Devolution in focus
1. The government will create a new concept of “strategic authorities” and ensure the whole of England is covered by them. These authorities will have different levels and different powers, with the “most far-reaching and flexible powers” reserved for “established mayoral strategic authorities” including “integrated funding settlements”, consolidated budgets that can be spent across different policy areas. Areas without a mayor will form “foundation strategic authorities” and could see smaller councils merge to form larger unitary authorities. More
2. All areas across England will have to produce “high level” strategic spatial plans by the end of this parliament. Produced by the newly-created strategic authorities, the development plans will allow local authorities to work collaboratively to assess and prioritise their housing need and guide development across larger geographical areas, much like the capital’s London Plan. In mayoral strategic authorities, mayors will be “empowered” to develop and propose the SDS for their areas. More
3. The government will give strategic authorities environmental planning powers. The government has said that strategic authorities will deliver “local sustainable energy generation”, “become the zoning co-ordinators for local heat networks”, and have “their plans taken into account in the national energy system operators’ regional energy strategic plans”. It said it will also “expand strategic authorities’ role in leading local nature recovery strategies”.
4. Elected mayors across England will get new development management powers. England’s mayors will get new powers to call in planning “applications of strategic importance” in a similar way to the mayor of London. More
5. England’s mayors will also be able to establish a levy for infrastructure delivery. Mayors in England will be able to establish a “mayoral levy” to ensure that new developments come with associated infrastructure. More
6. The government says it will “forge a stronger partnership” between government agency Homes England and “established mayoral strategic authorities”, increasing the former’s accountability to the latter. As part of this, the government said it intended to move Homes England to a more regionalised model “over time” so that the agency is “even more responsive to the economic plan of an area”.