The UK2070 Commission has proposed that the UK requires a spatial plan to guide its future development.
The Commission led by chair Lord Kerslake, highlights that Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland all have spatial frameworks that play a "key role" in helping to shape their future development.
England however does not have one, meaning that there is "no common understanding of shared priorities beyond the individual nations".
The Commission says national and sub-national frameworks would help to resolve this problem, "identifying and connecting national economic hubs, providing a firm basis for long-term infrastructure investment, identifying priorities for a new urban policy and securing better national management for the natural and historic environment".
A 'Plan for England' would provide a long-term framework for major infrastructure investment and development. The Plan would need to be approved and owned by the Government, as well as be linked to devolved nations through a nationwide Reference Framework.
An independent body could produce the Plan, which should take into account emerging priorities from combined authorities and bring together existing or future trans-regional or province-level initiatives. The form and content of the Plan itself must be "supportive and encourage stronger sub-national strategic planning".
The UK2070 Commission is an independent inquiry into spatial inequalities in the UK. The Report says that these spatial inequalities mean the economic potential of the whole UK is not taken advantage of, and that there is an imbalance of wealth and opportunity that creates division and pressures in terms of population growth, housing affordability and overloading infrastructure in areas performing better economically. The Commission says there is a "compelling" case to explore these, particularly as they may be widened because of Brexit.
England could be split into four regions when it comes to strategic planning, something the Commission wants to investigate to see if this is the most appropriate split:
Victoria Hills, chief executive at the Royal Town Planning Institute said "the UK 2070 Commission's call for a serious rebalancing of the country's regional economies through better strategic planning needs to be urgently heeded. The RTPI has long championed the power of planning in tackling inequalities and entrenched patterns of economic and social development. The report we launched [last week] with the help of Lord Heseltine calls for joined-up planning across the North to do just this".
"We need commitment now from all levels of Government to channel resources into reinvigorating our planning system to benefit everyone in the long term".
The UK2070 Commission also proposes:
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