The aim of the research is to explore and understand the role of local councillors in local government. There are three dimensions that influence this role. The first is the tension between central and local government and the highly centralised party political system which constrains local autonomy. The second is the role of the political party in local government, and its dominance in policy making. The third is the evolving spatial planning system and the new emphasis on localism and collaborative planning. These themes are explored through an examination of the spatial planning system, and in particular a case study of plan making in the growth area of the Central Oxfordshire Sub- region. My reading and reflection have helped me formulate three research questions : a) Has the lack of local government autonomy inhibited the adoption of innovative forms of collaborative planning; b) Have councillors understood the central tenets of collaborative planning and acted upon them and c) Can local politicians who are not members of the council`s executive play a more effective community leadership role by becoming more involved in the scrutiny of policies for space and place - making. The study has contributed to knowledge in a number of ways. It provides confirmatory evidence for other research exploring the role of the councillor in local government. This study has shown how the politicisation that has affected local government has also had an influence on the role of spatial planning in local government and that the dominant role of the political party in local government also involves spatial planning. Finally it demonstrates the importance of effective scrutiny within local government so as to create political space for other stakeholders who otherwise are inhibited by this politicisation.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:629342 |
| Date | January 2014 |
| Creators | Moor, N. |
| Publisher | University of the West of England, Bristol |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://eprints.uwe.ac.uk/24104/ |
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