Regional policy in the South West

Why it matters

The South West Regional Assembly is drawing up policies that will decide and shape the region's future.

This includes what can and can't be built in the South West for the next twenty years.

These policies will be contained in the regional masterplan known as the Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS).

All local councils in the region will have to abide by its content when they make plans for and decisions about their area.

The draft RSS asserts that "development will be planned to meet the needs of all communities and to realise their potential within environmental limits".

Yet at the same time it proposes massive expansion in housing, roads and airports which will add to the environmental damage facing the region.

Key issues in the RSS that we are focussing on are:

• Unsustainable housing growth
  For example, the number of houses is planned to grow by 50 per cent in Swindon over the next 20 years. Yet the area already suffers badly from traffic congestion and there are real concerns about water supply and water treatment.
  
• Carbon emissions
  We support the RSS's ambitions to reduce carbon emissions, but its transport and airport expansion plans will undermine all the good policies elsewhere in the document.

South West Friends of the Earth has responded to the public consultation and will continue to monitor developments.

We will be holding the Assembly to account for its claim that the RSS will adopt principles of sustainable development.

Further information

• Read our briefing on the RSS (PDF† - 84 KB) here.
• Tackling climate change in the English regions (PDF† - 361 KB).
• RSS a blueprint for justice and sustainable development in the English regions (PDF† - 458 KB).
• Tackling climate change through planning: the government's objectives (PDF† - 466 KB).

Watch this space for further updates.

Next: More issues in the South West >

†To view PDF files you will need to download Adobe Acrobat Reader. Visually impaired users can get extra help with these documents from access.adobe.com.

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