The role of spatial planning in delivering the levelling-up agenda: UK2070 Commission

The latest issue of the Town and Country Planning Association's (TCPA) Journal has a feature section on the the UK2070 Commission and its cogently argued final report entitled: Make No Little Plans – Acting At Scale For A Fairer And Stronger Future. The report focusses on inequalities that have arisen in the UK. These inequalities did not grow up overnight the report argues. They reflect an over-centralised system that fails to comprehend the reality of regional need and consistently comes up with policies that are either under-resourced, too fragmented, or too short-lived to make a difference. Some policy guidelines have actively stacked the odds against the regions it states. Thomas Fischer in an article entitled 'Levelling up - the case of eastern Germany, post-1990' looks at the experience of Germany in deal with inequalities and the approach of investing in infrastructure and regeneration to support socio-econmomic stabilisation.

In another offering in the Journal, Nicol and Wray, argue that there is a major opportunity to help re-balance the UK's economy by increasing investment in R&D in the north of England centred on a centre for science and technology.

Pike, Coombes, Kempton et al., discuss the vexed question of decentralisation of governance in England. They conclude that the 'analysis highlights the need comprehensively to think through and clarify what decentralisation is for, what powers and resources it comprises, and how it works in England, and then set this out in a clear, open and transparent road map.'

Such a road map could benefit from a National Spatial Plan. A National Spatial Plan would set a national context for investment and planning regionally rather than the piecemeal approach that currently exists. Such a national plan would also enable planning over a longer period rather than the short-term focus based on budget cycles that currently persists. Regional planning should be based on the needs and geographies of areas, in order to address spatial imbalances, rather than focus on administrative boundaries. This latest issue of the TCPA Journal is a really timely and topical offering - providing a lot of food for thought. It is well worth a read.