Housing growth areas are at risk of flooding, reveals RTPI Map for England

The Institute launched a debate on its "Map for England" initiative yesterday, which aims to collate all the Government's policy and programme maps to avoid "unintended consequences".

The RTPI found that there is considerable overlap between broad areas where housing growth is projected in the future and where there are the greatest environmental and policy constraints to growth, such as the risk of flooding and expected future household water shortages.

Analysis by the Centre for Urban Studies at Manchester University demonstrated that when overlaying the maps and diagrams, some policies and programmes, when considered against each other in relation to different parts of the country, may have unintended consequences.

 “We believe that with a Map for England policy makers could make better judgments about how individual policy proposals interact with and affect development of the country as a whole," said Colin Haylock, RTPI President.  "Such an initiative would also increase consistency in the appraisal of  policy, improve security and resilience, and provide a better understanding of sectoral issues that might complement or conflict with each other.”

Individual Government departments have more than 100 major maps for England relating to policies and programmes on the economy, transport, communications, housing and the environment, the RTPI said. None are available in one place or through a single data source and can be very difficult to find as they are scattered across web sites and within departmental reports, it said.

“A Map for England offers the opportunity of a truly joined up approach to planning infrastructure and services, perhaps by way of a single portal. Today we are launching a debate on this proposal to see if others share our views and to ask what mapping information should be included,” said Haylock.

Stakeholders are being encouraged to send their views on five key questions about the initiative, which could help to boost growth, save time and money, help to co-ordinate infrastructure and help the planning system be more transparent, the RTPI said.