Campaigning in changing times

For the last century, CPRE has worked tirelessly to try and protect our countryside and important open green spaces by lobbying to improve the planning system and by making representations within whatever planning system exists at the time.

However, the architecture under which we operate is altering dramatically. We are finding ourselves having to deal with huge changes to the planning system at the same time as local government reorganisation is taking place.

Here, our President Nick Thompson outlines the challenges.

The local strategic planning context

At the local level, CPRE groups have always put a lot of effort into trying to make Local Plans as sustainable as possible, and have had many successes over the years. Local Plans set out how land will be categorised and used. They form the basis on which planning applications are decided, and every local authority must by law produce one.

As the Lancashire, Liverpool City Region (LCR) and Greater Manchester (GM) CPRE group, we currently get involved with the public examinations and comment on the individual Local Plans for:

• Lancashire County Council’s 12 District Councils
• Lancashire’s two Unitary Authorities, Blackburn with Darwen, and Blackpool.
• Greater Manchester’s 10 local authorities
• Liverpool City Region’s 6 local authorities

In addition, we are closely involved in two spatial development frameworks covering Greater Manchester and Liverpool City Region.

During the period that they existed, we also put a substantial effort into trying to ensure Regional Spatial Strategies reflected our values.

Devolution changes

But, much is in the process of changing. On top of facing the government’s new elevated housing targets and the resulting challenges by developers to existing Local Plans, we are now having to process what the changes to local government structures as outlined in the Devolution White Paper (Dec 2024) will mean in planning terms.

Unitary authorities: an end to County and District Councils

The White Paper announced that all remaining two-tier local authorities – those with County and District Councils – will be replaced by unitary authorities. The population size for a unitary authority was given as 500,000; the government has since said that populations of between 350,000 and 700,000 will be considered. So, district councils will need to group together to make up these entities.

In Lancashire it is thought there could therefore be three, four or five new Unitaries. The local authorities affected have been asked to indicate their preferences, but the final decisions will be made by government later in the year.

Strategic Authorities

All the Unitaries will have to come under the banner of sub-regional Strategic Authorities – the new name for Combined Authorities (CA). These need populations of around one and a half million. We already have two well-established CAs with substantial devolved powers in our areas, Liverpool City Region, and Greater Manchester. These were joined recently by a third, Lancashire County Council, Blackpool and Blackburn with Darwen. It is assumed this will evolve within a year or two into a Strategic Authority with greater devolved powers.

Each Strategic Authority will have to produce an over-arching spatial planning strategy.

The government has indicated it would prefer Strategic Authorities to be led by an elected mayor, although this is not compulsory. Those that do agree to have a mayor will be offered greater devolved powers and more money.

Local Nature Recovery Strategies

And, at the same time all of this upheaval is taking place, there is another very significant initiative of great interest to CPRE – the production of 48 Local Nature Recovery Strategies for the whole of England.

These are a new system of spatial strategies for nature, introduced in the Environment Act 2021 and a legally-binding commitment.

Three plans are being drawn up to cover our area:

• Greater Manchester – lead authority Greater Manchester Combined Authority
• Liverpool City Region – lead authority Liverpool City Region Combined Authority
• The rest of Lancashire – lead authority Lancashire County Council,

We are involved in the preparation of all three strategies.

We need help!

So, quite apart from all the other issues we get involved with, we have our work cut out keeping on top of these very major changes that affect the core planning work we do. If you feel you can help by offering your time or by donating, please get in touch with our secretary, Debbie Janey info@cprelancashire.org.uk.