Sustainable Development - Does the South East have a sustainable future?

In 2004 PricewaterhouseCoopers joined forces with seven county councils in the South East (Buckinghamshire, Hampshire, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey, East Sussex and West Sussex) in sponsoring the "Commission on Sustainable Development in the South East", set up by the Institute for Public Policy Research (ippr).

The Commission examined how the South East can maintain its economic success, whilst also enhancing the environment and improving quality of life.

An executive summary of the final report published in July 2005, together with a variety of policy working papers, can be downloaded from ippr's website. The full report is also available from ippr.

Six big policy areas were looked at:

1. The South East is a leading growth region. Should there be limits to growth and, if so, where do those limits lie?
   
   
2. Do we give GDP too much priority when measuring success? Should we rethink what we mean by quality of life so it is not solely reliant on narrow economic indicators of success?
   
   
3. The Sustainable Communities plan has a headline commitment to 200,000 new homes in the Greater South East. But can and should the South East absorb all the new homes the Government says are needed?
   
   
4. The South East has the highest levels of car ownership and motorists drive more miles by private car than any other English region. How should additional transport infrastructure and services be paid for and should policy makers be taking radical action to tackle congestion and pollution?
   
   
5. Water abstraction levels are 10 per cent higher than the water supply available in the South East and yet over 380,000 homes and businesses are at risk from flooding. How can the South East encourage more efficient and sustainable use of resources as well as mitigate the predicted effects of climate change?
   
   
6. Should we see the Greater South East as one of the world's 'mega-city' regions? Does the South East's inter-relationship with London and the other counties that make up the Greater South East require new ways of working and in what policy areas?
   
   

The Commission was chaired by Lord Sandy Bruce-Lockhart OBE, Conservative Leader of Kent County Council and chairman of the Local Government Association. Alistair Rose, PwC's regional chairman for the South East, was also a commission member.

View the executive summary of the Commission's findings.