Regional Planning Board

The Regional Planning Board is the key regional forum for discussing, deciding and overseeing the development and delivery of the Regional Spatial Strategy, now known as the Yorkshire and Humber Plan, and planning policy.

What does it do?

The Regional Planning Board provides leadership for the planning and spatial strategy agenda at regional level. The Board prepares and reviews the Yorkshire and Humber Plan and works to ensure that it is implemented and delivered effectively. As part of this work it develops and fulfils the Assembly's statutory consultee role in the planning system. It advises on the fit between regional, city/sub regional and local strategies in relation to planning/spatial strategy matters. The Board influences and lobbies Government and other national/regional agencies to ensure that national policy on spatial issues fully reflects the needs of our region.

Over the past year, the Regional Planning Board has...

• Drawn up the Assembly’s response to the Secretary of State’s Proposed Changes to the Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS)
• Agreed the scope and focus of the review of the Yorkshire and Humber Plan (required by the Government’s Housing Green Paper)
• Reviewed the consultation criteria for major applications, provided information to local authorities on our conformity role and run joint sessions with Natural England to explain this work
• Commented on 37 LDF documents and 132 major planning applications, and supported Selby District at a public inquiry on a major Planning Appeal
• Published the 2007 RSS Annual Monitoring Report and made good progress on an Implementation Action Plan for RSS.

What are the priorities for this year?

• Steering the 2009 Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS) Update - with its focus on the future scale, location and infrastructure for growth in the Region
• Involvement in Examinations for LDF Core Strategies in Sheffield, Wakefield and Harrogate
• Developing our GIS capability and our links with Yorkshire Futures in developing shared monitoring systems
• Agreeing and delivering our implementation priorities for the RSS for this year

How does it work?

The Regional Planning Board is accountable to the Regional Executive Board for delivery of the Yorkshire and Humber Plan. It is responsible for building and maintaining good and productive relationships with bodies and organisations in the region responsible for providing planning and related services. In particular it works with the Regional Planning Forum that engages all local authorities and a wide range of regional stakeholders.

The Board has effective senior level relationships with Yorkshire Forward, Government Office Yorkshire and Humber and a range of government sponsored and other bodies and organisations providing services related to planning (and with an impact on the Plan) in the region and beyond at national, European and International level.

How often does it meet?

The Board normally meets four times a year. All meeting agendas, papers and minutes are available from the Assembly’s website. There is a tight (21 day) deadline for Assembly responses to consultations on planning applications and a six-week deadline for commenting on local development framework consultations so formal arrangements to agree responses in between Board meetings have been agreed.

Who's involved?

The Chair and Deputy Chair are members of the Assembly, one is a Local Authority member and the other is a Social, Economic, and Environmental Partner member. The Chair of the Board for 2008/09 is Cllr Peter Box from Wakefield Metropolitan District Council, and the Deputy Chair is Cate Hammond from the Regional Environment Forum. The other members of the Board are not necessarily Assembly members and represent a range of organisations with an interest in planning in the region. These include local authority representatives nominated by the sub region and city region partnerships.

Who supports the Regional Planning Board?

The work of the Regional Planning Board is supported by the Planning Strategy Team led by Head of Service Richard Wood and the Planning Conformity and Delivery Team led by Acting Head of Service Andy Haigh.

For more information or a list of current members, contact the Assembly.