Relationships between regional policies

Making sure regional strategies work together
The regional spatial strategy is one of a range of strategies prepared at the regional level. All of them need to be aligned so that they work in harmony

Government policy says that

'....it is essential that the regional spatial strategy both shapes and is shaped by other regional strategies'.

It should set a framework for land uses that shows how the various other regional strategies can reinforce each other rather than clash.

Different organisations are responsible for the various regional strategies.

For example

• Regional economic strategy, prepared by the regional development agency
• Regional housing strategy, prepared by the regional housing board
• Regional spatial strategy, prepared by the regional planning body

Other regional strategies cover issues

such as

• Air quality
• Education
• Forestry
• Health
• Culture
• Biodiversity
• Environment
  

The contents of these will feed into and influence the content of the regional spatial strategies.

Equally, the policies in the regional spatial strategy should influence the policies in these other regional strategies, as well as plans produced at the sub-regional and local level.

While this seems straightforward, there is a lot of interpretation and the depths of those linkages and the primacy of the spatial strategy often needs to be fought for.

Regional sustainable development framework
The regional planning body is responsible for the preparation of an overarching regional sustainable development framework. It will often oversee the vision set for all the strategies.

It will co-ordinate them as far as possible, and press for them all to reflect the sustainable development framework.

Regional economic strategy
It is especially important to co-ordinate the objectives of the spatial strategy and the economic strategy and ensure the regional economic strategy fits within regional spatial strategy.

Both of them are required by law, and the economic strategy has significant implications for land use.

Regional transport strategy
The regional transport strategy forms part of the regional spatial strategy. Integrating plans for transport and land use at the regional level should achieve more sustainable travel patterns.

It should also ensure that employment, retail, leisure and education centres are in easy reach of residential areas by public transport (reference: PPS 11, annex D).

The regional transport strategy should

• Reduce the need to travel and guide local demand management measures (reference: PPS 11, annex D, paragraph 37)
• Ensure that major transport investment is properly coordinated across types of transport
• Reflect wider issues to do with the use of land, such as major new housing development or keeping low traffic levels in tranquil areas
• Provide the regional context for local transport plans and local development frameworks
• It should not be a wish list of inherited schemes shoe-horned into the regional spatial strategy and links between land use and transport should be fully tested. (reference: PPS 11, annex D, paragraph 22).