One of the issues bedevilling the ConDem government's localism agenda is the way it ignores political choice. The likes of Eric Pickles don't seem to grasp the complexity of managing different needs in a universal service.
Taking parks as an example, many park users have conflicting needs. Smaller children might want playgrounds; older ones space to play sport. Many older people may simply want a quiet place to sit. Dog walkers want space that they can let their dogs off a lead, which can lead to problems over fouling. Politics is supposed to reach acceptable compromises for all these groups, but Eric Pickles vision seems to be a crude one of "the people" making a decision in some sort of town hall meeting. This would be likely to lead to:
1) Dominance of an unrepresentative group who like attending meetings.
2) Possible bullying of minorities
3) Decisions made without proper regard for evidence
4) Unrealistic assumptions around budgets and costs.
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