Public participation within the UK planning process is no longer limited series of local meetings, but
involves a series of legally required procedures, as part of the planning process. These include the
dissemination of key information concerning the details of the plan, public consultation and some
attempted engagement related in specific details of the decision making process, particularly the
inclusion of the views of those affected by a decision. These procedures are not detailed in specific
legislation, but are generally considered to be effective if they are able to build consensus through
deliberative action, usually focussing on the local community, but not to the exclusion of other
interested parties (see Smith 1983). There are many options for public participation, but these can
be divided into two types, depending upon the level of engagement and the flow of information: (1)
lower level engagement, which involves top down communication and a one-way flow of
information; (2) higher level engagement, characterised by dialogue and a two-way information
exchange (Rowe and Frewer 2000).