Response from the Government Office for the South West to email June 2009:

From: RSSCONSULT [mailto:RSSCONSULT@gosw.gsi.gov.uk]
Sent: 17 June 2009 13:46
To: RSSCONSULT
Subject: South West Regional Spatial Strategy

SOUTH WEST REGIONAL SPATIAL STRATEGY

Thank you for your email addressed to the Secretary of State for the Communities and Local Government regarding the South West Regional Spatial Strategy. As you might expect, the Secretary of State receives a large amount of correspondence and is not able to respond personally to all the letters he receives, no matter how much he wishes to do so. This office acts on behalf of the Secretary of State in relation to planning matters in the South West and therefore, we have been asked to respond.

The Secretary of States proposed changes were the subject of public consultation between July and September 2008. I regret that no new representations can be taken into account now, as to do so might be unfair to other respondents.

However, it may be helpful to set out the Government Policy on housing nationally as set out in Planning Policy Statement 3 (PPS3). It states that there is a presumption that housing development should be prioritised towards previously developed land. However, national planning policy recognises that some greenfield land - undeveloped land that may or may not be needed for green belt - may be needed for some development. PPS3 puts the responsibility on local authorities to decide where to locate housing, to identify sites and to manage previously developed land back into development where possible to minimise the call on greenfield and designated green belt land.

I should make clear that Government Policy regarding development on land designated as green belt has not changed, there are strict planning controls on green belt land and there is a general presumption against inappropriate development within green belts. Any proposal to change the boundary of a green belt and any development proposal for land in the green belt, whatever its scale, is subject to stringent tests. However, sufficient housing to meet our needs has not been built for something like a generation. As a result, there is a fundamental mismatch between the supply of housing and the demand for housing. That is having an impact on affordability across the south-west region and has the effect of putting home ownership out of the reach of many and the Government needs to address that.

Whilst the Government remains committed to preserving, enhancing and increasing the green belt - and nationally, it continues to grow - this does not mean that green belt policies should be set in stone. The Government agrees with the Independent Panel who examined the Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS) that the importance of meeting the region’s housing need in the most sustainable locations provides the exceptional circumstances for making some alterations to the three green belts in the region to allow for some strategic urban extensions.

The exact number of houses and the location of new build is something that the Government is currently considering and I can assure you that we are taking the views received very seriously.

The Secretary of State planned to publish the RSS at the end of June 2009. However, on 20th May, the High Court issued a judgment that the previously issued Regional Spatial Strategy for the East of England had failed to meet certain requirements of the Strategic Environmental Assessment Directive, in respect of three towns.

The Department for Communities and Local Communities and the Government Office for the South West are considering the implications for the South West Regional Spatial Strategy, but cannot reach a clear view until the written judgment is issued by the Court. Setting a new timetable is not possible, until the implications of the judgment have been clarified, and what action is required, if any.

Our website (http://www.gosw.gov.uk/gosw/planninghome/691545/713860/?a=42496) is updated regularly and will have the latest information on the position.

Yours sincerely

Carly Vaughan
RSS Team
Government Office for the South West
2 Rivergate,
Temple Quay,
Bristol BS1 6EH
Tel: 0117 900 1705
Fax: 0117 900 1914
www.gosw.gov.uk