The advocacy model, in variants of the classic and activist strands, was initially criticised because of the possible disempowering effect of others speaking on behalf of marginalised groups. There was also a perceived danger of agendas being warped by advocates to suit themselves. Yet our view is that advocacy, understood as acting across the categories identified by Peattie (1978), can be rehabilitated and reformulated. It is clear that in some circumstances the need for another to amplify views on behalf of marginalised groups is made necessary by circumstance. However, the employment of this practice has been somewhat supplanted by other forms of engagement; in a sense the alternatives have supplanted rather than complemented advocacy.

The debate over participation in planning and the tensions between insider/outsider planning activity is still a live one; as indicated in the review of Planning Aid presented here, and given the changing operating environment of planning in the UK. Faced with decades of politicians’ claiming to want to see more active citizenship and to empower communities, the introduction of neighbourhood planning in England seemed a real opportunity for neighbourhoods to take some control of their ‘own’ area. Yet uptake has been somewhat dominated by those in more affluent areas. Meanwhile most local authorities have lacked the will, motivation or resources (or all three) to do more than the minimum in terms of community engagement in the process of Neighbourhood Plan preparation, where the regulatory requirements require that ‘a local planning authority must give such advice or assistance to qualifying bodies as, in all the circumstances, they consider appropriate’ (Localism Act 2011: s61.3(1)). However, the relevant stipulations applicable to participation in local plan-making in England are open to interpretation:

While there are interesting lessons being learned about localism and participation, the debate over collaborative or co-productivist participation, as opposed to outright (ant)agonistic challenge, and how to integrate community views and knowledge continues.