A Better Quality of Life in the South East

What is the Sustainable Development Framework?

The Sustainable Development Framework for the South East, "A Better Quality of Life in the South East", was published in June 2001 as an over-arching integrated policy document, to guide and help in the monitoring of the quality of life within the region.

The Regional Assembly led on the production of the Framework, in conjunction with the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA), the Government Office for the South East (GOSE), the Environment Agency and the National Health Service (NHS).

The first of its kind for the South East, the Framework sets out a vision for the region, and proposes objectives, indicators and targets which contain all the themes of sustainable development. The Framework is not a detailed action plan. Its aim is to clarify what sustainable development means for the South East of England, and how the region can contribute to sustainable development of the country as a whole, through identifying objectives to work towards. In addition, the Framework:

• Provides a common reference point for sustainable development which will help guide the work of organisations, particularly those operating at a regional level, and ensure that sustainable development is at the heart of regional policy.
  
  
• Provides a useful aid to policy formulation and appraisal by the many partners involved in its preparation, and will be relevant to a wide range of other organisations and to businesses.
  
  
• Sets the sustainable development context within which strategies will be formulated, implemented and reviewed.
  
  
• Will be a key tool in sustainability appraisals of strategies and programmes, and for incorporating sustainability into corporate strategy and decision-making. In particular, the Regional Planning Guidance and the Regional Economic Strategy.
  
  
• Will help to achieve consistency, setting the regional context for sub-regional and local initiatives, plans, strategies, including local authority development plans, Local Agenda 21 and Community Strategies. Such strategies are, and will continue to be, a major means of delivery of sustainable development, and of the objectives of the Framework. The Framework does not aim to replace or duplicate this work, but aims to fill a gap at the regional level.

Download the Framework

Sustainable Development Framework - 1.91 MB

Sustainable Development Summary - 254 KB

Sustainable Development Objectives and Indicators - 116 KB

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