Measuring spatial strategy success

Planning, 1 August 2008

The 2006 local government white paper signalled a renewed focus on outcomes in policy-making and service delivery. In that context, the national performance indicators selected to measure an efficient, effective and transparent planning framework were related to the delivery of housing and processing planning applications.

These do not, however, provide information on the contribution that spatial planning makes to the achievement of the full range of objectives set out in PPS1. Guidance on the production of annual monitoring reports (AMRs) required under the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 recommends a core set of output indicators for development planning. These have now been updated to bring together the regional and local output indicators into one shared set.

But neither the local government performance framework nor AMRs provide information on the co-ordination of regional, sub-regional, local and neighbourhood levels or the integration of cross-sectoral policies. Another approach is required to demonstrate the outcomes of spatial planning activity. It also needs to clearly link the process of monitoring to the spatial analysis to provide a credible evidence base that underpins core strategies.

Research commissioned by the RTPI and the DCLG has developed a robust framework for evaluation of spatial planning that also identifies how these links can be made. The team was led by University of Manchester centre for urban policy studies professor of spatial planning Cecilia Wong and included colleagues from the University of Sheffield's department of town and regional planning.

Their report identifies 20 indicator measurements and demonstrates how these can be used interactively. This integrated approach is based on the flexible bundling of the indicators to describe outcomes relevant to the objectives of sustainable development set out in national policy statements. It encourages refinement of the framework to meet area-specific regional and local objectives, by adding or substituting relevant measurements.

The framework is designed to be used by partnerships at the local, sub-regional and regional levels to explore and demonstrate dynamic relationships between different aspects of sustainable development. The underlying spatial processes highlight the importance of functional areas, including labour and housing markets.

The report highlights some of the challenges in developing and maintaining consistent and locationally relevant data for sustainable development. However, in using existing data, the researchers flag up serious gaps in collection in terms of quality and attitudinal indicators.

To build on this approach to place-shaping, the RTPI is keen to document and promote good practice. By adjusting the framework and sharing their experiences, stakeholders can contribute to the evaluation of the overall effect of spatial policy on their communities, their economy and their environment.

Jenny Crawford is RTPI head of research. The full report Measuring the Outcomes of Spatial Planning in England is available at www. rtpi.org.uk/item/1803. The update to the AMR guidance can be downloaded from www.communities.gov.uk/publications/planningandbuilding/ coreoutputindicators2.