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Every region is required by law to produce a Regional Spatial Strategy which sets out how the region will develop over the next twenty years. The strategy should determine how local authority’s individual Local Development Frameworks are prepared and how major planning proposals are decided on. Local Development Frameworks and development proposals of ‘regional significance’ such as motorways, airports and large business parks have to prove they are in ‘general conformity’ with the strategy. More details on how this works can be found on our national planning resource. The West Midlands Regional Spatial Strategy The West Midlands’ Regional Spatial Strategy (RPG 11, published in June 2004 and reissued as RSS11 in January 2008) covers the years 2001-2021. West Midlands CPRE supports the policy of concentrating development in major urban areas, stopping urban extensions into the Green Belt or overspill development into our rural Shires. West Midlands CPRE also supports the target for 76% of housing to be on previously developed (‘brownfield’) land. And we support many of the policies to protect the environment. But we have also opposed proposals to widen the M6 in Staffordshire, the threat of large logistics (‘warehouse’) development and the on-going threat of massive airport expansion. The Regional Assembly publishes monitoring reports on progress on its website. The Review RPG 11 is now being partially reviewed in three stages. Phase 1 (dealing with the Black Country Study) has now been completed and changes incorporated into the strategy. The Black Country local authorities are now developing a Core Strategy, which CPRE is responding to. Phase 2 (dealing with housing, economics, transport and waste) was submitted to Government in January 2007. Consultation was delayed because of Government intervention to increase housing numbers. CPRE suibmitted detailled comments to the Preferred Option and appeared throughout the Public Examination from April to June of 2009. The Panel Report was published in September and the Government’s modification are expected before the end of the year. After the Options Consultation on Phase 3 (dealing with rural and environmental issues) the Assembly agreed with Government Office not to proceed further but to develop Interim Policy Statements and Recommendations which could feed into a new Single Strategy. The process for achieving that will last until the Spring of 2010. The Future The Government’s Sub-National Review will result in the abolition of the Regional Assembly in 2010 and development of a Single Regional Strategy developed jointly by the Forum of Local Authority Leaders and Advantage West Midlands, through the new Joint Straegy and Investment Board. It will replace the Regional Spatial Strategy and the Regional Economic Strategy. The form the strategy will take and how it will be developed is not yet decided but a Visioning exercise is expected in November/December 2009. The Conservative Party has said that it will remove the regional layer if elected, in which case the existing strategies may simply continue until they can introduce primary legislation to remove them. |
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