ANNUAL DIALOGUE MEETING WITH THE ENVIRONMENT AGENCY

The Executive Committee of 23 January received the report of the second annual dialogue meeting between the Assembly and the Environment Agency in December. The event, chaired by Cllr Louise Bloom of Eastleigh Borough Council, was an opportunity for both parties to share information, take stock of their respective positions, identify possible problems and explore solutions and joint initiatives.

A close working relationship between the Assembly and Agency is of continuing importance, particularly as the Assembly embarks on preparing the new regional spatial strategy, which is to be called 'The South East Plan'. Data from the Agency on flood risk, water resources and water quality is critical to the consideration of the broad levels of growth that can be accommodated in various parts of the region. The Agency has also initiated the ecoSE partnership in order to promote more sustainable building in the region and thereby reduce the resource impact of growth.

Commitments to action arising from the meeting include:

• The Agency should provide timely data on flood risk, water resources and water quality to inform consideration of the broad levels of growth that can be accommodated in various parts of the region through the South East Plan.
  
  
• The Assembly should engage the Regional Environmental Protection Committees in the preparation of the Plan.
  
  
• The Agency is to consider how to provide a more accurate water supply/demand balance map to inform the Plan.
  
  
• Both agencies to identify the changes to building regulations required to ensure new developments meet high environmental standards, including sustainable materials, renewable energy, waste recycling, and water conservation measures.
  
  
• The Assembly and Agency to jointly approach Government to clarify responsibilities for identifying the risks from and ameliorating the impact of groundwater flooding.

SEEDA ACCOUNTABILITY

Select Committee on Inward Investment
The Regional Assembly established a select committee to review SEEDA's work on inward investment. Its brief was to examine SEEDA's impact in attracting, retaining and expanding foreign direct investment in the context of the priorities identified in the Regional Economic Strategy.

The committee, which was chaired by Economic Partners Vice-chair, Nigel Horton-Baker, met in December and January. Submissions were received from a wide range of organisations including local authorities and economic partnerships.The committee was convinced of the view, put strongly by SEEDA themselves, that the nature of inward investment is changing dramatically; it is increasingly based around mergers and acquisition, international strategic alliances and joint ventures with small and medium sized companies, rather than large scale relocations. The committee concluded that SEEDA needs to develop a more coherent action plan to communicate these changes to their partners and ensure they are equipped to respond to them. This plan would identify the gaps in current activity, highlight the skills required to be competitive and encourage linkages between inward investment activity and broader business support.

Other recommendations include:

• SEEDA should improve feedback on inward investment projects.
  
  
• The Assembly must ensure that the needs of inward investment are reflected in spatial development.
  
  
• SEEDA should build on existing initiatives by facilitating further interaction between inward investors and universities and helping inward investors source expertise in the region.
  
  
• The role of the Enterprise Hubs and Innovation Centres could be developed through the Global Regions Programme.

SEEDA will respond formally to the select committee's findings in time for the next Executive Committee.

STATE OF THE COUNTRYSIDE IN THE SOUTH EAST

Duncan Mackay, Regional Director of the Countryside Agency gave a presentation to the Executive Committee of 23 January on the Agency's annual report into the communities, economies and the environment of the rural South East.

The report highlighted a range of key statistics relating to the South East's rural areas including:

• The rural population has increased by 11.6% since 1981 and, at 3.1m, is the largest rural population of all the regions.
  
  
• In 2002, the South East was recorded as having the second lowest absolute number of full-time farmers, partners or directors in employment on agricultural land holdings.
  
  
• In 2001, the South East had the 2nd highest proportion of economically active population in rural England (83.3%). However, this is only a 0.01% growth over the previous 2 years.
  
  
• The South East has nearly a quarter of the market towns in England.

AIRPORTS WHITE PAPER

The Aviation White Paper was published by the Government on 16 December 2003, announcing the Government's intention to develop two additional runways in the wider South East by 2030. In line with the Assembly's response to last year's consultation, the first of these will be at Stansted. However, contrary to the Assembly's agreed view, the Government has a clear preference for the second runway to be at Heathrow, although subject to the considerable environmental obstacles - most notably in relation to air pollution - being comprehensively overcome. The White Paper therefore keeps open the possibility of a second runway at Gatwick once the present legal agreement restricting Gatwick to a single runway expires in 2019.

There are a number of aspects of the White Paper that the Assembly will need to consider, particularly the way in which its proposals for Heathrow and Gatwick should be addressed by the South East Plan. A first report on the White Paper will be presented to the Planning Committee on 3 February; then it is planned to take its recommendations to the Assembly plenary meeting on 3 March.

NEWS IN BRIEF

GOSE Report
GOSE Regional Director, Paul Martin, reported to the Executive Committee on a number of key issues:

• The Planning and Compulsory Purchase Bill – The House of Lords have added an amendment to the Bill which makes it a statutory requirement for the regional planning bodies to consult with the county councils in the preparation, implementation and monitoring of the regional spatial strategies. The Lords have also passed an amendment stating that there will be no regional spatial strategy and regional planning body in a region until it has a directly elected regional assembly. These amendments will be considered by the Secretary of State before the Bill is given Royal Assent.
  
  
• Growth area in the North – It has been revealed that Ministers plan to boost economies in the north by developing a growth corridor stretching from Liverpool to Hull.

Assembly Budget
The Executive Committee of 23 January agreed the 2004-05 budget for submission to the full Assembly in March for their final approval. The proposed budget includes additional expenditure of £1.044m in order to meet the requirements of Government guidance (as set out in draft Planning Policy Statement 11). This would need a one-off increase in the Assembly's Planning Development Grant from the ODPM. A decision on that bid is expected in early February, allowing the budget to be finalised by the Chair and Vice-Chairs Group before being placed before the Assembly plenary. The English Regions Network has, in addition, made a collective case for increased resources to meet the additional demands the Government is making on regional assemblies.

Head of Communications
Heather Bolton joined the Assembly at the beginning on January as the new Head of Communications. She previously worked in a variety of senior public relations and communications roles with Transport for London, the Traffic Director for London and the Association of Metropolitan Authorities. Email her on heatherbolton@southeast-ra.gov.uk.

Help us reach a wider audience. Please copy and circulate this Bulletin in your organisation.

Last updated: 21 August 2007