Hidden or hiding?

In the United Kingdom increased public participation is eulogised as the means through which land use planning will become modernised and environmental issues democratised. However, there is a concern that the recent reinvigoration of participation debates is merely a rewrapping of old problems in new rhetorics. Despite statutory mechanisms for participation in planning since 1969 genuine public involvement has remained consistently low and the preserve of professional discourses and organised interests. This paper provides insights into this failure to achieve broader participation by engaging with the very ‘publics’ whose involvement is sought. Through the medium of small group discussions a complex picture is revealed of institutionally excluded public values, or ‘hidden voices’, that will not be redrawn by the simple imposition of new participation techniques.