Sustainable Communities: Time to 'opt-in'

This month the government will be asking Local Councils across the land whether they would like to opt-in to the Sustainable Communities Act.
(For more information on the Act please see previous blog dated 30/08/08)

Below is a sample letter to be sent from citizens to their borough/district/city/unitary councillors and also to their county councillors urging them to ‘opt in’ to the Sustainable Communities Act process.

The text below is a guide, please feel free to compose your own letters as they will be more effective. You could also email councillors; addresses and links can be found here

Please ask other people to write too – the more the better!

Note: You can find out who your borough/district/city/unitary and county councillors are by calling the respective council or going to their website.



Dear Cllr [your councillor’s name],

Re: using the Sustainable Communities Act

As a local resident I am writing to you to urge you to please do all you can to ensure that the council decides to ‘opt in’ to the new Sustainable Communities Act process when invited to by central government in October this year.

The Act is great news for all of us locally. For the first time we have a law that gives local government and local communities the power to drive central government policy on reversing community decline and promoting sustainable communities.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely,
[your name]
[your address]

You can send copies of any replies you receive to Local Works Campaign Co-ordinator, Steve Shaw, at steve@localworks.org or
Local Works
c/o Unlock Democracy
6 Cynthia St
London N1 9JF