{"id":20472,"date":"2018-10-16T17:15:34","date_gmt":"2018-10-16T16:15:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ihbconline.co.uk\/newsachive\/?p=20472"},"modified":"2018-10-16T17:15:34","modified_gmt":"2018-10-16T16:15:34","slug":"scotlands-communities-feel-locked-out-out-by-landscape-policy-according-to-major-new-research","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/?p=20472","title":{"rendered":"Scotland\u2019s communities feel \u2018locked out\u2019 out by landscape policy, according to major new research"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"website\"<\/a>Major new research into Scottish landscape conservation policies – entitled Community Empowerment and Landscape<\/em> – has found that communities are being excluded from participating in development decisions that affect the areas they live in, with the \u2018participation deficit\u2019 in part because of long-standing \u2018fence and exclude\u2019 conservation models, which single out \u2018special\u2019 landscapes for protection.<\/h3>\n

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Community Land Scotland writes:<\/p>\n

\u2026 the report\u2019s author has called for a new approach to be adopted by public bodies, alongside \u2018an institutional culture change\u2019 to empower local communities to participate in decision-making. The first research of its kind to be carried out in Scotland, it was conducted by Community Land Scotland and INHERIT, as a response to concerns about the potential for landscape conservation policies to act as a barrier to rural renewal and to efforts to address the depopulation of Scotland\u2019s sparsely-populated areas.<\/p>\n

The findings are published in the report, Community Empowerment and Landscape<\/em>. The report identifies a significant gap between the rhetoric and the reality of community participation in decisions about the conservation of Scotland\u2019s landscapes.\u00a0 Dr Chris Dalglish, a Director of INHERIT and the report\u2019s author, said: \u2018Generally speaking, people are excluded when it comes to deciding what matters about Scotland\u2019s landscapes and to making decisions about the conservation of those landscapes. There is an apparent lack of recognition for community voices in this context. The current way of doing things is designed to serve institutional needs.\u2019<\/p>\n

Dr Dalglish added: \u2018The effects of the participation deficit are potentially profound. People feel locked out of decisions that affect their lives, and this can undermine people\u2019s confidence, resilience and ability to work for the development of their community and place.\u2019<\/p>\n

The research looked at policies dealing with the conservation of the \u2018landscape\u2019, \u2018historic environment\u2019 and \u2018natural heritage\u2019 dimensions of rural places, asking:<\/p>\n