The Friends of South Hams sincerely thank The Friends of the Earth for allowing us to reproduce extracts from their excellent guides.
Looking for tips on how to run a great stall? Not sure how you can make the most of social media? Or how to go about recruiting new members?
The handy guides from THE FRIENDS OF THE EARTH provide answers to these and more questions to help your local campaigning group have the most impact: FRIENDS OF THE EARTH GUIDES
Learn about the legal and planning system and get to know your rights when it comes to decisions about your local area.
Environmental law and the planning system can be powerful tools in the work for healthier nature, clean air and water and a better environment for everyone.
At times it can feel like the people with the most money and connections get to make the decisions about what happens where you live. And it can feel like those with less power are the ones who have to put up with the consequences — affecting their health and quality of life.
The Friends of South Hams and Friends of the Earth are committed to supporting people in their hopes for more sustainable development. We want to provide the tools to enable you to have your say in the decisions which will affect you.
Here you will find guidance on community rights, environment and planning law, written by the FOE’s own expert team of lawyers and planners.
Your right to know
Information is power. Freedom of Information (FOI) laws give everyone the opportunity to access information held by public authorities such as national and local government.
FOI Part 1: What You Can Ask For And How
FOI Part 2: Information Requests
Your right to participate
You have a right to participate in development plans and controls in your local area. The planning system is in the public interest. It gives you your most powerful right to participate and be heard in decisions that affect the environment.
The English Planning System: An overview
Planning Applications: A Campaigner’s Guide
Local Plans: A Campaigner’s Guide
Environmental Impact Assessment: A Campaigner’s Guide
Environmental Impact Assessment and Case Law Annex
Public Inquiries: A Campaigner’s Guide
Your right to challenge
Judicial Review (JR) is a form of court proceeding that allows you to ask the judge to review the validity of a public body’s decisions. It is an important way of holding public authorities to account for their actions.
Community Rights and Justice Centre
Friends of the Earth’s Rights and Justice Centre provides legal advice and representation to people who want to use the law to protect their communities and the environment.
We take on a small number of environmental public-interest cases on behalf of these groups. We try, in particular, to work with community groups that suffer the brunt of bad environmental decisions and cannot otherwise get legal advice.
We also try to take test cases that will help other communities in the future.
If you think your issue meets these criteria, please email the FOE Legal team*.
Planning support
The Friends of South Hams and Friends of the Earth’s planning experts provide guidance to people who want to engage with the planning system to protect their communities and local environment from inappropriate and damaging developments.
Bothe the Friends of South Hams and the FOE take on a very small number of environmental public-interest cases on behalf of local groups. We especially try to accommodate the needs of those community groups under threat of development and that cannot otherwise get planning consultancy advice.
Our support can range from providing advice on making objections, to responding to planning consultations, providing Inquiry advice and enabling better and effective understanding of, and engagement with, the planning system.
We take your privacy very seriously. We’re committed to making sure we work in line with current data protection legislation and protecting your personal information online. See our privacy policy for more details.
We sincerely thank Friends of the Earth for permission to use their links – 21/11/2018 Friends of the earth
Friends of South Hams 