When a conspiracy has been widely debunked (including by the Government itself, you wouldn't expect it to be perpetuated at the Conservative Party conference. Yet, this week, we heard ministers legitimising the idea that local councils are using ‘15-minute neighbourhoods' to restrict the liberties of residents.
As part of the Conservative's new plans to 'back drivers' and 'put the brakes on anti-car measures', Transport Secretary Mark Harper announced measures to prevent the 'sinister' ways local councils are using this planning concept to 'police people's lives'.
Except, of course, councils aren't doing this at all. In fact, rather than limiting what people can do, the 15-minute concept has been implemented across the globe to ensure the key amenities that local people say they need are accessible to them. Why, then, has this fringe theory made its way into mainstream politics? What's so controversial about enabling better access to basic services and social infrastructure?
Greater threats to communities
Research has shown how, for more than a decade, the Government's austerity regime has resulted in disproportionate cuts to local government finances, with disproportionate impacts on the most deprived places and people. These local cuts severely limit what local councils can do. Just last week, analysis from Unison uncovered record shortfalls in local authority budgets, totalling more than £3.5bn, with increasing numbers of councils facing (the risk of) bankruptcy.
In many local areas, austerity makes the promises of a '15-minute neighbourhood' unattainable: people cannot easily access essential services, never mind those local assets that enable communities to flourish. Whether 'dental deserts' leave residents unable to get NHS appointments, or children's playgrounds are left to crumble – with both council budgets and powers restricted by Westminster, many of the provisions residents might hope for simply fall out of their local authority's control.
Being more ambitious
It's precisely because of this context that the ‘15-minute neighbourhood' idea is so compelling. This became apparent to me when The Young Foundation worked with Waltham Forest council, conducting research and engagement with local residents to develop a vision and framework for '15-minute neighbourhoods' in the London borough. By bringing together both stats and stories from this diverse area of East London, the concept helped to facilitate important conversations. Working in creative and participatory ways with local communities, we heard not only about what residents want from their neighbourhoods, but about the different considerations and trade-offs that need to be worked through to navigate people's needs and priorities. We also saw how the concept was able to break down silos within the council, providing a common vision for the borough across different teams and departments. The principles of this data-rich, resident-led framework were eventually embedded into corporate policy, creating a council-wide strategy.
Locally-led and place-specific
'15-minute neighbourhoods' won't necessarily be the answer everywhere. Yet, as economic pressures build for both councils and communities, what is clear is that we need better fora for conversations about what local areas can provide. In Waltham Forest, the '15-minute neighbourhood' concept enabled the council and residents alike to be more ambitious about local places, with commitments to work collaboratively to shape these. By inciting confusion and fuelling conspiracies, the Government is distracting from the real issues facing local areas. The Conservative Party's ‘levelling up' agenda centred what it called ‘pride in place'. If it wants to develop places to be proud of, a government should support the efforts of local councils and communities to improve their neighbourhoods. It must focus on what it can do to enable more local initiatives like this.
Alice Bell is a senior researcher at The Young Foundation, and an author of this The Youreport on 15 Minute Neighbourhoods in Waltham Forest LBC
