Regional Spatial Strategy and Secretary of State's proposed changes
The Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS)
The RSS sets out a framework for ‘where things go' and what the scale of development should be. It links service provision such as healthcare, education, as well as basic infrastructure such as transport. The draft RSS contains some promising aspirations for sustainability. It includes, for example, principles aimed at reducing the region’s ‘eco-footprint’ and greenhouse gas emissions (in particular CO2), and for creating sustainable communities. Sustainability South West (SSW) believes the Regional Spatial Strategy’s overarching sustainability principles need to be given ‘teeth’ to ensure that they are fully reflected within development proposals.
Since much of the RSS is based on the goal of accommodating a higher percentage of the population in the region’s urban areas, a significant increase in the provision of protected networks of quality urban greenspace (which enhances health and well, low carbon access, biodiversity and local food networks) is fundamental.
SSW’s submissions to the RSS ‘examination in public’ have emphasised the essential need for the region to prioritise low carbon access and transport. We do, however, recognise that inconsistencies across central government policy are hindering the region in adopting truly integrated low carbon policy and achieving overall reductions in its greenhouse gas emissions. SSW urges the Government to review the inconsistency of pursuing high carbon policies – in particular aviation expansion – given the urgency of the shared low carbon agenda.
Secretary of State’s proposed changes to the Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS)
SSW considers that the Secretary of State’s proposed changes to the Regional Spatial Strategy will increase both carbon emissions and energy bills, making new housing less affordable and miss out on an opportunity to create new low carbon jobs.
SSW opposes the weakening of the plan’s Sustainable development policies as this signals an irresponsible lack of urgency for action and is inconsistent with government calls to reduce energy use and cut emissions and with Gordon Brown’s conference speech calling for Britain to “lead the world in the transformation to a low carbon economy.”
SSW particularly opposes the proposal to drop a policy on sustainable construction which would set higher energy standards for new buildings in the region, arguing that this will be even more crucial if the proposed very significant increase in housing numbers in the region is confirmed.
Further, SSW now opposes the proposed increase in housing numbers because if constructed without the higher energy standards of the original plan, will increase the likelihood of a big hike in the region’s overall CO2 emissions.
Without the inclusion of the original Policy G the higher household energy bills of new housing will reduce affordability – already a huge social issue for our region. All plans should now minimise emissions and energy use. A truly sustainable future is one that is ‘healthy, productive, resilient, socially just and operating within environmental limits.’ However the Secretary of States’ proposals will result in the region heading in an unsustainable direction.
Planning policy must now facilitate the infrastructure to support a new low carbon economy for the region. Policy must support low carbon intra regional connectivity, local safe and secure energy supplies and increased local sourcing of goods and services, rather than increasing our reliance on unsustainable high carbon connectivity (increased air and car travel) and external insecure energy supplies. Given the growing concerns about climate change, energy security and increasing energy and food prices, SSW calls for a final review of the RSS proposals prioritising a low carbon approach.
Sustainability South West believes that agencies have worked hard to develop a consensus on a Regional Spatial Strategy that offers an enlightened approach - typified by an aspiration to reduce overall carbon emissions and the use of finite natural resources together with specific proposals like Policy G for higher energy standards in construction which would stimulate more low carbon construction jobs and training opportunities. It also recognises that significant precious public resources have already been spent on this decision making process which government asked the region to deliver. It considers that it would be wasteful and irresponsible for central government to respond to an example of forward thinking leadership by reverting to lowest common denominator policy that belongs more to the 20th Century than the 21st.
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