The Regional Assembly, or Regional Planning Body in each region in England, has to produce a Regional Transport Strategy as part of its Regional Spatial Strategy. The Regional Transport Strategy is shaped by the delivery programmes of the Highways Agency and Network Rail and influences Local Transport Plans. A Regional Transport Strategy is a statutory requirement of the planning system, as set out in the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act of 2004.
In turn the Regional Transport Strategy sets a framework for the region within which future programmes and plans should sit.