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Regional action

Regions have an important role to play in providing a driver for adaptation action through Regional Spatial Strategies and Local Development Frameworks.

In England, Regional Spatial Strategies (RSS) provide the strategic element of the statutory development plan and inform preparation of Local Development Frameworks (LDF).

A growing number of RSS address climate change mitigation, but adaptation policy-making is still very much in its infancy. The further alterations to the London Plan (incorporated in February 2008) are amongst the first to contain specific policies on adaptation, supported by the work of the London Climate Change Partnership and the emerging London climate change adaptation strategy.

However, the PPS 1 Supplement on Planning and Climate Change, published in December 2007, will require action in future revisions of all RSS (see section below on LDEDC Bill for more information about revisions). In the meantime the PPS itself can be a material consideration.

Many of the regions and devolved administrations have climate change partnerships. UK Climate Impacts Programme (UKCIP) provides a liaison officer for each partnership to help develop local adaptation strategies and actions. The partnerships raise awareness of the regional impacts of climate change, develop examples of practical adaptation responses, commission research, and press for management of climate risks within regional strategies.

In order to develop a robust adaptation strategy it is necessary to understand the effects that climate change will have nationally, regionally and locally. Detailed information about the major climatic changes that we may expect across the UK is prepared by UKCIP. The UK Climate Projections, UKCP09 provide the most advanced package of climate scenarios in the UK, and are based on the most up to date evidence that is available on climate change.

Some care should be taken when applying the projections to urban areas. The models used to produce the scenarios assume the whole land surface to have a rural land use (i.e. vegetated). The UKCP09 scenarios address this issue to some degree but are not yet fully able to take the effects of urban heat islands into consideration. It could be implied therefore that changes in heavily built up urban areas are likely to be more severe than those outlined in the projections.

A Review of Sub-National economic development and regeneration (the SNR) was carried out in July 2007. One of the key principles outlined in the SNR was the need for economic decisions to be made at the most appropriate spatial level. The Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction (LDEDC) Bill, announced in December 2008, is designed to take some of the reforms identified in the SNR, forward. This Bill encourages a tailored approach so that local government is able to apply the appropriate level of priority to address local challenges, including climate change adaptation. This Bill may be particularly relevant in areas that are expecting to undergo significant growth and regeneration.

PPS1: Supplement on Planning and Climate Change: a regional perspective

The PPS requires regions to:

  • Consider the region’s vulnerabilities to climate change and specifically the implications for the built environment, infrastructure and services and biodiversity. Potential areas to be considered (and evidence collected on) include:
    • Infrastructure
    • Flood risk
    • Coastal erosion
    • Water resources and management
    • Biodiversity and landscape
    • Economic development
    • Built environment and the urban heat island effect.
  • Consider the desirability of avoiding new development in those areas with likely increased vulnerability to the effects of climate change, particularly where it is not viable to manage likely risks through suitable measures to provide resilience.
  • Bring forward adaptation options for existing development in vulnerable areas.
  • Assess climate vulnerabilities and manage performance by setting clear yardsticks.

UKCP09

There is significant uncertainty about the extent that climate change will affect the UK in any given timeframe; UKCP09 will allow users to explore the range of this uncertainty by providing probabilistic climate projections, supporting a risk-based approach to decision making for adaptation.

The scenarios will be available online in many different formats, from pre-prepared reports and maps to the raw data that supports the models, allowing a vast array of customisable outputs. The projections will show annual, seasonal and monthly climate averages based on three emissions scenarios, down to a resolution of 25km grid squares. For example, it will be possible to assess the range of probability associated with a particular variable at a particular spatial and temporal level, such as the probability of a maximum summer temperature for a certain grid square, in the 2080s.

The Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Bill

Three new options for sub-regional cooperation will be created in the Bill. These include, economic prosperity boards (EPBs), combining EPBs with the functions of an integrated transport authority and multi-area agreements (MAA) with statutory duties.

A MAA is a voluntary agreement between two or more local authorities, local partners and central Government of cooperation for the delivery of targets, allowing better local delivery through increased levels of flexibility.

The Regional Strategy will be a new strategy and replaces the existing regional economic strategy (RES) and regional spatial strategy (RSS). The RDA and the Leaders’ Board have been given joint responsibility for the regional strategy, including its drafting, implementation plan and monitoring of its delivery. The London Plan and the current institutional arrangements will remain in London. The new, integrated RS will be developed ‘when appropriate’ (see clause 68 of Bill).