Land use and the limits to (regional) governance: Some lessons from planning for housing and minerals in England

This paper examines the supposed shift from government to governance in the context of land-use planning in England and indicates some of the problems which surround increased regional autonomy in governmental systems. It is argued that decision-making processes around land use, especially when they concern conflicts between development and environmental protection, are no t easily rendered into the flexible arrangements deemed characteristic of g overnance. Two case studies in the housing and minerals sectors - presented to illustrate this general argument - show the existence of strong 'strate gic lines' which tend to subsume local representations and limit the format ion of partnerships. Ln both cases, the strategic line comes dressed in the language of technical (numerical) forecasts and projections which raises p roblems for any local opposition to the thrust of the strategy. In conclusi on it is argued that although some recasting of the planning regime in each sector is underway this has only served to highlight continuing problems i n linking strategy and locality, especially in cases of conflict around lan d use, which regional governance may not easily alleviate.