Annex
UNITED KINGDOM SPATIAL DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK
BRIEFING by the ROYAL TOWN PLANNING INSTITUTE
INTRODUCTION
This RTPI Briefing Note, prepared for the Environmental
Audit Committee's inquiry into Housing: Building a Sustainable
Future?, sets out the need for, scope of, and approach to, a spatial
development framework for the whole of the United Kingdom (UKSDF).
The UK, unlike many other European countries, has never had a
national spatial plan.[9]
However, all the UK's devolved administrations now have published
or forthcoming spatial plans.[10]
The arguments put forward in this briefing note imply the need
both for a comprehensive overview of English spatial policy, even
taking into account the new system of Regional Spatial Strategies,[11]
and for the preparation of a UK wide strategy which demonstrates
the links with European strategies and, in particular the national
strategy for the Republic of Ireland.
THE NEED
FOR A
UKSDF
There is a range of reasons why a UKSDF is needed.
First, it is clear that Government environmental, social and economic
priorities cannot be achieved without an understanding of national
spatial dynamics, constraints and opportunities. These priorities
include the current ODPM/Treasury/DTI joint PSA Target 2 for 2005-08.[12].
There is the fear, for example, that the current housing targets
for the SE will reinforce the problems that PSA2 seeks to address
and will exacerbate environmental degradation in specific areas.
It is also true that certain policies with clear spatial impacts
require knowledge and decision making at UK wide level. These
include airports, ports, and major transport infrastructure investment.
Similarly, decision making on the provision and safeguarding
of the future options for key national infrastructure networks
in terms of energy, IT and water supplies, whose "terminals"/production
points and distribution networks clearly cut across regional boundaries,
needs to be a shared responsibility. Moreover, there is already
a wide range of national strategies[13]
which have spatial impacts but which are neither expressed in
spatial terms nor are co-ordinated at a spatial level. The perceived
tensions between these strategies require resolution through a
national strategy.
The moves to enhance policy and decision making and
democratic involvement at regional and devolved nation level demands
an integrative framework against which regional decisions can
be informed and assessed. This requires an explicit tool for assessing
regional needs and the environmental and other impacts of decisions.
There is the need to ensure that the effort that is rightly given
to a devolved approach to economic and planning policy is sufficient
to meet the overall development needs of the UK and does not result
in excessive over-bidding—to the detriment of the environment—or
under-delivery. Coupled with this, Government spending plans have
clear spatial impacts[14]
but are not necessarily analysed on that basis.
At a wider level, the current reform of EC Structural
Funds requires a national understanding of the current indicators
used and of the impacts of various scenarios of reform. Additionally,
the EC is, or recently has, reviewed the Common Agricultural Policy
and regional development funding and is embarking on a revision
of the 1999 European Spatial Development Perspective. If these
programmes are to serve the needs of UK economic, social and sustainable
development policies, there is the need for UK-wide understanding
to feed into the process and to evaluate its emerging outcomes.
The need for such action is being increasingly recognised in other
countries with whom the UK has to compete.[15]
The Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act brings in
a statutory requirement to prepare spatial plans. These are much
more broadly based and dirigiste than existing plans and will
not be effective without a nation-wide context. Standard regional
and other administrative boundaries are increasing inappropriate
to use as the basis for analysis because of the increasing interrelationship
between regions in terms of markets and networks. It is important
to have an integrated perspective within which separate sectoral
polices and programmes are prepared.
Finally, those integrated and spatial strategies
that do exist, in particular the Sustainable Communities Plan
and the Sustainable Development Strategy, will be hampered in
their achievement by the lack of an overall national context and
direction.
HOUSING
Housing policy would benefit from the ability to
analyse markets across administrative boundaries; and from the
examination of means of guiding demand through other means, such
as infrastructure investment and employment policies.[16]
There are specific aspects of spatial policy related to housing
which could best be dealt with through a UKSDF. First, current
policy in terms of housing allocations build into them the net
effect of continuing migration to the south eastern regions at
the expense of the northern ones. This is contrary to the PSA
2 intentions and produces conflict with the economic agenda of
the regions in terms of the level of economic and labour market
growth that is being planned for. It causes increasing pressure
on valued environments. It also causes uncertainty for the planning
of the housing market renewal areas—whether they are serving
a fixed level of economic growth within the region or to create
expanded markets within these regions.
Secondly, the current Regions do not relate well
to the real housing markets that exist. This is recognised in
the Sustainable Communities Plan by its identification of the
growth areas which cross local and regional administrative boundaries.
There are other key areas of housing market interdependence, including
the Swindon Bristol Corridor and the North Wales—North West
regional relationships, which require spatial analysis on a systematic
basis.
Finally, the need for a better balance in the distribution
of housing and the removal of some of the local opposition to
housing expansion depends to a large extent upon the delivery
of an improved national infrastructure network as well as local
improvements. The investment requirements for the Thames Gateway
are becoming known[17].
There are equivalent requirements in the other regions. The aggregate
demand on resources from all the strategies for a region need
to be assessed and, as they are unlikely to be met, a clearer
long—term investment strategy is required to give confidence
to the housing market.
THE SCOPE
OF A
UKSDF
At the core is the need to address those issues which
cannot be dealt with at a local and regional level and ensuring
that the collective impact of the action proposed relates to:
the overall level of resources available; the aggregate scale
of action that is required; consistent objectives; and maximising
impacts.
The types of policies that are required cover
a broad but inter-related range of issues. These include policies
relating to:
— safeguarding or developing national
resources;— making interregional choices;
— identifying the scale of action required
where the market is national;— cross boundary issues of national
importance;
— national priorities for Government
agencies;— settlement pattern, land resources
and infrastructure capacity;
— population and household change;
— environmental challenges and the role
of the planning system; and
— strategic priorities for transport and
other infrastructure investment. From this approach would follow a framework
supporting policy decision making rather than a definitive strategy
or plan. This framework could provide, inter alia, a perspective
on the mismatches between trends and aspirations in terms of the
pattern of economic development and the implications for action
in terms of spatially sensitive targets (eg translating the 60%
brown field target into regional sensitised formats).
It would identify the broad location of national
"growth poles/technopoles"—which will be supported
nationally reflecting the particular role of the separate regions.
There would be an identification of those national economic and
environmental resources that need safeguarding—in terms
of key locations and infrastructure and future network developments.
The locational priorities for the development of
industries which have a national "market"—eg energy
and minerals—could be identified. The Framework could set
out the approaches to achieve a better balance in the pattern
of development between regions (north/south issues) and national
targets for e.g. housing, renewal, health. It could establish
an environmental framework eg ecological footprint, renewable
energy, forestry, flooding and an infrastructure framework including
international links, eg airports; ports; IT, energy. It would
address the broad scales and directions of change at the inter-regional
level and social priorities expressed in spatial terms eg Pathfinder
Areas. Finally, there would need to be an indication of the phasing
and programming required for these elements over a 25-30 year
time horizon.
THE METHODOLOGY FOR PRODUCING
A UKSDF
The methodological approaches needed for the preparation
of a UKSDF exist already. One of the strengths of a UKSDF will
be derived from the bringing together of a variety of methodologies.
These will include:
— Data collection from the growing amount
of statistical information that is available on the internet and
spatial analyses based on non-standard administrative areas, cross
boundary and border areas, as well as on standard areas. Data
can be analysed on the basis of trends; scenarios; propensity/willingness
to change; forecasts; current policy at UK, European and global
levels; political constraints and the available tools of change.
— Different demonstrations—derived
from setting out the spatial implications of stated national policy
on planning, transport, housing and regeneration; based on the
mismatch of the various regional strategies; based on scenarios
without the production of a "preferred" version and
a de facto UKSDF which can be culled from existing policy
statements.
— Scenario generation and testing from
a number of different standpoints. This can be done by evolving
scenarios using different drivers of change (eg economic, environmental,
governance, technology and community). There is the need to establish
early on the degree of shift that is wanted not merely as a descriptive
scenario but also in some quantitative form to allow it to be
tested in terms of key interactions and policy interventions and
resources. The impacts of differing scenarios will be assessed.
9 In 1964, the then Labour Government produced the
"National Plan" but that was an indicative economic
plan with no explicit spatial dimension. It was heavily criticised
by planners at the time and soon proved unimplementable. Back
10
Northern Ireland-Regional Development Strategy: Wales-People,
Places, Futures: the Wales Spatial Plan: Scotland-National Planning
Framework for Scotland and Irish Republic-National Spatial Strategy
2002-2020. Back
11
The relevant sections of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase
Act 2004 came into force on 28 September 2004. Back
12
PSA2: "Make sustainable improvements in the economic performance
of all English regions by 2008, and over the long term reduce
the persistent gap in growth rates between the regions, demonstrating
progress by 2006 [Joint with the Department of Trade and Industry
and HM Treasury]," Back
13
These range from health service plans to the white paper on skills
and from the transport ten year plan to spending review plans. Back
14
For example Identifiable public expenditure per head, on housing
by region for 2001-02 is:
| NE
| NW
| Y&H
| EM
| WM
| SW
| E
| Lndn
| SE
| Total
|
| £68
| £71
| £56
| £19
| £34
| £38
| £3
| £197
| £28
| £62.
|
Back
15
Germany, France, the Netherlands, Denmark and most other EU nations
have some kind of national spatial framework or strategic planning
process, although not necessarily a statutory national plan. Back
16
The HoC Select Committee on the ODPM's report on Planning for
Sustainable Housing and Communities stated that "A national
spatial strategy could help ensure that the supply of housing
is better balanced with demand, reduce the impact on the environment
and share out economic opportunities." Back
17
ODPM (2003) Creating sustainable communities: making it happen:
Thames Gateway and the Growth Areas. Back
| 
