Examining Neighbourhood Plans in England: the experience so far

The planning system in England has undergone serial and far-reaching reforms over the past two decades with a number of notable changes reflecting a drive to speed-up planning, rescale it and look towards the neighbourhood as a unit of planning governance. An expression of the serial changes has been the establishment of neighbourhood planning (NP) as a part of the statutory land use planning system and the production of Neighbourhood Development Plans (NDPs). This iteration of local planning has brought its own set of procedural arrangements and regulations. One feature of neighbourhood planning process is the examination of the NDP. For this, an independent examiner is appointed who considers the Plan and whether it passes the required ‘tests’ (see Parker, Salter and Hickman, 2016). Drawing on data collected from the cadre of active NP examiners we reflect on how this stage has been experienced by examiners and places this new set of arrangements into the ongoing consideration of how knowledge and epistemic boundaries are maintained or reconciled as planning in England moves towards a co-production model

Localism and the will to housing: neighbourhood development plans and their role in local housing site delivery in England

The planning system in England is regarded as a key mechanism for the delivery of housing but is also seen by some as a brake on its supply. In this context the introduction of neighbourhood planning in 2011 has been promoted as a mechanism to reduce opposition to new housing and aid housing growth. This paper focusses on how this policy tool has been implemented with a view to mobilising communities to assist in the allocation of housing sites. The paper draws on empirical data to illustrate the role, motivations, and response to neighbourhood planning and its impact on the delivery of housing

Impacts of neighbourhood planning in England

Prof. Gavin Parker (University of Reading) Dr Matthew Wargent (University of Reading) Dr Kat Salter (University of Birmingham) Dr Mark Dobson (University of Reading) Dr Tessa Lynn (University of Reading) Dr Andy Yuille (Lancaster University) and Navigus Plannin

3.14 Rio 2016 and the Birth of Brazilian Transparency

Brazil’s modern democracy is but three decades old. With the Brazilian people now taking to the streets in protest at public corruption, the government is enacting new laws and learning to effectively enforce them. The nation is thus feeling the growing pains of an emergent commitment to transparency. In this, the window between Brazil’s hosting of the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics, it is timely to ask what the spotlight of these two events has revealed about the nation’s anti-corruption measures. How is the government responding to exposed corruption risk? Will the Olympics ultimately make good on their promise to be an agent of positive change? This brief article discusses issues related to Brazil’s federal anti-corruption laws generally, its changing procurement laws and the Olympic contracts and governance organisations

Taking stock of neighbourhood planning in England 2011-2016

Neighbourhood planning (NP) as enabled by the 2011 Localism Act in England has precipitated a considerable literature discussing its potential, limitations and likely shortcomings referenced against government rhetoric and the reporting of initial experiences of the process. This paper provides an overview of the current literature on neighbourhood planning and sets out how it has been received and practised across England drawing on empirical evidence. The extent of take-up and the experience of those involved first five years of neighbourhood planning and to consider how community-led planning may be designed and used following operational principles of inclusivity, capacity-building and adding value

Increased hippocampal excitability in miR-324-null mice

MicroRNAs are non-coding RNAs that act to downregulate the expression of target genes by translational repression and degradation of messenger RNA molecules. Individual microRNAs have the ability to specifically target a wide array of gene transcripts, therefore allowing each microRNA to play key roles in multiple biological pathways. miR-324 is a microRNA predicted to target thousands of RNA transcripts and is expressed far more highly in the brain than in any other tissue, suggesting that it may play a role in one or multiple neurological pathways. Here we present data from the first global miR-324-null mice, in which increased excitability and interictal discharges were identified in vitro in the hippocampus. RNA sequencing was used to identify differentially expressed genes in miR-324-null mice which may contribute to this increased hippocampal excitability, and 3′UTR luciferase assays and western blotting revealed that two of these, Suox and Cd300lf, are novel direct targets of miR-324. Characterisation of microRNAs that produce an effect on neurological activity, such as miR-324, and identification of the pathways they regulate will allow a better understanding of the processes involved in normal neurological function and in turn may present novel pharmaceutical targets in treating neurological disease