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  • North West of England Plan - Regional Spatial Strategy to 2021
    • Preparing 'The North West of England Plan'
    • Key Spatial Principles
    • Regional Spatial Framework
    • Working in the North West - Achieving a Sustainable Economy
    • Living in the North West - Ensuring a Strong, Healthy and Just Society
    • Transport in the North West - Connecting people and places
    • Planning for the Environment, Minerals, Waste and Energy
  • Implementation of the Regional Spatial Strategy
    • RSS Implementation Framework - Context
    • RSS Implementation Framework - Key Principles
    • RSS Implementation Framework - Vision, Strategic Actions and Key Agencies
    • RSS Implementation Framework - Key Area Summaries and Implementation Guidance Notes
  • Sustainability Appraisal of the North West of England Plan - Regional Spatial Strategy to 2021
  • Monitoring and Review of the Regional Spatial Strategy
  • Coastal
    • Coastal Communities research
  • Partial Review of Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS) 2008-2010 [NOT PROGRESSED TO COMPLETION]
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RSS Implementation Framework - Key Principles

A number of guiding principles were used to develop the Implementation Framework (IF).  These included:

Linkages - close links were made with RSS review and annual monitoring processes.  The framework linked the plan's vision and objectives to implementation actions and the agencies; and the targets and indicators which will measure performance.  An important aspect of the overall RSS process was monitoring performance and the RSS Annual Monitoring Report reported on performance using the targets and indicators listed in the IF.  

Flexibility - the flexibility to deal quickly with changing national, regional and (where appropriate) local circumstances as part of a plan, monitor, manage approach.

Strategic nature - provide a strong, clear strategic steer and avoid excessive detail.

Engage with partners - actively work with partners to ensure understanding of and buy-in to RSS delivery.  4NW itself undertook a limited number of implementation actions and projects.  Beyond this the only organisations that had a direct duty to implement RSS were the local planning authorities. Many other organisations undertake actions that did link to implementation of the RSS, however the RSS itself was not the key driver behind their actions.    The IF approach therefore:   

• Provided information on implementation activities of 4NW and partners, and also on how 4NW could help Local Planning Authorities in their implementation through LDFs and planning application decisions.       
  
• Focused on key strategic implementation actions.   4NW regularly met with many key regional and sub-regional organisations to progress implementation of the RSS.  

Identifying the funding and infrastructure implications of the RSS  - Key areas of infrastructure include transport, waste, water supply and disposal, energy and flood alleviation.   Alongside these is the overarching issue of climate change.

Effective monitoring - targets and indicators need to be measurable and realistic, and they need to be specific to the particular objectives and policies they are measuring.  Use was made of a mix of different types of indicator, including:

1. "Output" indicators which measured the specific contribution of the RSS through the development plan system, e.g. percentage of new housing on brownfield sites. These most directly measured the achievements of the Plan, however, there were a limited number  outcomes where the Plan's contribution can be directly measured.
   
2. "Context" indicators, which measured overall outcomes, but do less to indicate the specific contribution of the planning system, e.g. increasing GVA.
   
   
3. Significant Effects.  These are special context indicators derived from the Sustainability Appraisal and Strategic Environmental Appraisal (SA /SEA) process against which long term delivery of the RSS was measured.
   

Limited use was made of  operational or "process" targets, for example, to  write strategy x by date y. These did not measure outcomes and therefore did not directly assess effectiveness of the RSS in achieving its policy objectives.