Fun Fact: On 11 March 2021, the Charity Commission gave us the official certificate that declared that Make Space for Girls was a charity – and our journey began. We can’t decide if it seems like yesterday or a million years ago.
But either way, it’s been a busy 5 years and it felt fitting that the day before our 5th birthday we pressed “send” on our most recent submission to the Government, advocating for better spaces for teenage girls.
As regular readers of our blogs will know, a key part of our strategy is campaigning for changes in national policy. Part of this is lobbying so that national policy provides a supportive structure, enabling local authorities, communities and developers to make sure that, when new public spaces are built, they are welcoming to teenage girls.
National planning policy is a vital part of this structure. Planning policy is devolved and we are pleased to have submitted our responses to the recent Government Consultation on the National Planning Policy Framework for England (NPPF) and the associated Design of Placemaking Planning Practice Guidance. If you want to read the details of our responses they are here
For those of our followers who are not “planning geeks”, decisions by local authorities about where new developments get built and what they look like, are made in line with a Local Plan, drawn up by the local authority. The NPPF sets the framework within which local authorities must develop their Local Plans. In a little over 100 pages, NPPF covers everything from sustainability, tackling climate change, transport and flood risk to conserving the natural and historic environment. And promoting house building to tackle the housing crisis and help find permanent homes for 170,000 children.
The NPPF isn’t the place to try to dictate how local authorities make new public spaces more welcoming to teenage girls. Local authorities are the best people to decide this, listening to local teenage girls.
We know this because we have seen great examples of Local Plans where relevant provisions have been included. And guess what? These Local Plans don’t contain “cookie cutter” wording cut and pasted from a central government template. They include wording that reflects the thoughtful approach of the local planning teams, reflecting on their local circumstances, having engaged with teenage girls who know their area. The NPPF doesn’t (and shouldn’t) take that localism away.
The NPPF is, however, a place to include a “hook” so that local authorities remember to think about the issue of age and gender when they are drafting those parts of the Local Plan that relate to public space. And this is what we have asked the Government to do.
Of course, our campaigning work doesn’t stop with submitting our responses. We’re going to talk to politicians, explain our evidence to civil servants and partner with other organisations who share our vision and values.
And we’re going to keep doing this- campaigning for policy change is a long term business, and as a charity we’re up for that: we don’t give up; we don’t get distracted; we don’t chase other goals. We just keep working to make parks and similar spaces more welcoming to teenage girls. We’ve spent the last 5 years building the foundations for this work and we’re looking forward to the next 5 years.
We’d love to hear from you, if you’d be interested in adding your voice in support of the changes we’re proposing to the NPPF. If you would, please contact us at makespaceforgirls@gmail.com with NPPF in the subject line.
