South West Regional Planning Guidance

Purpose of Regional Planning Guidance

Regional Planning Guidance for the South West (RPG10) provides a regional spatial strategy within which local authority development plans and Local Transport Plans (LTPs) in the South West should be prepared; sets out a broad development strategy for the period to 2016 and beyond; and provides the spatial framework for other strategies and programmes.

It was provided by the (then) Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM). The current version was published in September 2001.

Regional Planning Guidance for the South West (RPG10) is available on the South West Regional Assembly Website.

What area does RPG cover?

Throughout RPG10, reference is made to the 'Regional Planning Body' (RPB). The RPB is responsible for the implementation, monitoring and review of RPG. In the South West, this is the South West of England Regional Assembly. This provides the planning framework for the County Councils of Cornwall (including the Isles of Scilly), Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire; the Unitary authorities of Bath and North East Somerset, Bristol, North Somerset, South Gloucestershire, Plymouth, Torbay, Bournemouth, Poole and Swindon.

Update

Regional Planning Guidance will shortly be replaced by a statutory document called Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS).  As part of this process, an issues paper 'Trends and Challenges for the South West' was published for consultation in November 2003. A further issues consultation paper was published during the summer of 2004 which, together with the findings of the current Torbay & South Devon sub-regional study, informed the preparation of the Draft Regional Spatial Strategy. The Draft Regional Spatial Strategy for the South West 2006-2026 was published in March 2006. Policies SR36 and SR37 (pages 93-95) set a spatial strategy for Torbay. The Draft RSS will be subject to Examination in Public in Spring/Summer 2007. The Panel Report on the Examination in Public is expected to be sent to the Secretary of State in mid 2007 and a final version of the RSS published in early 2008.

How to obtain a copy of the RPG

The Regional Planning Guidance for the South West (RPG10), was published on 12 September 2001. Copies can be purchased for £18 from the Stationary Office and Stationary Office bookshops.

Copies can also be viewed or downloaded from the Government Office for the South West website : please click on the RPG10 –South West Regional Assembly External Link to the right.