National and regional guidance
4.1 The European Union produce binding legislation, known as EU Directives, concerning the environment and socio-economic development which member slates are obliged to comply with. National governments consequently produce their own legislation, which provides a national framework of policy to complement those produced at international level. In the UK, Government planning policy is defined in a series of Planning Policy Guidance Notes (PPG's), published by the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions. Local authorities are required to take full account of these policies when preparing their development plans, and the same is true of this Forest Plan. The most relevant of the PPG's to The Mersey Forest are:
- PPG1 - General Policy and Principles
(Department of the Environment, 1997) - PPG2 - Green Belts
(Department of the Environment, 1995) - PPG7 - The Countryside Environmental Quality and Economic and Social Development
(Department of the Environment, 1997) - PPG11 - Strategic Guidance for Merseyside
(Department of the Environment, 1998) - Draft PPG17 - Sport and Recreation
(DETR, 2001)
4.2 Regional Planning Policy (RPG) also forms an important policy framework in which the Forest Plan operates. The Draft RPG for the North West (NWRA, 2001) essentially translates central Government policy, into a planning framework tailored for the socio-economic and environmental conditions of the North West, and operates in conjunction with the Regional Economic Strategy (NWDA, 1999).
4.3 Each of the eight local authorities which partner The Mersey Forest have their own Development Plans, which guide national and regional planning policy into a land use allocation plan for the local authority area, whilst there is also a Structure Plan which covers all of Cheshire, and is published by Cheshire County Council to guide its local authorities in the preparation of their development plans.
4.4 Partner local authorities each have policies within their plans that seek to promote The Mersey Forest concept. Partner authorities are working together to produce Supplementary Planning Guidance.
