How to use the Sustainable Communities Act to interact with local government and get funding for local projects.

1. Sustainable Communities Act
Presentation for
Transition City Lancaster
May 2014

2. What is the SCA ?
• The Sustainable Communities Act is a
radical law which allows communities
and councils to work together to reverse
community decline.
• What people want at community level
drives what government does

3. The SCA is based on 3 principles
1. Community decline is a significant national
problem, not just confined to certain local
areas;
2. The scale of the problem is too big for people
to solve on their own - government must help;
3. But local people know best what is needed for
their area - so they should determine what
government does to help them

4. What is the SCA?
• The Act defines the promotion of sustainable communities as
incorporating the following 4 things:
• 1. Environmental, e.g. promoting local renewable energy,
increasing recycling and protecting green spaces
• 2. Local economies, e.g. promoting local shops, local businesses
and local jobs
• 3. Social inclusion, e.g. protecting local public services and
alleviating fuel poverty and food poverty
• 4. Democratic involvement, e.g. increasing the ways local people
can participate in local decision making and promoting new ways
in which people can influence what happens locally

5. How does it work?

6. Where can we find out more?
www.localworks.org

7. How do I take part?
• First you must ensure your Local Authorities (and County
Council if you have one) chooses to use the Act.
• If Local Authorities (and County Councils) choose to use
the Act and make proposals to central government they
must first engage their communities in order to gain the
ideas local people have of what proposals should be made.
• They must then "try to reach agreement" with local people
on the proposals they will put forward to government. This
"reaching agreement" is a new process of governance and
is the first time that people have been given the right to
drive the agenda of what government does.

8. Campaigns already started:-

9. Could this be important?
• Why hasn’t Lancashire County Council
already asked to take part?
• Why hasn’t Lancaster City Council
either?
• Should we be thinking about projects that
the act could be used for?

10. Could this be important?
• Why hasn’t Lancashire County Council
already asked to take part?
• Why hasn’t Lancaster City Council
either?
• Should we be thinking about projects that
the act could be used for?