Regional Planning Guidance (RPG 10) for the South West is provided by the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions. It is based on the draft document approved in July 1999 by the South West Regional Planning Conference and the consultation process provided for in PPG 11 "Regional Planning". It supersedes Regional Planning Guidance for the South West issued in 1994, which covered the period to 2011.
RPG:
- provides a regional spatial strategy within which local authority development plans and Local Transport Plans (LTPs) in the South West should be prepared;
- sets out a broad development strategy for the period to 2016 and beyond;
- provides the spatial framework for other strategies and programmes.
The Regional Transport Strategy (RTS) in RPG sets the regional context for transportation planning. RPG's long term planning framework sets the context for the future revision of the regional strategy for the South West of England Regional Development Agency (SWRDA).
Government policies on planning, taken into account in RPG, are set out in Planning Policy Guidance (PPG) Notes, Minerals Planning Guidance (MPG) Notes, circulars and other government statements including the White Papers listed in the Annex. References to such PPGs etc will usually refer to the document and not repeat extracts. Local planning authorities must take RPG into account in preparing their development plans. RPG may also be material to decisions on individual planning applications and appeals. Important principles are set out in boxes. Guidance given in the numbered paragraphs applies directly and is not simply "supporting text". Numbered policies indicate key actions to be taken to implement RPG, often indicating the specific responsibilities of local planning authorities and others. However RPG should always be read as a whole and not by reading individual paragraphs, policies or sections without regard to the rest of the document.
Throughout RPG reference is made to the "Regional Planning Body" (RPB). The RPB is responsible for implementation, monitoring and reviews of RPG. The South West Regional Planning Conference and the South West Regional Chamber merged in July 2000 to form the South West of England Regional Assembly. This has now become the Regional Planning Body for the South West.
Last Updated: 23rd July 2007