6 Regional planning in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
6.3 Early innovative practice
which everyone knows everyone else.’ This also tends to be the case in Scotland (Bennettet al. 2002). Allmendinger (2005) also argues that there may be more defined local government relationships in Scotland and Wales as a direct con- sequence of devolution.
There were similar innovations in Northern Irelandfocusing around planning for the dominant settlement of Belfast. Here the key plan was Sir Robert Matthew’s Belfast Regional Plan (1963). This physically oriented plan com- bined the then contemporary approaches of containment and overspill. The Belfast ‘stop line’ was a key feature of the plan, with planned overspill linked in particular to the new city of Craigavon at about 30 miles to the west of Belfast.
These concepts provided the framework for the planning of Belfast for much of the twentieth century. The stop line eventually became the Belfast Metropoli- tan Green Belt. Unfortunately Craigavon, overlain on the towns of Lurgan and Portadown, had many growth problems, intertwined with the ‘troubles’ of the province, and with difficulties in underpinning the industrial base (the quick pullout of the relocated Goodyear Tyre Company in the early 1970s was a prime example of the latter).
There has been some reasonable critique of the Matthew’s Plan for being too Belfast-centred and for, de facto, relegating the rest of the province to a rural backdrop (McEldowney 2001). However, it should be seen also in the context of other planning activity. For example, in 1963 the government had commis- sioned Professor Thomas Wilson to prepare a comprehensive plan for future economic development in Northern Ireland. The Wilson Report (1965), accepted by the government, provided a detailed programme of action covering the location of industry in centres of growth, amenity and tourism, transport services, training, inducements to industry, agriculture and the general invest- ment programme. The Regional Physical Development Strategy: 1975–1995 (NIDLGHP 1975) provides another example of a province-wide approach, with a commendable attempt to spread development across district towns; but this was also side-tracked by the political instabilities of the period.
6.3.2 Innovation in regional economic development
One approach to increasing the power of the machinery for regional develop- ment and planning is through the creation and use of regional development agencies with executive powers and substantial budgets. The work of such agen- cies is more a regional development than a regional planning activity, but such activity does have the advantage of implementing by direction as well as by per- suasion. Both Scotland and Wales have been innovators in the use of such agencies for regional economic development, and well before the introduction of the RDAs for the English regions in 1999. The agencies were of two types – rural development agencies, and more general development agencies.
The trailblazer was the Highlands and Islands Development Board (HIDB 1965) in Scotland, established in 1965 as a statutory body responsible to the Secretary of State for Scotland. It was charged with ‘assisting the people of the Highlands and Islands to improve their economic and social conditions and of enabling the Highlands and Islands to play a more effective part in the eco- nomic and social development of the nation’ (Highlands and Islands Develop- ment (Scotland) Act, 1965). For these purposes it was given finance and a wide
range of powers, including the power to borrow money, acquire land and busi- ness by compulsory purchase, to enter into partnership with commercial and industrial concerns and broaden the capital structure of a company. The Board initially supported large-scale projects, dependent on external initiatives, but it quickly developed a parallel policy more geared to supporting local initiatives, many in indigenous industries such as fishing, agriculture and tourism. The Development Board for Rural Wales (DBRW) was established in 1977 to carry out a similar pump-priming role for development in rural Wales. It was given a more restricted role than the HIDB, although it was also responsible for the development of the new town of Newtown in Powys.
Partly in response to the increasing threat of the Scottish Nationalist vote (Wannop 1995), a Scotland-wide agency, the Scottish Develpment Agency (SDA), was established in 1975. Again, this was followed in 1976 by the Welsh Development Agency (WDA), with a relatively lower profile, and by the Northern Ireland Development Agency (NIDA).The aim of the WDA was to encourage business development and investment in Wales. Its two main func- tions were to encourage entrepreneurial growth in terms of new business start- ups based in Wales, and to persuade multi-national corporations either to relocate or open subsidiary facilities in Wales. These regional development agencies have been a distinctive feature of the institutional capacity of the countries and have played an important role in the process of planning and eco- nomic development (Danson et al.1993).
There have been several subsequent changes to the development agency insti- tutional environment. In 1991 the SDA merged with the Scottish offices of the Training Agency to become Scottish Enterprise (SE), which did raise concern at the time about the possible loss of independence of this effective agency (Danson et al.1989). However, SE has remained an independent non-department public body, and a world leader in regional economic development. Its Operating Plan for 2006–2009 uses the theme of a ‘Smart, Successful Scotland’, focusing on the prior- ity industries of tourism, food and drink, financial services, life sciences, energy and electronic markets (Scottish Enterprise 2006). It had a budget (2006–2007) of
£550 million. The HIDB has become Highlands and Islands Enterprise with the aim ‘to unlock the potential and help create a strong, diverse and sustainable economy’. It has an annual budget of over £100 million and is active in a wide array of activities, including the delivery of business support services, the provision of training and learning, community and cultural projects and measures for environmental renovation (HIE 2006). In Wales, the WDA was merged with the DBRW and the Land Authority for Wales in 1998. Since 2005 it has become part of the Department of Enterprise, Innovation and Networks of the Welsh Assem- bly. The relevant agency in Northern Ireland is now Invest Northern Ireland.
6.4 ‘National’ spatial plans
While the intermediate territorial level between the nation state (UK) and local government is normally referred to as ‘regional’ (Keating 1998) and Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland 111
planning for that level is ‘regional planning’, the various countries here have national identities. As such, although they can be seen as ‘regions’ of the UK, they can also claim to be ‘nations’ in a sense that no English region can. Their contemporary work on the production of ‘national’ spatial plans is a reflection of this interpretation. Indeed the various plans can in some way be seen as
‘nation building’ documents seeking to develop agreed visions and spatial strat- egies for the various territories. This is in marked contrast to the rest of the UK.
Despite some advocacy for action (see, for example, Wonget al. 2000), there is no UK national spatial plan, although there is a UK Strategy for Sustainable Development (DEFRA 2005). Nor is there a spatial plan for England, although again there has been strong advocacy for such a plan with, for example, the TCPA initiated debate in 2005/2006 on A Vision for England’s Future.
The approach to spatial planning discussed here partly reflects the influence of European developments, and especially the ESDP (CEC 1999). The ESDP, although non-binding, informs the preparation of regional spatial strategies by seeking to secure balanced and sustainable development in the interests of eco- nomic and social cohesion across the EU. The European Commission has encouraged the production of spatial planning frameworks to provide a context for resource allocation; indeed such frameworks could be a significant factor in the EU Regional Policy post 2006 (see Chapter 13). The national spatial plan- ning activities are now discussed for each country, drawing out the context and purpose, approach, plan contents and priorities, the spatial plan diagram, and the crucial action or implementation mechanisms. The section concludes with a highlighting of similarities and differences in approach. The discussion is in chronological order. Northern Ireland was developing new province-wide spatial planning initiatives in the 1990s; the initiatives in Wales and Scotland have been more recent, following the advent of the devolved Assemblies.
6.4.1 Northern Ireland
Ironically the first national spatial strategy to be discussed is called a regional strategy. The Regional Development Strategy for Northern Ireland (RDS)(NIDRD 2001) was produced during the times of positive change in the province, with the (initially temporary) establishment of the new Northern Ireland Executive and Assembly. The strategy offers a long-term perspective on the development of Northern Ireland up to 2025. It is stressed that it is not a fixed blueprint or master plan, but more a framework – a spatial framework for action helping ‘to inform and guide the whole community in the drive to create a dynamic, pros- perous and progressive Northern Ireland in the third millennium’. The strategy explicitly seeks to adopt the integrated approach of the ESDP in relation to the inter-related goals of economic and social cohesion, sustainable development and balanced competitiveness.
The strategy notes that long-term planning for a region is a complex process.
There was a particular focus on community involvement with extensive consul- tation with all sections of the community, plus two major conferences. About
500 voluntary and community groups participated in the process. A Draft Regional Strategic Framework,Shaping our Future: Towards a Strategy for Shaping the Region (DoENI 1998) was produced for consultation, accompanied by a comprehensive set of supporting documentation, including reports on the Family of Settlements, the Regional Baseline, the Strategic Environmental Appraisal and Population and Housing. The resultant strategy was subject to further public consultation and then to a public examination by an Independ- ent Panel which lasted for five weeks. The agreed Regional Development Strat- egy (RDS) was made under Article 3 of The Strategic Planning (Northern Ireland) Order 1999, by which all Northern Ireland government departments must have regard to the RDS in exercising their functions; the RDS will also be material to decisions on individual planning applications and planning appeals.
The Shared Vision which emerged from the public consultation process was:
Together to create an outward-looking, dynamic and liveable Region with a strong sense of its place in the wider world; a Region of opportunity where people enjoy living and working in a healthy environment which enhances the quality of their lives and where diversity is a source of strength rather than division.
To deliver this vision, a number of Guiding Principles were adopted, including:
an overriding principle of a sustainable approach to development, plus a people and community focused approach, a more cohesive society (with a focus on equality of opportunity and spatial equity), competitiveness (including invest- ment in intelligence and improved communications) and an integrated approach (of institutions).
The Spatial Development Strategy (Figure 6.1) is a hub, corridor and gateway approach – a familiar approach from European spatial planning. The key transport corridors and associated trunk roads provide the skeletal frame- work for future physical development and are the primary links to the port and airport gateways. There is a hierarchy of hubs, including the metropolitan centre at Belfast and the North West centre based on Derry/Londonderry; the new town of Craigavon plus 14 other main hubs; and smaller local centres and rural clusters (although the hierarchy was somewhat clearer, and possibly more logical, in the Draft RDS, with seven major centres and 12 smaller key service centres, beneath the metropolitan level). The RDS sees the hubs as having the potential to develop as growth poles, and indicates an overall polycentric network, adopting a sub-regional approach to clusters of urban centres in some parts of the province, to enable the necessary concentration of employment and complementary facilities to create a strong magnet for investment and develop- ment. The spatial strategy provides the framework for the allocation of housing figures. A housing need of 160,000 new units is predicted up to 2015, of which 77,500 would be in the Belfast Metropolitan Area and hinterland.
The important legal framework for implementation has already been noted.
The strategy is managed by the Minister for Regional Development, and Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland 113
Centres with strategic role for employment and services
The spatial development strategy for Northern Ireland
Key Diagram 4 Major regional cities Belfast Metropolitan Area Londonderry– City of the North West Main hubs
The towns Local hubs Rural community potential Regional gateways International/European por Ports Belfast International Airpor Airports Major inter-regional gatewa Trans-regional development linkages and opportunities Regional strategic transport netw Key transport corridors Link corridors Trunk roads Railways Strategic natural resource Major tourism development opportunity Belfast metropolitan area green belt Figure 6.1The Spatial Development Strategy for Northern Ireland (2001) – key diagram. (Source:NIDRD (2001).)
strategic partnerships are used for sub-regional implementation. Associated Regional Policy Statements have also been developed, on topics such as the countryside. Since its inception the RDS has been monitored annually; there is also a requirement for a major review after ten years plus a ‘focused assess- ment’ after five years, to identify any aspect where in due course adjustment might be needed. The focused assessment was undertaken in 2006 by an Exter- nal Working Group. The consultation document tracked implementation against 12 Critical Threshold Indicators, such as ‘% new development on brownfield land’ (NIDRD 2006). The strategy performed well on the brown- field indicator, exceeding the 60 per cent norm. More worrying was the diffi- culty of concentrating development in the hubs, in a region with a preference for rural development.
6.4.2 Wales
The Welsh Assembly soon recognised the need for a strategic planning overview, especially in the context of the fragmented unitary system of local government. A Draft Wales Spatial Plan was produced in 2003 (Welsh Assem- bly Government 2003a), and the final document People, Places, Futures: The Wales Spatial Plan was published at the end of 2004 (Welsh Assembly Govern- ment 2004). The strategy initially started out on an informal basis, but it was subsequently felt necessary to address issues of status and legislative requirement.
Provision was subsequently made for a statutory duty to prepare a plan and keep it under review, under Section 60 of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act (2004). The Wales Spatial Plan (WSP) has a 20-year horizon, and has also been influenced by the ESDP. It adopts the following definition of ‘spatial planning’:
Spatial planning is the consideration of what can and should happen where. It investigates the interaction of different policies and practices across regional space, and sets the role of places in a wider context. It goes well beyond ‘traditional’ land-use planning and sets out a strategic frame- work to guide future development and policy interventions, whether or not these relate to formal land-use planning control.
The production of the WSP involved ‘a proactive consultation process’, and the opportunity to participate in seminars/workshops and conferences to discuss the plan. Reflecting its significance in the Welsh Government, responsibility for the plan was moved from the Planning to the Corporate Strategy Division of the Assembly Government. Compared to the RDS in Northern Ireland, it is a briefer document. But it is a significant statutory document, and one of the high-level strategic guidance building blocks for Wales, alongside Wales: A Better Country (Welsh Assembly Government 2003b) and The Sustainable Development Scheme and Action Plan(Welsh Assembly Government 2003c).
The WSP has a written and spatial vision. The latter identifies, for example, key centres and socio-economic hubs; the written version is as follows:
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland 115
We will sustain our communities by tackling the challenges presented by population and economic change; we will grow in ways which will increase our competitiveness while spreading prosperity to less well-off areas and reducing negative environmental impacts; we will enhance our natural and built environment for its own sake and for what it contributes to our well- being, and we will sustain our distinctive identity.
The WSP is structured according to five guiding themes of: building sustainable communities, promoting a sustainable economy, valuing our environment, achieving sustainable accessibility and respecting distinctiveness. For each theme, there is a brief diagnosis of issues, followed by a set of objectives, and actions to address the objectives. The plan is also structured by sub-region, with a vision, strategy, propositions and actions for each. For example, for North West Wales, one proposition is ‘The University of Wales, Bangor, has a key role to play in supporting the development of an outward-looking knowledge economy’, and the associated action is ‘University of Wales, Bangor and FE institutions, WDA and business to identify opportunities to strengthen the knowledge economy’.
The actual spatial vision is very broadbrush, as is much of the overall plan which is more of a descriptive stocktake than a forward looking strategy (see Figure 6.2 for an example of the issue diagnosis focus). Implementation, as a process and as a product, will involve national and area level actions. At the national level, this will be via a National Spatial Planning Group, which
‘while having no executive powers – will advise the Government on spatial priorities’. Area level working partnerships are likely to be flexible, building on and adapting what currently exists. It is doubtful, however, whether the plan is sufficient, in its current form, to guide local planning and decision making. Work is underway on performance indicators to monitor implemen- tation of the spatial plan, and there is an important provision to ‘refresh’ the plan in 2007/2008.
6.4.3 Scotland
There was a mixed lead up to the first national spatial plan for Scotland. While the Scottish Executive (SE) consultation in 2001 on the value of such a plan found widespread support, there was also a view that a statutory plan was not needed. As such The National Planning Framework for Scotland: Quality and Con- nectivity(Scottish Executive 2004a) is a non-statutory document, a statement of government policy, rather than a part of the statutory development planning system (this will change as a result of the Planning etc. (Scotland) Bill and the subsequent Planning etc. (Scotland) Act of December 2006 (see below)). Nev- ertheless, the framework marks an important first step to introduce a spatial dimension into the traditionally aspatial Scottish public policy arena. In the foreword to the framework, the Minister for Communities notes that ‘Place matters. It makes a difference to people and business. We recognise that policy
has a geographic dimension.’ There are also comments that this is a ‘perspective and not a masterplan or blueprint’ and, as with the other national spatial plans, there is a 20-year time horizon. There is also reference to the importance of the ESDP and to the implications for Scotland of the enlargement of the EU.
Work on the framework started in 2002 and involved extensive stakeholder involvement. The contents were also subject to strategic environmental assess- ment. The framework describes Scotland as it is in 2004, identifies key issues and drivers of change, sets out a vision to 2025, and identifies priorities and Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland 117
Multiple Deprivation 2000 Most deprived wards
Child Poverty Index 1998 Over 55 percent of families dependent on income related benefit
Population change 1994–2003 Largest percentage population increase Largest percentage population decrease
Mid-year population estimate 2003 Largest percentage of population under 18 Largest percentage of population 65
Average gross inward migration from England as percentage of mid-year population 2003 Largest percentage inward migration
Smallest percentage inward migration
Largest ratio of house prices to earnings 2003 Smallest ratio of house prices to earnings 2003
Figure 6.2 WSP (2004) – example of issue diagnosis – building sustainable communities.