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.
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The Regional Transport Strategy provides the long-term context for integrating land-use and transport policy and identifies transport investment priorities for the region. The Regional Transport Strategy is incorporated in the West Midlands Spatial Strategy, formerly Regional Planning Guidance (RPG11) which was published in June 2004.
Whilst the spatial strategy is now defined there are a number of work areas the West Midlands Spatial Strategy identifies to be undertaken as part of future reviews, including:
- Identification of strategic park and ride sites
- Implications of the Air Transport White Paper
- West to East Midlands Multi-Modal Study
- Parking standards
- Guidance on road user charging
The West Midlands Regional Assembly is taking forward these issues through the Regional Transport Partnership. We are helping to take this forward and we are working with the Regional Assembly, local authorities and Advantage West Midlands.
If you would like more information, please contact the Government Office for the West Midlands Transport Team.
