​Mothiur Rahman

The aim of Community Charters are to reframe how a community engages with the planning process, so its stand is first centred on what human beings really care about, rather than being driven by a fight against corporate and economic ‘needs’.   The concept of Community Charters was inspired by the “Community Bill of Rights” movement in the United States led by the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund (CELDF) 

 

I was part of a cross-disciplinary and collaborative team, invited to assist the community of Falkirk in developing their Community Charter, the UK's first.   The Charter sets out a clear vision of what the community values and wants to safeguard.  In doing so, it is also a direct expression by the people of their rejection of Dart Energy’s planning application for Coal Bed Methane extraction in the Forth valley between Falkirk and Stirling.  You can find a link to the Falkirk Against Unconventional Gas (FAUG) website here. 

 

The team that helped create Falkirk's Charter are sharing what they are learning with other communities facing environmentally damaging developments.   A website for this work is under development.