Local Works, a coalition of over 100 national organisations including Age UK and the Federation of Small Businesses, have congratulated Bath MP Don Foster for action to help local areas.
Local MP Don Foster, the Communities Minister, has ensured that government publish an update on the Sustainable Communities Act, detailing progress on actions being taken in response to proposals put forward by communities under the Act.
The Sustainable Communities Act allows people – through their local council – to put their ideas to government for changes that would help the area.
Since the Act was passed in 2007, over 100 councils across the country, including Bath & North-East Somerset Council, have used it to request government assistance to help their communities. The Act has been used to protect local post offices from closure, boost renewable energy and to stop developers exploiting a loophole to use gardens for development.
The updates include news that government will announce the results of its consultation on banning restrictive covenants on pubs by the end of October.
Local MP Don Foster said: “The Sustainable Communities Act is an important piece of legislation and it was essential that an update was provided on it. Helping local communities is something that I am very passionate about and I will continue to work hard in Government to do this.
“I recently announced that we will be soon be giving town and parish councils the power to ask central government to remove barriers that prevent them from improving the economic, social and environmental well-being of their area. I would encourage all councils to make use of this valuable power.”
Steve Shaw, National Co-ordinator of Local Works, said: “We congratulate the Communities Minister, Don Foster, for ensuring that the new government report on actions it is taking as a result of proposals made by local authorities under the first round of the Sustainable Communities Act has finally been published.
“This report was long overdue. The government were legally required by the Sustainable Communities Act to publish it over 18 months ago. Mr Foster’s efforts to ensure the government complies with the law are welcomed.
“We are pleased to note that the report states that government will announce the results of its consultation on banning restrictive covenants on pubs by the end of October and we urge government to introduce a ban. Hundreds of local pubs across the country have been lost to this damaging practice and it’s time it is outlawed.
“It is clear from these updates that government also needs to do much more to help local communities, including responding to the specific requests made by people under the Act rather than repeating general policy statements on the issue concerned.”
