West Midlands CPRE seeks to exert influence on regional bodies on behalf of the countryside and the wider environment.

We lobby externally and, often in partnership with sister organisations on the West Midlands Regional Sustainability Forum, sit on regional partnerships.

The Government announced in its Sub-National Review significant changes to how regional governance will work in the future. Until that takes full effect in 2010 the main bodies we seek to influence are:
• The Government Office for the West Midlands which represents Government in the West Midlands and contributes to the Government's decision on the Regional Spatial Strategy and other strategies as well as calling in contentious proposals for public inquiry.
• The Regional Development Agency (Advantage West Midlands) which is responsible for economic development in the region and which prepares the critically important Regional Economic Strategy.
• And the Regional Assembly, which includes both elected members from local authorities and representatives of business and other stakeholders. That includes environmental representative, chosen by the West Midlands Regional Sustainability Forum. Gerald Kells (our Regional Policy Officer) represents WMRSF. We also have seats on a number of some Assembly policy partnerships including Transport and Housing. The Assembly is responsible for preparing the Regional Spatial Strategy, for ensuring local plans and major development are in general conformity with that strategy and for scrutinizing Advantage West Midlands.

At the same time as announcing the Sub-National Review Gordon Brown appointed a Minister for the West Midlands. That post is currently held by Ian Austin MP. The Local Authorities in the region also set up a Regional Forum of Leaders which is chaired by Councillor Roger Phillips, Leader of Herefordshire Council and with Advantage West Midlands a Shadow Joint Strategy and Investment Board. It will be responsible for agreeing the Regional Funding Allocation and will in future be responsible for Regional Planning. It is jointly chaired by Roger Philips and Nick Paul, Chair of Advantage West Midlands.

We believe it is important that whatever new structures are in place they promote the environment of the region as well as its economic prosperity and we continue to seek to ensure that they are fully aware of our concerns.

The West Midlands Regional Sustainability Forum brings together Environmental and Amenity Non-Governmental Organisations, of which West Midlands CPRE is one member. It puts forward representatives to a number of bodies and acts as the Regional Transport Activists Roundtable run by Transport 2000.

CPRE and WMRSF are both non party political.

We also seek to work closely with Statutory Environmental Bodies, such as English Heritage, the Environment Agency and Natural England, in the region, as well as Sustainability West Midlands, which is charged with promoting Sustainable Development in the region.

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