The Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 replaced the old system of regional planning guidance (RPG), structure plans and local plans with a new one, made up of Regional Spatial Strategies (RSSs) and Local Development Frameworks (LDFs).
The South East Plan is a statutory plan (or Regional Spatial Strategy), setting out the broad direction for the planning of the region until the year 2026. It was prepared initially by the South East England Regional Assembly (the predecessor to the regional Partnership Board), in consultation with the region’s local authorities and a wide range of other interested parties. It was also the subject of wide public consultation throughout the region. The South-East Plan was adopted by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government in May 2009.
The Berkshire area is affected by it in two ways. First, the Berkshire area is subject to the general policies for the region as a whole. There are also sub-regional sections of the Plan. In these, most of Berkshire (with the exception of the more rural parts of West Berkshire) falls within the sub-region known as the Western Corridor and Blackwater Valley (which also includes parts of southern Buckinghamshire, northern Hampshire and western Surrey). The proposals for the sub-region are on pages 239 to 248 of the adopted Plan, which can be found on the Goverment's Regional office website – www.go-se.gov.uk/. The purpose of these sub-regions was intended to be to address any gaps in policy, specific to the area, which it was felt were left by the region-wide part of the Plan.
Any plans produced locally by individual authorities will be required to conform in general terms to the South East Plan. Among other things, the South East Plan sets new house-building allocations for each local authority area for the period to 2026, along with policies relating to employment, transport and a variety of other land uses. In addition, it is a new type of spatial plan. Hitherto, the content of plans was limited to matters involving the use of land. A spatial plan has a wider remit, allowing it to include policies relating to the character of spaces and the ways in which they are used – policies that are not necessarily put into effect directly through planning powers, though the Plan has to be able to demonstrate how they will be put into effect.
Work is due to start in 2010 on a new regional strategy, which combines the range of topics covered by the South East Plan with those addressed by the Regional Economic Strategy. Its preparation will be the joint responsibility of the South East England Partnership Board and the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA).
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