Regional planning bodies
The regional planning body prepares the regional spatial strategy, which the secretary of state then approves.
The regional assembly
The regional assembly is the regional planning body.
At least 60 per cent of the members of the regional planning body must be elected councillors from local authorities within a region.
The proportion must not be more than 70 per cent, including parish councillors
This ensures a good presence of elected councillors, even when the regional assembly is not directly elected.The rest of the assmbly is made up of representatives from
- Business
- Arts
- Sports
- Faith communities
- Other social sector organisations
- Environmental organisations.
The staff who work on the strategy are occasionally seconded to the regional planning body from county or district councils.However they will usually be employees of the regional body.
Preparing the strategy is a cooperative process, and the regional body can delegate work to councils within the region.
Local authorities are legally entitled to put forward their own detailed proposals for sub-regional planning to the regional body.
As well as preparing the strategy, the regional planning body
Must also
- Keep the strategy under review
- Keep any matters under review that are likely to affect development (and its planning) in the whole or part of the region
- Monitor the implementation of the strategy
- The results of the monitoring should feed through to reviews and result in adjustments
- Prepare an annual monitoring report
- Consider whether the implementation is achieving the strategy's aims
- Advise other agencies about achieving implementation of the strategy
The regional planning body has few powers of its own and relies on implementation of the regional spatial strategy through local development frameworks and by other bodies in the region such as
- The regional development agency
- Highways Agency
- The Environment Agency
- Natural England
- Developers
- Housing associations
- Voluntary organisations