Reports New funding secured for historic high streets recovery 68 historic high streets across England have been offered government funding to give them a new lease of life and help them recover from declining footfall and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Reports Trust the people Flatpack Democracy’s bid to take over the country was launched online on 9 September 2020.
Events New Economy summer festivals review A review of three summer festivals from the new economy movement, which moved online this year.
Reports Interactive roadmap helps towns to realise goals A new consortium to work with towns, both large and small, bringing a multi-disciplinary approach to re-purposing towns from the beginning of the journey through to the execution of a successful plan
Reports 'Massive change' to planning framework: will localism survive the push for new housing? The government has revealed its plans for a major upheaval to the planning system involving land being designated into one of three categories - for growth, renewal or protection
Events Civic Revival Launch Event View Civic Revival's official online launch event here - with founders and directors Peter Stonham and Richard Walker giving an introduction to the project
Reports Business and Planning Act 2020: impacts on places and pavements With the new Business and Planning Act, local planning authorities, all of a sudden, have gained some and lost other, control over how activities are managed in response to the Coronavirus
Reports 'Community charter’ bid to restore faith in developers and planning process Property company Grosvenor has launched ‘Positive Space’, a community charter seeking to set a new standard of public engagement and collaborative activity in the way that places are created and managed
Reports Design Quality Unit urged to deliver better urban development A Design Quality Unit must be established if the government is to succeed in its stated ambition to deliver good urban development, a coalition of design organisations has urged.
Reports Conservation areas under threat, says Civic Voice The value of conservation areas and their benefits is clear, but their future is not, the civic society organisation Civic Voice has warned
Places Goathland Village Hall Trust goes Tech Goathland Village Hall, a key community facility for the North Yorks Moors village, has just benefited from a digital tech upgrade to its facilities
Reports 'Keep planning local' call to government from big group of major organisations A significant group of representative bodies involved with local government and community activities have sent an open letter to the government warning about changes to the planning system
Reports Civic regeneration at Bolton station Paul Salveson, a founder director of Civic Revival, reports on the project to develop a community hub at Bolton railway station.
Reports 100 places invited to submit Town Investment Plans for share of £3.6 billion new government funding The 100 places selected for the government’s £3.6 billion Towns Fund will now be able to draw up their proposals for a multi-million pound investment
Reports Map reveals locations of pop-up walking and cycling measures – and where more are needed Responses to the pandemic and restrictions on travel have created an opportunity for better provision for walking and cycling in local areas
Reports Tory and Labour MPs make joint call for action to repair ‘broken communities' The MPs Danny Kruger and Jon Cruddas issued a joint statement in March putting their shared position forward on the need to support more community-driven initiatives and involvement to improve towns like the ones they represent – Devizes in Wiltshire, and Dagenham in East London respectively
Reports Reformed retailer champions indies for post-Covid world Former clone-town-chainstore-CEO-turned-high-street-champion Bill Grimsey spoke to Indie York's virtual summer meeting.
Reports Building a new local economy Report from the Stir to Action/New Economics Foundation workshops on 19 February & 22 April 2020
Reports Dunster, Watchet and Minehead A tour of three places in West Somerset looking for examples of civic activism following the 'Beyond the Fragments' discussion at the Yarn Market Hotel, Dunster in 2018.
Reports Bradford: a life-changing place A personal reflection on Bradford and the Stir to Action/NEF event ‘High Streets: Agents of Economic Change’
