Prioritising Local Environmental Concerns Where There's a Will There's a Way

Research suggests that it is unlikely that people in disadvantaged communities will 'buy in' to the global agenda unless there is evidence of commitment to environmental improvement at the neighbourhood level. This report explores the representation of environmental concerns within Local Strategic Partnerships (LSPs), which have been identified as the overarching co-ordinating framework for neighbourhood renewal. Based on detailed case studies of three deprived neighbourhoods in each of two authorities, together with a review of existing literature and policy documentation and liaison with key informants within Government, the report examines the extent to which LSPs strategies currently recognise and address environmental concerns and whether the priorities of people living in the neighbourhoods are represented. It considers how differing local needs and concerns can be represented and how the global environmental concerns of policy-makers can be reconciled with those raised by local people living in disadvantaged communities.;The report concludes with recommendations for addressing the tensions that arise from the competing priorities of different groups and areas and between local people and the policy professionals.