Eden Project

How to plan your own neighbourhood

Until recently, residents have had little say in how they want their communities to grow or change, but the planning system is changing and people are being given more control.

Boy playing with wooden train track with mother looking over

While the term ‘neighbourhood planning’ might not get you fired up, what these changes mean in practice is that, together with others in your area, you could make tangible things happen, like:

  • getting better bus routes
  • creating a community green space or orchard
  • designing affordable housing for the area
  • running a local enterprise, like a shop, pub or even cinema
  • taking a local service into your own hands, such as the recycling collection.

Why bother with neighbourhood planning?

  • To improve the quality of the places you live and work, by coming up with a vision for its future. This is your chance to think about what you care about in your local area and what kind of place you want to create.
  • Because you know best about your neighbourhood; you are the local experts. Why let other people decide what happens to where you live?
  • It’s something communities have been doing for thousands of years in one form or another; ancient tribes would have discussed where to put up and shelters to best avoid the woolly mammoth – that’s planning.
  • Because the process can be fun! You’ll get to know your neighbours, and may discover hidden talents. Who’s really an architect at heart? Who’s a born organiser?

Check out the resources below to help you design your own neighbourhood. There are also inspirational case studies: find out how neighbourhoods are working together to come up with a vision for their future – using creative techniques for dialogue, from mapping workshops to food evenings to collaborating with artists.

Building Community consortium

The Building Community consortium is led by Locality in partnership with communityplanning.net, the Eden Project, and The Glass-House Community Led Design. It is delivered as part of the Department for Communities and Local Government’s Supporting Communities and Neighbourhoods in Planning scheme.