Regional Assemblies to be abolished, Regional Plans to be urgently reviewed.

July 2007

The government's plans for the future of regional planning were announced by Communities and Local Government Minister John Healy on 17 July and further details were given in the Housing Green Paper. The government promised to "give local authorities and communities greater responsibility" without actually meaning that. The plans confirm the government's wish to place economic needs at the core of planning and to tighten its grip on housing numbers.

Regional Assemblies will be phased out after 2010. All Regional Spatial Strategies (the South East Plan is an RSS) are to be reviewed. The current round of RSS will be completed as quickly as possible. By 2011, "mini-reviews" of regional plans will have imposed increases on regional and local targets for housing "to reflect the need for 240,000 homes a year by 2016".

After this round of RSS, a single strategy will be developed for each region, embracing the current Regional Spatial Strategy and Regional Economic Strategy. Responsibility for preparing the single strategy will lie with the Regional Development Agency. The Secretary of State will set strict timetables.

Local Authorities will play a key role in drawing up proposals to feed into the regional strategy. Local council leaders will endorse the final draft strategy before it goes to the Planning Inspectorate.

The Secretary of State will specify an economic growth objective for each region The Secretary of State will require the regional strategy to set the level of housing to match the level of "projected household growth" in the region. The National Housing and Planning Advice Unit will issue guidance on housing numbers which the Regional Planning Bodies will be expected to adopt.

Further Information

• CPRE Oxfordshire on the SE Plan
• CPRE South East Region on the SE Plan