Dear Fellow Residents,
There’s a well-known saying:
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good people to do nothing.”
We are increasingly witnessing a system that subtly discourages public participation — not through force, but by making democratic engagement feel so unnecessarily complex and inaccessible that many are pushed away.
Yet what’s often overlooked that public engagement in the planning process isn’t just a right — it’s a duty, both morally and legally.
Under UK planning law and the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), public consultation is not a token gesture. It is a statutory requirement designed to ensure that planning decisions reflect not only developer interests but also the views, knowledge, and lived experience of the community.
Participation is not optional window dressing. Authorities are legally required to enable and facilitate meaningful consultation. Residents, in turn, are expected and entitled to take part — not just permitted to.
When the system becomes so convoluted or poorly communicated that it effectively excludes ordinary people, that is not your failure — it is a failure of governance.
Democracy requires vigilance, not passive consent. If we let complexity lull us into disengagement, we risk turning democracy into idiocracy.
Please — however overwhelmed or sidelined you may feel — stay awake and involved. Your participation matters, and your voice is part of the legal fabric that upholds accountability.
[beechlands-rd-community.online] Team
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