'Partnership working' and the Yorkshire Dales management plan.

It is difficult to pass judgement on any working method if one does not have some results pertaining to the specific case. It might be guessed that it would not work in quite the way the participants and observers might be led to believe.

'Partnerships' are excellent ways for people with vested interests, to influence decision-making. Within the Yorkshire Dales management plan we have named groups, many of them employed specifically to further their own members interests, (eg NFU, landowners). Of the other organisations some have voluntary members, but all have paid executives and spokespeople.

We can see that if partnership working is going to change decisions in planning, it is those organisations that have the most time, power and influence which stand to make the greatest gains.

Partnership working may act as a method by which planners can justify their own ideas. A small number of zealous officers might pursue certain goals, and legitimise them by referring to a planning process that happened to incorporate the views of those people who agree.

For speed, convenience and fairness, we should require elected officials and paid officers to make the best decisions.

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