draft Regional Spatial Strategy RSS Key Stages of Preparation

There were three key stages in the preparation of the draft RSS.   The first stage led by the Assembly involved extensive consultation  and technical inputs from various sources, particularly the region's local authorities to prepare the submission draft RSS.   This was achieved in a two year period from the launch of the process in March 2004 to submission of the Assembly's draft RSS to the Secretary of State in April 2006.   Thereafter the draft RSS was subject of intense public scrutiny in 2007 through an independently chaired Examination in Public.    Subsequently the Secretary of State's draft Proposed Changes to the draft RSS were published and consulted upon.

The process of preparation of the RSS for the South West remains uncompleted.   By the time of revocation of RSS's by the incoming Secretary of State in June 2010 legal challenges to the Proposed Changes to the SW draft RSS had not been resolved and the RSS had still not been published four years after the Assembly had made its submission.

As a separate but connected exercise, the Assembly carried out a review of the provision of pitches for Gypsies and Travellers during 2007.   A link to details of this process is listed below.