Strategic Planning in England

Some Reflections from my

Experience

Will Fieldhouse

January 2011

What’s This About?

Lessons from my work on Regional Planning and Regional Strategies over last ten years

About process, ways of working, and “strategic issues”

May be relevant to whatever planning system we may have in the future?

What This is Not About

• Eric Pickles

• CALA Homes

• “Local Growth” White Paper

• Localism Bill

• Government Offices

This is a personal view, not a Government view

What I mean by …..

• “Strategic” = wider area than local authority

• “Spatial” = about places, but not just “development and use of land”

• “Plan” = document setting out desired outcomes and means of achieving them

Strategic Spatial Planning - History

• Structure Plans 1970s• Strategic Guidance

1980s• Regional Planning 1990s• Regional Spatial

Strategies (and RES, RHS, RTS) 2000s

• Regional Strategy 2009• ?????? 2010+

Lessons learned

What I’ve learned from regional strategy work about

• Process / procedures

• Ways of working

• Strategic issues (housing, economy, infrastructure, etc)

But first ………

Some General Stuff

• Sustainable development

• Joining things up (“integration”)

• Outcomes

• Delivery

Sustainable Development

What makes Development “Sustainable”?

The Lorax may ask• How many Thneeds do we

really all need?• What about the Truffalo

Trees and Bar-ba-Loots?So a strategic planner should

consider• Long term, strategic view• Environmental, social and

economic evidence and impacts / outcomes

Joining Things Up

Strategic planning is about ensuring different decisions and actions reinforce each other

In terms of impacts of different types of activity (economic, housing, infrastructure, investment, land use)

And on different places (cities, towns, villages)

Outcomes

A strategy needs to be very clear about what you want to achieve

And express this in measurable ways

This may be about homes, the economy, transport, places

Delivery

And the strategy needs to be clear about who needs to do what to achieve the outcomes

But not details about projects and money

Need support from key delivery agencies

Preparing a Strategy

• Statutory process – not necessary, but has benefits?

• Government Guidance – too much?

• SA / SEA / HRA – make it useful not just bureacracy

• Independent Examination – useful, but could be streamlined

• Timetable – 3 years possible, and reasonable?

Ways of Working

• Need people with capacity and expertise

• Importance of working together

• Effective project management

• Engagement with stakeholders

• And wider public

Strategic Issues

• Vision

• Roles of places

• Economy

• Housing

• Transport

• Environment

Vision

Motherhood and Apple Pie is nice of course. But make your Vision

• Long term and ambitious (but realistic)

• Spatially specific (about places)

• Quantified/quantifiable• Linked to clear

outcomes

Roles of Places

• Provide clarity about future complementary roles of cities and towns

• This may be about types of economic activity, services, attractions, housing offer, etc

Economy

• Be clear about things with big impact

• Plan for the economy, not “employment land”

• Understand sectors, markets, supply chains

• Identify areas of significant economic change

• Be enabling, not prescriptive

Housing

• Understand housing markets and areas

• Be clear about where new housing should be (but “targets”?)

• But also existing homes

• Regeneration v. market pressures

Transport

• Identify significant priorities for management and investment

• Need to link these to roles of places, where people will live and work

• Avoid wish lists

Other potentially “strategic” Issues

• Energy generation and distribution

• Waste management

• Minerals supply

• Green Belt

Essential ingredients

Recipe for Mom’s apple pie:

• Picture

• Ingredients / quantities

• Instructions

Similarly, an effective strategy should include:

• Diagram / map

• Clear outcomes

• Resources

• Who needs to do what

Conclusions

• Strategic spatial planning can be effective

• Provides clarity about long term aims

• Makes connections between different activities and interventions

• Not just about “planning”• No perfect geography –

make it work for whatever area partnerships can be effectively based on

Strategic Planning Will Return