Sustainable Communities Act Letter to Councils.
A letter signed by 55 national organisations including ACS will be sent to all English local authority leaders, deputy leaders and chief executives urging them to ‘opt in’ to the Sustainable Communities Act process when invited to by central government in mid October.
The Act deals with a major problem – the ongoing decline of local shops, services, jobs, economic activity and communities. Important as this is, there is no concerted action by central Government to assist councils in stopping Ghost Town Britain (as it has been called) and promote the opposite – communities and high streets that are vibrant and sustainable.
The Sustainable Communities Act fills this vacuum – and even more importantly, in such a way that allows councils themselves to drive the ways in which Government can help to reverse the decline, because the Act gives Government a duty to assist councils.