Connecting England
The Report
of the TCPA Commission
for the Vision of England
Professor Sir Peter Hall
National Planning Forum
20 June 2006
Connecting England
The Commission: 2004-6
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Pam Alexander
Cllr Sir Jeremy
Beecham
Sir Ken Collins
Vincent Goodstadt
Howard Sheppard
Brian Tisdall
Ken Bartlett
Graeme Bell
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Prof David Lock
Robin Pyle
Rod Bull
Nigel Hugill
Lee Shostack
Andrew George MP
Prof Peter Roberts
Rt. Hon. John Gummer
Advisor – Prof Sir Peter Hall
Connecting England
The Key Message
• “Without a strategy to guide
key infrastructure projects
and national programmes,
to set priorities … the
country will simply drift
directionless, reinforcing a
belief, real or imagined,
that the winner takes it all”
• Peter Hetherington,
Commission Chair
Connecting England
The Challenges:
• Inequality between regions
• Inequality within regions
• Threats to the growth and productivity of the
Golden Arc and beyond
• Inequalities in housing
Connecting England
The Challenges:
• The Challenge of Sustainable Communities
• Rural Development
• The Transport System
• Energy, Water and Waste
Connecting England
Lessons from Elsewhere
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Wales
Germany
Scotland
All have Spatial
Development
Frameworks
• England needs its
DFE
Connecting England
DFE: Key Recommendations: 1-3
• Rail: New or vastly improved north-south and westeast (trans-Pennine) rail routes
• Airports: Grow northern airports, particularly
Manchester (UK’s No. 3), to take the pressure off
Heathrow and Gatwick
• Ports: Strategy to determine how much further growth
at southern ports (Felixstowe, Southampton) and to
encourage growth at northern ports with spare
capacity (Liverpool, Teesport, Hull)
Connecting England
DEF: Key Recommendations: 4-6
• Region-proofing: All planning decisions on nationally
significant research facilities to ensure regional
development implications highlighted and regional
development benefits optimised
• University research: Science and Innovation
Strategy to consider wider economic role of
universities alongside excellence and opportunity
• Local Government and the regions: Government to
give major unitary authorities (Greater Manchester,
West Yorkshire, West Midlands) same transport
powers (and ultimately planning and regional
development powers) as Greater London
Connecting England
DFE: Key Recommendations: 7-9
• Housing and Sustainable Communities:
Government review to focus on increasing subsidised
housing supply – principally RSLs but also LAs, self
builders and others
• Participatory planning process: establishing a DFE
through a multi-level process, initially from existing
regional strategies. Ultimately a DFE must receive
Parliamentary scrutiny and be adopted by national
Government
• Criteria based projects assessment: a strict,
criteria-based approach to assess and determine
projects and policies to be expressed and prioritised in
a DFE
Connecting England
DFE: Key Recommendations: 10-12
• Statutory obligation: Statutory duty upon UK
Government institutions to promote development in
regions and subregions falling below average national
income levels
• Constitutional safeguards: In future constitutional
reforms, give local and regional Government a
stronger voice
• Relocation: Implement Lyons recommendations –
relocate 20,000 civil service posts - to areas in need of
investment and regeneration, with a majority to the
north and far southwest; review and extend beyond
20,000 target; encourage local government to locate
certain functions in regeneration areas
Connecting England
TCPA Approval
• Approved by TCPA Policy Council, May 2006
TCPA Objectives
• DECENT HOME IN A GOOD HUMAN SCALE
ENVIRONMENT FOR EVERYONE
• COMMUNITIES EMPOWERED TO
INFLUENCE DECISIONS
• A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE