In six months time, Shropshire will be governed by a unitary authority, for better or for worse. And if the county's planners do not raise their game, it will be for the worse. The unified authority will bring with it a single planning regime, based around a county-wide plan, known these days as the local development framework. Drawing up this framework will be a long drawn out process, and it began over the summer with the release of a series of topic papers setting out planner's thinking on the future of the county's housing, transport, economy and environment. As thinking goes the papers are bland, as planning goes they are myopic and unadventurous.
It is in its vision of Shropshire's future economy that the emerging unitary authority is at its weakest. County planners are seeking economic growth through industries such as food processing. They plan to generate more low paid jobs, many in giant tin sheds on the edges of Shrewsbury, many only attractive to migrant workers. Planners also seek to boost tourism, a good move in principle but sadly there is a view that this growth should be based on 'attractions' rather than the heritage, natural beauty and environmental resources of the county. Tourism jobs are also mostly low paid and seasonal.
County planners seem to have no understanding of the nature of entrepreneurship, the importance of innovation and the vital contribution that small businesses, many starting out in bedrooms and attics, make to the economy. They do not seem to know that agriculture and forestry are still important in a rural county, and that both are essential to the character of the county's countryside.
The topic papers worry about the ageing population but do not recognise the importance of young people to the character of communities and to the economy. There is no vision for bringing higher education to the county and youngsters will still have to leave the county to study. Many will go on to found businesses in their university town, not here in Shropshire. Some will not come back until they retire.
What are town centres about? Shopping, shopping, shopping in the county's opinion. Nonsense! Town centres are places to live, play and work, as well as shop. But the county's view is one of town centres competing against each other to attract the same clone shops found in any high street from Tokyo to Los Angeles. In truth, county planners do not have a vision for the future of our market towns, any more than they have for the county as a whole.
As a vision for the future of the county, the topic papers are bankrupt. As companies go bust around us, we need to plan for a vibrant, flexible economy that cherishes the beautiful landscapes of the county. What the county does not need is sprawling industrial estates of tin sheds defiling townscapes and the countryside. What it does need is smart growth of better paid jobs in small businesses stitched into the county's farms, streets and town centres. Planners need to encourage these enterprises, especially those founded by young people, who will help keep our communities, schools and economy alive.
The topic papers are only the first step in a long planning process, but they show that the unitary authority needs to raise its game by a very long way. If their thinking is followed through the planning process, Shropshire is sadly destined to become the county of the bland.
Andy Boddington
Published in the Clun Chronicle, October 2008