Written evidence from the Commission for
Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) (ARSS 145)
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 This short paper sets out CABE's response
to the CLG Select Committee inquiry on the abolition of regional
spatial strategies (RSS's). Before addressing the specific questions
asked by the Committee, we have briefly set out CABE's role and
experience in this area.
1.1 The Commission for Architecture and the Built
Environment (CABE) is the successor of the Royal Fine Arts Commission
and was established in 1999. CABE champions well-designed buildings
and public space, providing expert, practical advice. We work
directly with planners, designers, clients and architects, offering
them guidance on projects that will shape all our lives. CABE
is a statutory executive non-departmental public body, sponsored
by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), and funded
by DCMS and the Department for Communities and Local Government
(CLG).
1.2 CABE has worked with all the RDAs and the
Regional Centres of Excellence they fund. In particular, to improve
the quality of the built environment, providing specific advice
and support to enable this in each region, through the use of
architecture centres, and working with the network of design review
panels.
1.3 CABE recently published online advice on
Large Scale Urban Design for local decision makers seeking
to address issues which cross governance boundaries. In particular
it:
Reinforces the rationale for adopting a new, place-focused
approach to cross-boundary planning and delivering the transformation
of places in England and to show how it can be done (through literature
and case study review).
Defines a methodology for the preparation of large
scale spatial frameworks and strategies (through research, work
with expert panel and pilot projects) including the publication
of a practical guide.
2. SUMMARY
2.1 Strategic planning has an important role
in addressing challenges that exist across spatial scales, such
as national and regional infrastructure, climate change, housing,
waste and minerals. There needs to be an integrated response to
these challenges that have a strong spatial expression when dealing
with the provisions of economic, social and environmental infrastructure.
Regional planning through RSSs was intended to provide this important
function. It has been argued however, that it became too focused
on housing and job allocations imposed centrally onto local authorities,
with very little local input. To the extent that this happened,
it has been argued that it was at the expense of delivering quality
places. Without this regional strategic planning function well
intentioned local plans will find it difficult to address sub-regional,
regional and national priorities, and will fail to deliver well-designed
places. The opportunity should be taken to retain coordination
of planning at a larger-than-local scales that meets shared priorities,
but with a focus on high quality and sustainable places and not
housing numbers. This should be done on the basis of locally organised
groups of local authorities, businesses and communities coming
together to deal with the issues that cross boundaries.
2.2 Following the abolition of regional spatial
strategies, cross boundary cooperation presents a vital opportunity
to ensure appropriate cooperation between local planning authorities
on matters formerly covered by regional spatial strategies. For
this reason we are encouraged by the creation of Local Enterprise
Partnerships but see this as just one way of encouraging cross
boundary working.
2.3 CABE's experience has been that when decisions
of larger than local significance on housing, planning, transport
and infrastructure, have been taken at a multi authority level
this has tended to produce better outcomes. Decisions taken in
partnership by authorities can be beneficial to more than one
local authority area either economically, socially or environmentally,
or directly where sites are on boundaries.
3. QUALITY AS
AN INCENTIVE
FOR NEW
DEVELOPMENT
3.1 Incentives for housing development need to
be at such a level that neighbourhoods choose to welcome
growth. CABE's experience shows that a key incentive for the acceptance
of new housing development is the quality of the housing and the
wider places they create. Previously communities have resisted
development as they assumed, in a lot of cases quite rightly,
that what would be built would be of low quality and scar their
local area.[185]
3.2 In order to deliver the number of houses
that we need, communities need to see new development as an asset
to their area. Recent research by Communities and Local Government
shows that the design and quality of new development is important
to community support for new development, "Just under three
out of four (73%) said they would support more homes if they were
well designed and in keeping with the local area. "[186]
This demonstrates that quality and quantity are intrinsically
linked.
3.3 Incentives have to be of real benefit to
communities. Local acceptance of housing growth results from being
able to see how the wider local community are benefiting from
new homes. Well designed new development attracts wider investment
to an area bringing new facilities and an increase in local economic
activity, an incentive that local communities can see across their
local area.
4. ARRANGEMENTS
TO ENSURE
APPROPRIATE COOPERATION
BETWEEN LOCAL
PLANNING AUTHORITIES
ON MATTERS
FORMERLY COVERED
BY REGIONAL
SPATIAL STRATEGIES
Importance of planning functions at a larger than
local level
4.1 In CABE's experience, planning functions
are needed at the larger than local level because of the need
to develop places in a sustainable way and meet not just local,
but national and global priorities, such as addressing climate
change, promoting economic growth and delivering affordable housing.
4.2 One of the most dramatic changes to affect
planning and urban design has been the growth of the area within
which people live their lives, or what economists and planners
call "functional spatial areas". People now have communities
of work and communities of interest and networks of friends, customers,
shops, leisure facilities and suppliers which go well beyond the
immediately local.
4.3 These extended areas form the scale at which
economic and housing markets now operate, and correspond to the
catchment areas of large retail centres, major hospitals, leisure
facilities or higher education institutions. Housing and job markets
do not observe local authority boundary "red lines"
on a map. Nor do people notice red lines when they are crossing
them in the car or on the train.
4.4 Planning, for the above issues, therefore
needs to operate across boundaries as well. To take advantage
of the change from top-down regional strategies, the bigger picture
has to be thought about in ways which allow people to work together
to find answers to the questions which result from our way of
life.
4.5 This means that the way in which we plan
and design our towns and cities and rural areas will need to change.
A flexible framework is needed to inform decisions on where best
to invest limited resources for infrastructure, or where to focus
the energies of private developers and public service providers.
Those whose lives are directly affected have to be involved in
the process.
4.6 CABE recently published online guidance on
large scale urban design for local decision makers seeking to
address issues which cross governance boundaries.[187]
Ways to cooperate
4.7 CABE has worked with many of the cross-boundary
organisations set up to tackle large scale challenges, whether
economic, financial or environmental. Our experience of these
sub-regional development bodies, joint planning units and regeneration
partnerships suggests that appropriate cooperation is already
being achieved in a number of ways:
4.8 By the collaboration of local authorities
to write joint plans. This has been done in some areas already
through joint core strategies. Local authorities could also collaborate
and produce the higher level plan, but still produce their own
local plan .A good example of this is the Association of Greater
Manchester Authorities (AGMA).[188]
4.9 Cross boundary decision making could also
be achieved through the aligning of local plans to ensure strategic
objectives are met across wider areas and places are not forced
into competition, without having to share a specific plan, such
as the Greater Nottingham Aligned Core Strategies.
4.10 However wherever these functions sit there
needs to be a consistent approach to ensure no local areas are
penalised as a result of inadequate strategic planning. For example
in France a new a new generation of sub-regional strategies—SCOTs
(Schéma de Cohérence Territoriale) have been developed
since 2004. Montpellier SCOT provides a cross-scale and cross-sectoral
policy and delivery framework for Montpellier conurbation.[189]
There also needs to be careful consideration of what means of
cooperation will be available where local authorities do not decide
to form LEP's.
5. A POSSIBLE
PLANNING ROLE
FOR LOCAL
ENTERPRISE PARTNERSHIPS
5.1 Local Enterprise Partnerships, as locally
owned partnerships between local authorities and business, formed
to drive economic growth across an economic area, provide another
means for appropriate cooperation across boundaries. They will
operate at an appropriate spatial scale, and their role in promoting
economic growth is intrinsically linked to the outcomes of spatial
planning; housing, transport etc.
5.2 The LEP model provides an excellent means
to bring real professional expertise and experience in to realising
strategic delivery. However, to be truly representative of communities
LEP's need to directly involve communities in decision making
and represent their views, particularly if they are to take on
planning functions. This could be done through voted community
representatives on the LEP board, or through regular and wide
spread councillor involvement, for example.
5.3 Of course they are not the only method to
deliver cross boundary functions. In Cambridge the Cambridge Futures
project looked at ways of relieving development pressure in and
around Cambridge. A group of local stakeholders, including public
and private sector representatives, initiated and managed the
project.[190]
5.4 Local
authorities will continue to deal with spatial planning and development
management under the reformed planning system, through joint or
aligned plans. This could form a very efficient partnership to
bring forward growth and infrastructure where it is needed: local
authorities would retain the impartiality they need to develop
a balanced and aspirational vision for their place and ensure
that developments are of the good quality they demand as the representatives
of their communities; LEP's would ensure that the investment comes
forward to deliver that vision and the infrastructure needed to
support growth.
6. SUPPORT NEEDED
TO ENSURE
APPROPRIATE COOPERATION
BETWEEN LOCAL
PLANNING AUTHORITIES
6.1 As outlined above cross boundary decision
making can and does already exist between local authorities, with
many joint core strategies, several joint planning units, and
many aligned core strategies in existence. The legislative framework
for joint working is already in place.
6.2 However to ensure cooperation is effective,
it could be incentivised through greater freedoms, or through
greater opportunities to bid for centrally funded infrastructure
provision etc. These incentives would best work where they are
linked to joint targets and objectives and shared resources.
6.3 Local authorities need to be properly resourced
if this is to work well, particularly if they are to effectively
undertake neighbourhood planning and articulate this with the
cross-boundary strategy. But reduced budgets may encourage some
local authorities to start joint working on a more formal basis
in order to cut costs and share resources and expertise. For example,
joint CEO's and directors of regeneration, and directors of health
shared by PCT's and local authorities.
September 2010
185 Housing audit: assessing the design quality
of new housing in the East Midlands, West Midlands and the South
West (CABE, 2007). Back
186
Public attitudes to housing 2010, (National Housing and Planning
Advice Unit, 2010). Back
187
Getting the big picture right: large scale urban design, CABE
(2010). Back
188
AGMA, http://www.agma.gov.uk Back
189
Getting the big picture right: large scale urban design, CABE
(2010), Pg.18&19. Back
190
Getting the big picture right: large scale urban design, CABE
(2010), Pg.20. Back
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