The rescaling of sub-national planning: can localism resolve England’s spatial planning conundrum?

David McGuinness, John Mawson

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

22 Citations (Scopus)
97 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

This paper analyses the recent reorganisation of sub-national planning in England. The abrupt termination in 2010 of regional spatial strategies (RSSs) left England as the only major country in north-western Europe without effective sub-national governance structures (outside London) for spatial planning. Drawing on in-depth interviews with public-sector planners and other research material, this paper analyses the impacts of the demise of regional planning for ‘larger-than-local’ policy coordination in England. The paper seeks to question whether localism can succeed where regionalism is perceived to have failed in dealing effectively with the strategic spatial dilemmas integral to planning. It concludes by assessing whether the evolving decentralised forms of sub-national governance (combined authorities and local enterprise partnerships (LEPs)) emerging through the government’s ‘devolution revolution’ can develop to fill the current strategic planning void and resurrect some form of spatial planning throughout England.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)283-303
Number of pages21
JournalTown Planning Review
Volume88
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 15 May 2017

Keywords

  • localism
  • regional planning
  • rescaling
  • combined authorities
  • England

Research Group keywords

  • Adaptation, Value, and the Built Environment

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