Regional strategies finally die (except for four policies)

Angus Walker picture-13This entry reports on the revocation of the last three regional strategies, nearly three years after the government first attempted to get rid of them.

When the coalition government was formed it was intent on introducing localism, which meant increasing powers available to local authorities and bodies at sub-local authority level, and removing powers at the regional level.  One of these regional powers was the ability to create 'regional strategies' (RSs), which were planning and other policies and were composed of regional spatial strategies and regional economic strategies (and are often referred to just as RSSs). 

On 6 July 2010 the government duly revoked all eight RSs by order, but this was successfully challenged in the courts on the grounds that the selective ability to amend or revoke RSs could not be used to get rid of them all at once, and they came back to life again.  The government then went through a much more painstaking process of carrying out strategic environmental assessment of each one, including consultation on this, before introducing revocation orders one by one.

Finally, today, the revocation of the last three RSs has come into effect - although as two policies in each of two of them have been 'saved', like the smallpox virus they have not been completely eradicated and are being kept alive in a jar somewhere.

There were eight RSs, one for each of the eight regions of England outside London. Here are the eight revocation orders:

  1. East of England Regional Strategy - revoked on 3 January
  2. East Midlands Regional Strategy - revoked on 12 April
  3. North East Regional Strategy - revoked on 15 April
  4. North West Regional Strategy - revoked today
  5. South East Regional Strategy - revoked on 25 March except for two policies
  6. South West Regional Strategy - revoked today
  7. West Midlands Regional Strategy - revoked toda
  8. Yorkshire and Humber Regional Strategy - revoked on 22 February except for two policies

The four policies that were saved were two in the South East relating to the Thames Basin Heaths Special Protection Area and the former Upper Heyford air base in Oxfordshire, and two in Yorkshire and Humber both relating to the York Green Belt. Presumably removing them would have made the areas they related to more vulnerable to inappropriate development.

One of the main reasons that the RSs were unpopular was that they set targets for housing and onshore renewable energy - i.e. windfarms. Housing is of course outside the Planning Act 2008 regime, even when it is extended to business and commercial projects, but the removal of renewable energy targets will make a slight impact on proposed onshore wind farm projects that come under the Planning Act regime, and a greater impact on those that are less than 50MW and must rely on the conventional planning system.

The main lesson of this episode is, however, festina lente - more haste less speed.