Action Briefing June 2004-July 2004
	The Newsletter of Birmingham Friends of the Earth

West Midlands News

At last, a planning blueprint for the region . .

After nearly four years of preparation and nearly two years since the closure of the public examination, we at last saw the final version of West Midlands Regional Planning Guidance (RPG) launched on 15th June.

In all honesty, there are no major surprises in it, but we can say that we have secured many if not all of our aims, including the complete exclusion of any reference to either the Western Orbital Motorway, the Stourbridge or Wolverhampton bypasses. We shall be keeping our eyes and ears open in case these destructive road schemes pop up in the more holistic study planned for the Black Country.

There are some early reviews coming up that we should be aware of, in particular the aviation strategy review, for which we shall aim to expose the link between the Aviation White Paper, the Airport Master Plans, the Regional Spatial Strategies and local plans.

To view the whole document visit the West Midlands Government Office web site at www.go-wm.gov.uk/rpg

Chris Crean