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As part of the Government's commitment to localism, decentralisation and the rolling back of regional government, Ministers announced in May 2010 the abolition of the Government Office for London and a review of the case for the abolition of the remaining Government Offices.

On 22 July 2010, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Eric Pickles, announced to Parliament that the Government has the intention in principle to abolish the remaining eight Government Offices. The process will be subject to using the Spending Review to resolve consequential issues. The final decisions will be made at the end of the Spending Review in the autumn of 2010.

CPRE Oxfordshire welcomed the Government’s proposal to abolish Regional Spatial Strategies and give back greater control to local communities. But we need a clear, effective system to replace “top down” targets and deliver genuinely sustainable solutions, with protection for the countryside, the Green Belt, important landscapes and habitats. It is a golden opportunity to deliver sensible, sustainable planning and reduce the complexities which bedevil the current system.

With the Districts in the midst of their Core Strategies, the last thing Oxfordshire needs is a period of uncertainty and policy vacuum as this will only encourage speculative planning applications. We would urge the Government to expedite new arrangements after full consultations, and provide effective national guidance which does not ride roughshod over local concerns.

With the South East Plan targets removed, we would urge the five Districts to reconsider their housing plans to 2026 and formulate Core Strategies which are more sustainable and more in tune with local views.

The South East England Regional Assembly (SEERA) was originally responsible for the South East Spatial Strategy, known as the South East Plan ( a collection of 106 delegates from County and District Councils, and public and voluntary bodies, was based in Guildford). Responsibility for the South East Plan was then transferred to the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA), in July 2007, when SEERA was abolished (SEEDA is now expected to close by April 2012).

SEERA faced relentless demands from government bodies to build unacceptable numbers of houses across the South East and Oxfordshire. As such the draft South East Plan contained the uncomfortable news that Oxfordshire would get 47,200 new houses over the next twenty years. The plan was reviewed by government appointed inspectors in 2006 and they concluded that the county must take even more housing.

CPRE Oxfordshire appeared at the Examination in Public on the draft South East Plan and we responded to the draft South East Plan consultation.