AFFORDABLE
HOUSING AND LONGPARISH
AN
INTRODUCTION TO JEFF BISHOP
Having been contacted
about possibly helping to mediate on the issue of affordable housing in
Longparish, I was then asked to send a note saying something about my ‘pedigree'
in this area of work. There are three aspects of my work worth mentioning:
1. Village Design and Planning
Partly because of my original training as an architect, I am well known
as an advocate of local distinctiveness in design. One outcome of this was
that myself and a colleague invented Village Design Statements for the Countryside
Commission (as was). We then produced the guidance material, ran training
courses and continue to support rural communities and planning officers
on village design issues. Although I am not a planner, most people think
of me as one because I have a lot of experience on planning issues. I have
for example just completed a major study on the future of Parish Plans (now
or very soon on the Defra website).
2. Community Involvement
I have worked for years to ensure more and better community involvement
in planning, design, housing, environmental change etc. That includes very
practical projects, lots of training and work on overall government policy.
I was a key figure behind recent changes to the planning system in terms
of greater community involvement, although some things did not come out
as I would have wished. I have now carried that through to several small
and large projects working within the new system.
3. Facilitation
In order to do community involvement properly it is often necessary to bring
together very different groups of people to work on issues and hopefully
reach some sort of consensus. That requires skill and experience in facilitation
of small and large groups; something in which I also specialise and on which
I run (with others) regular training courses all across the UK. I have done
such work in some extremely high conflict situations on national issues
but also on smaller and more local (yet often equally tense!) issues. That
also means operating independently and being seen to do so – ie. not managing
processes in favour of any pre-agreed solution or group. Given my regular
mix of clients - public authorities, private businesses, voluntary organisations,
community groups etc. (often at the same time) – I think I manage to achieve
the necessary independence.
As a long term supporter of strong, vibrant rural communities, I'm looking
forward to working in Longparish – and it's already clear that it is ‘vibrant'!