Draft Regional Strategy due out in January
The statutory business plan for the North West Development Agency for the coming years – should it survive – will be published for consultation in the first week of January.
The Regional Strategy 2010 will cover investment plans for grant funding and loans, priority sites for new development, planning guidance such as housing targets as well as transport, enterprise and higher education interventions.
In planning and economic policy terms, RS2010 will replace the Regional Economic Strategy published in 2006, the Partial Review, The Regional Housing Strategy and Regional Spatial Strategy.
RS 2010 is being published in two parts: the outline framework in January and detailed policies in the summer, after a general election when the fate of RDAs and other quangos are expected to be debated fiercely.
4NW, the local authority leaders forum formerly called the North West regional Assembly, is co-writing the RS2010 with the NWDA.
The consultation on part one will last eight weeks and involve a series of public events during January and February, details to be confirmed soon.