Archive site for WMRA material up to 31st March 2010:
Please view West Midlands Leaders Board site for material post April 2010 http://www.wmleadersboard.gov.uk/policy
Interim Policy Statements and Policy Recommendations
In February/March 2010 the West Midlands Regional Assembly approved the following Interim Policy Statements and Policy Recommendations:
Interim Policy Statements
- Provision of New Accomodation for Gypsies & Travellers and Travelling Showpeople
- Sub-Regional Apportionment of Construction Aggregates
Policy Recommendations
- Rural Services
- Culture & Sport
- Tourism and the Visitor Economy
- Integrated Approach to Management of Environmental Resources
- Restoring Degraded Areas & Managing & Creating High Quality New Environments
- Green Infrastructure
- Protection & Enhancement of Historic Environment
- Conservation, Enhancement & Restoration of the Region's Landscape
- Protecting, Managing & Enhancing Region's Biodiversity and Geodiversity
- Trees, Woods and Forestry
- Protection of Agricultural Land
- Air Quality
- Energy Efficiency - Promoting Energy Efficiency within Existing Development
- Renewable Energy - Targets
- Renewable Energy - Criteria for Ensuring Appropriate Locations
- Positive Uses of the Green Belt
- Safeguarding Mineral Resources
- Future Brick Clay Provision
On 30th March 2010 Government Office for the West Midlands (GOWM) confirmed that they now expect planning authorities to ensure that their Development Plan Documents are sufficiently flexible to enable them to deliver the requirements set out in the Interim Policy Statements.
GOWM also confirmed that the Policy Recommendations should now be progressed as part of the new Regional Strategy.
A copy of the document which brings together the Interim Policy Statements and Policy Recommendations can be downloaded from the link below:
To accompany the document, Background Reports were also prepared for each of the five topics in the Phase Three Revision. Copies of the Background Reports can be downloaded from the links below:
RSS Revision Phase Three
Overview
When the West Midlands Regional Spatial Strategy (WMRSS) was published in June 2004, the Secretary of State supported the principles of the Strategy but suggested that several issues needed to be developed further. This Revision process was undertaken in three phases.
Phase Three Revision
Issues considered in the WMRSS Phase Three Revision were:
- Rural Services: Identification and provision of services that are critical to the sustainability of rural communities
- Housing: Provision of pitches and plots for Gypsies, Travellers and Travelling Showpeople
- Culture, Sport and Tourism: Strengthen RSS policies to support cultural, sport and tourism needs of the Region
- Environment: Update existing Quality of the Environment policies in the RSS and consider the need for new policies related to flood risk, renewable energy and Green Belt
- Minerals: Safeguarding minerals and examining the future supply of aggregates
Interim Policy Statements and Policy Recommendations
In July 2007, the Government published a Sub-National Review of Economic Development and Regeneration. Among other things, the Government proposed to bring together the Regional Spatial Strategies and Regional Economic Strategies into a single Regional Strategy for each of the English regions.
In the light of these legislative changes, there was a "stocktake" meeting in September 2009 involving officers from the Regional Assembly, GOWM and Advantage West Midlands to consider how the WMRSS Phase Three workstreams could be taken forward in the most effective way. It was agreed at that meeting that the Phase Three issues should be progressed through the new Regional Strategy process rather than through the WMRSS Phase Three Revision.
It was agreed that the Phase Three issues be taken forward in one of two ways:
a) Interim Policy Statements which would provide a framework for relevant policies in the preparation of Local Development Frameworks. Two Policy Statements were developed relating to:
Policy StatementsCommunities for the Future |
- Provision of pitches for Gypsies & Travellers and Travelling Showpeople
|
Minerals |
- Sub-Regional Apportionment of Construction Aggregates
|
GOWM confirmed that they expected local authorities to give the Policy Statements similar weight to that of a submitted draft RSS. Interim Policy Statements would also carry weight in relation to Development Plan Document examinations and planning inquiries.
b) Policy Recommendations which would feed directly into the preparation of the new Regional Strategy. The majority of issues within the Phase Three Revision were progressed in this manner and are listed in the table below:
Policy RecommendationsRural Services
|
|
Culture, Sport & Tourism
|
- Culture & Sport
- Tourism and the Visitor Economy
|
Quality of the Environment
|
- Integrated Approach to Management of Environmental Resources
- Restoring Degraded Areas & Managing & Creating High Quality New Environments
- Green Infrastructure
- Protection & Enhancement of Historic Environment
- Conservation, Enhancement & Restoration of the Region's Landscape
- Protecting, Managing & Enhancing Region's Biodiversity and Geodiversity
- Trees, Woods and Forestry
- Protection of Agricultural Land
- Air Quality
- Energy Efficiency - Promoting Energy Efficiency within Existing Development
- Renewable Energy - Targets
- Renewable Energy - Criteria for Ensuring Appropriate Locations
- Positive Uses of the Green Belt
|
Minerals
|
- Safeguarding Mineral Resources
- Future Brick Clay Provision
|
Process for Developing Interim Policy Statements and Policy Recommendations
The WMRSS Phase Three Revision and development of the Interim Policy Statements and Policy Recommendations involved:
- The preparation of a Project Plan
- Options Consultation
- The preparation of Background Papers
- Appraisals and assessments (Sustainability Appraisal, Habitats Regulations Assessment and Rural Proofing)
- Technical consultation in relation to the provision of new accommodation for gypsies, travellers and travelling showpeople and sub regional apportionment of aggregates.
These are summarised below.
Project Plan:
The first stage of the Revision process started with the preparation of a Draft Project Plan which was issued for consultation in November 2007 and published in its final format in May 2009. The Project Plan set out what elements of the RSS would be revised, how partners and the public could get involved, what timetable would be worked to, what technical work would be undertaken, and how the Revision would be aligned with other regional strategies. The Project Plan can be downloaded here:
- Project Plan
- Project Plan Leaflet
- Responses to Draft Project Plan
Options Consultation:
As there were a number of choices as to the nature and content of new or revised policies, an Options document was issued for consultation in June 2009 to identify those choices and the consequences of adopting them. At the Options stage, policies were not fixed and everybody had a chance to comment before the Interim Policy Statements and Policy Recommendations were developed.
Copies of the RSS Phase Three Revision Options consultation document and related documents can be downloaded from the links below:
Background Papers
To accompany the Options consultation document Background Reports were prepared for each of the five topics considered in the Phase Three Revision. These provided more information and detail about the matters being examined in the Revision. Copies of the Background Technical Reports can be downloaded from the links below:
A short dvd titled "Somewhere To Live" was produced to accompany the consultation relating to provision for gypsy and traveller sites. A copy of the dvd was available on request from the Regional Assembly.
Appraisals and Assessments:
At all stages in the RSS Phase Three Revision, Sustainability Appraisals were undertaken to look at the environmental, economic and social effects of the emerging and revised policies. Habitats Regulations Assessments sought to ensure that policies did not adversely affect European habitat sites within the West Midlands. In addition, Rural Proofing was carried out to ensure that the needs of rural areas were adequately considered.
Copies of all the Appraisal and Assessment reports can be downloaded from the links below:
Appraisals and Assessments for the Options consultation:
Appraisals and Assessments of the Interim Policy Statements and Policy Recommendations:
- Sustainability Appraisal of Interim Policy Statements and Recommendations - Main Report - Annex A - Annex B - Annex C - Annex D
- Habitats Regulations Assessment of Policy Recommendations - Main Report
- Habitats Regulations Assessment of Interim Policy Statement relating to Gypsies, Travellers and Travelling Showpeople - Main Report
- Habitats Regulations Assessment of Interim Policy Statement relating to Sub Regional Apportionment of Aggregates - Main Report
- Rural Proofing of Interim Policy Statements and Policy Recommendations - Main Report
Sub-Regional Apportionment of Aggregates in the West Midlands
The Regional Assembly (as the Regional Planning Body) was responsible for apportioning the Government's regional guidelines for the provision of aggregates for the period 2005-2020.
In June 2009 the Government issued revised national and regional guidelines for the provision of aggregates for the period 2005-2020. These new guidelines replaced the June 2003 guidelines.
The revised regional guideline total provision for the West Midlands is 370 million tonnes of materials to be provided over the next 16 years and comprises the following requirements and assumptions:-
- 165 million tonnes of sand and gravel
- 82 million tonnes of crushed rock
- 100 million tonnes of alternate materials (secondary and recycled aggregates)
- 23 million tonnes of imports, principally from Wales.
The apportionment of the regional guideline is the responsibility of the Regional Assembly, taking into account advice from the Mineral Planning Authorities (MPAs) and the West Midlands Regional Aggregates Working Party (WMRAWP). The Government requested that the apportionment be completed and submitted to the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) by the end of December 2009. At the Regional Assembly's request, this deadline was extended for the West Midlands to the end of March 2010.
When the sub-regional apportionment is completed, the apportionment becomes a material consideration in decision making by the Regional Planning Body (and subsequently the responsible regional authorities, ie West Midlands Leaders Board and Advantage West Midlands) and by the MPAs. The regional guideline and apportionment also forms the basis of the Interim Policy Statement related to Construction Aggregates.
The WMRA considered a number of technical options for the sub-regional apportionment of aggregates. This technical work was carried out over an intensive period from November 2009 to March 2010. Options based on past sales trends were prepared by the WMRAWP Technical Secretariat. In recognition of the fact that these apportionment options essentially reflected trends in past sales (rather than an appraisal of future needs), the WMRA also commissioned consultants (LUC) to develop "alternative" apportionment options which considered a change in policy direction by taking account of the likely availability of materials, future patterns of development, environmental and other considerations.
Between 18th December 2009 and 22nd January 2010 the WMRA undertook a technical consultation with WMRAWP members on eleven options for the sub-regional apportionment of aggregates.
Between 17th February 2010 and 26th February 2010 the WMRA undertook a further technical consultation with WMRAWP members on a further two options for the sub-regional apportionment of aggregates.
The sub-regional apportionment options can be downloaded from the links below:
Summaries of responses to the two technical consultations can be downloaded from the links below:
On 17th March 2010 the Assembly Board approved "Option F" as the basis for the sub-regional apportionment of aggregates. A copy of the technical report relating to the development of Option F can be downloaded here.
The apportionment was accompanied by a Sustainability Appraisal incorporating strategic environmental assessment and a Habitats Regulations Assessment which can be downloaded here:
Provision of New Accommodation for Gypsies, Travellers and Travelling Showpeople
The Government required in Circulars 01/2006 and 04/2007 that the Regional Assembly, as the Regional Planning Body, addressed the accommodation and wider needs of gypsy, traveller and travelling showpeople communities.
Information on the development of the Interim Policy Statement relating to the provision of new accomodation for Gypsies, Travellers and Travelling Showpeople can be found here.
Further Information
If you have any queries or questions related to WMRSS Phase Three Revision for development of the Interim Policy Statements and Policy Recommendations please contact David Clarke on 0121 678 1023 or at d.clarke@wmra.gov.uk.