 |
Why is this theme important to small towns? |
Types of small town governance across Europe vary significantly. Some towns have active ‘locally-based’ town councils and some do not. The physical or social distance between the town and the government can sometimes be perceived as influencing how well a community’s needs are met. By building partnerships, everyone’s priorities are represented and can be negotiated openly. Partnerships can create local economic or social links with new development. This allows the local community to achieve the highest benefit from new development. If managed properly, partnerships can strengthen the democratic process, openly justify the need for change and reduce opposition to new projects. The result of a successful partnership can therefore mean that new development is more accepted, and confidence within the town is enhanced. By nature of their scale, small towns are conducive to partnerships that examine all the town’s affairs in a holistic, ‘whole town’ manner (see ‘Town Centre Management’, ‘Marketing and Promotion’ and other toolkit components).
Small towns are also conducive to a partnership approach to project implementation, as well as in decision-making. Communities in small towns should be able to help themselves in many ways and partnerships can provide the right frameworks.
 |
|
|
