On 6 July 2010 the Rt Hon Eric Pickles MP, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, announced the revocation of Regional Strategies with immediate effect.

Read Eric Pickles statement 42kb

The statement confirms that Regional Strategies are being revoked under s79(6) of the Local Democracy Economic Development and Construction Act 2009 and will therefore no longer form part of the development plan for the purposes of s38(6) of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004. The statement goes on to say that abolition will require legislation in the “Localism Bill” which the Government will introduce in the current Parliamentary session.

Alongside the statement, Steve Quartermain, CLG Chief Planner, wrote to Local Authority Chief Planning Officers alerting them to the statement and providing some guidance in the form of ‘questions and answer’ advice on immediate issues that may arise.

Read Steve Quartermain's letter 102kb

Examination of the partial review of the South East Regional Strategy on Provisions for Gypsies, Travellers and Travelling Showpeople.

An independent Panel conducted a single issue Examination in Public into the draft South East revision from 2nd February – 5th February 2010. In the light of the Secretary of State’s announcement on 6 July 2010 concerning the revocation of Regional Strategies, the report was not completed and was therefore never issued.

Following a request under the Freedom of Information/Environmental Information Regulations, we are making available the incomplete and unissued draft document we hold in relation to the Panel Report for the South East Partial Review 2,041kb.

The document is provided for information only. It does not represent the views of the Government and does not form any formal part of the planning system.

Archived material in relation to the South East partial review can be found on the National archivesite

Examination of the partial review of the North West Regional Strategy on Gypsies and Travellers and Travelling Show People, and Regional Parking Standards.

An independent Panel conducted an Examination in Public (EIP) of the draft North West Plan Partial Review, submitted to the Secretary of State in July 2009.

The EIP was held during March 2010 and a Panel Report was completed but not published in the light of the Secretary of State’s announcement on 6 July 2010 about the abolition of Regional Strategies.

Following a request under the Freedom of Information Act/Environmental Information Regulations, we are making available the unissued Panel Report for the North West Partial Review 1,370kb.

The document is provided for information only. It does not represent the views of the Government and does not form any formal part of the planning system.

Archived material in relation to the North West partial review can be found on the National archivesite

Additional work on the sustainability appraisal of the Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS) for the South West

A report 4.83mb has been produced by Land Use Consultants, Collingwood Environmental Planning and Levett-Therivel Sustainability Consultants, contains the findings of the consultants on the alternatives identified and appraised during the production of the RSS. It represents the consultants’ response to the brief, but, as the Government has revoked the RSS, it does not intend to take any further action on the findings. It does not represent Government policy or guidance.

The report is being published in response to requests under the Environmental Information Regulations 2004.

Background

In November 2009, the Government instructed Land Use Consultants to carry out further work to identify and appraise any remaining reasonable alternatives to the Areas of Search proposed in the Regional Spatial Strategy for South West England (SW RSS).

In July 2010, the Secretary of State revoked the Regional Strategies for England, including the Proposed Changes to the SW RSS. No instructions have therefore been issued to the consultants to complete the study, but stage 1 ‘Identification of Options’ was by that time complete, and is now published.

Key milestones in the production of the RSS were:

Draft RSS (prepared by the former SW Regional Assembly) submitted – July 2006.
Examination in Public before an independent panel – April – July 2007
Panel’s report received by SoS – December 2007
Consultation on SoS’s Proposed Changes – July – October 2008