Downloads box.