The Future of Regional Governance in England

Councillor Alan TownsendUniversity of Durham

Introduction• A (the?) main theme of past RSA conferences was “UK Regional Policy”• Past significance for London in speeding up de-

industrialisation and office dispersal to Regions• Now London separate from the rest of England’s

weaker economies and governance • Greater London Council and the 6 Metropolitan

Councils were abolished together in the 1980s, the latter were not replaced

• GLC when restored was also seen as one of 9 post-1997 Regions, now annihilated, leaving rest of England with 293 separate Planning Authorities!

Regions of EU countries

Weakness at these intermediate levels,except across states of Federal States

• “Regional agencies often serve at the whim of higher level government...which can capriciously dissolve or reorganise them”(Wheeler, 2009, Regional Studies) ; no role in UK constitution

• Any joint arrangements tend to be vulnerable to change over time; near-universal Council rivalry undocumented

• Examples of City Region weakness:1. USA’s Councils of Governments have little power2. Collaboration in Randstad sporadic (Kantor, 2006)3. Ile de France recently dropped plans for a Paris City

Region, due to objections from mayors

Probable futures at the City Region scale

• PERCEPTION; London politicians and journalists unaware of city regions or the former Metropolitan Counties

• Little memory of Strategic Planning, for example, “Land-Use Transportation Studies”: less needed?

• LEPs have pitifully few powers, BUT 3 use the title “City Region”, and Cities White Paper (12/11) plays on their data

• And, to sign a “City Deal”, the 8 “Core Cities” must either have adopted a directly elected Mayor, or committed as proponent of a “Combined Authority” for their city region.

• These areas could be converted to Strategic Planning in future (Peter Hall)

• LEPs already involved in Transport; “in most of the world’s largest metropolitan areas, city-suburban integration is limited to a few functional areas, such as coordinated transportation” (Abrahamson, 2004)

Probable futures above the City Region scale

• Common sense views suggest the wheel will return full circle – to Regions

• Professional views exist that the logic of Maud’s Provinces is essential, at least for housebuilding

• Even the present government is now proposing a (different) measure of centralism, directing some Councils’ Planning approvals

• However, Labour cautious – Ed. Miliband on Assemblies Shadow Ministers talking of devolution to

Councils and incentives for voluntary merger of LEPs