The Future of Regional
Governance in England
Councillor Alan Townsend
University of Durham
Introduction
• A (the?) main theme of past RSA conferences was
“UK Regional Policy”
• Past significance for London in speeding up deindustrialisation 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
Number of regions and average population, thousands
• (England 9
U. Kingdom12
5777) Hungary
7
5167 Neth’lands 12
Slovakia
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Germany 16 5113 Czech Rep.
France
22 2944 Bulgaria
Spain
16 2874 Sweden
Italy
21 2873 Finland
Romania 8 2683 Austria
Poland 16
2385 Belgium
Ireland
2
2128 Greece
Portugal 5
2385
EU average, excluding UK
1430
1382
4
1356
8
6
8
5
9
12
13
1313
1261
1168
1070
931
902
869
11
2225
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 power
2. 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