ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the evolution and current state of the relationship between two component parts of the English regional policy and institutional landscape: regional economic development and regional spatial planning.Although these twin aspects of regional policy represent central elements in the package of measures which provides guidance for the future development of the English regions, they are only two of a number of regional or sub-regional strategies present in each region. Reflecting this situation, it can be argued that one of the common problems faced by the two areas of policy under consideration is the lack of an agreed overarching spatial and organisational ‘corporate’ strategy for a region. One of the consequences of the absence of a corporate regional strategy has been the emergence in some regions of what can best be described as a contested spatial and sectoral agenda.As this chapter will seek to demonstrate, it was predictable that such contestation would emerge, given that the operational capacity to engage in the direction of regional policy has evolved at a somewhat faster pace than regional governance arrangements. Other chapters in this volume reflect more fully on the evolution of English regional governance and the devolution of central government functions (see Chapters 5-7).
