The Sustainable Communities Plan was launched in 2003 and was a key policy of the

Office of the Deputy Prime Minister An office is a space where the employees of an organization perform administrative work in order to support and realize the various goals of the organization. The word "office" may also denote a position within an organization with specific dut ...

in the Labour Government, guiding its regeneration and departmental objectives. It led to a range of policies and plans which were in effect a spatial plan for the whole of England. The plan interacted with a number of flagship regeneration policies such as The Northern Way,

Thames Gateway Thames Gateway is a term applied to an area around the Thames Estuary in the context of discourse around regeneration and further urbanisation. The term was first coined by the UK government and applies to an area of land stretching east from ...

and the

Academy for Sustainable Communities The Academy for Sustainable Communities (ASC) is a national skills initiative that has been set up by the Department of Communities and Local Government. In April 2004, Sir John Egan, a leading industrialist and past president of the Institute o ...

Definition

The government defined a

sustainable community The term "sustainable communities" has various definitions, but in essence refers to communities planned, built, or modified to promote sustainable living. Sustainable communities tend to focus on environmental and economic sustainability, urban i ...

as: :Sustainable communities are places where people want to live and work, now and in the future. They meet the diverse needs of existing and future residents, are sensitive to their environment, and contribute to a high quality of life. They are safe and inclusive, well planned, built and run, and offer equality of opportunity and good services for all. Amongst other policies the Sustainable Communities Plan aimed to regenerate the industrial urban belt in northern England, stretching from Hull to

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

and provide hundreds of thousands of homes in

South East England South East England is one of the nine official regions of England, regions of England that are in the ITL 1 statistical regions of England, top level category for Statistics, statistical purposes. It consists of the nine counties of england, ...

centred on the key growth areas of the

, around

Luton Luton () is a town and borough in Bedfordshire, England. The borough had a population of 225,262 at the 2021 census. Luton is on the River Lea, about north-west of London. The town's foundation dates to the sixth century as a Saxon settleme ...

and

Milton Keynes Milton Keynes ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of Milton Keynes urban area, its urban area was 264,349. The River Great Ouse forms t ...

, Ashford (Kent), and the wider area around

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

. The Sustainable Communities Plan was finally revoked almost 12 years later by the Conservative Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Eric Pickles MP, on 16 January 2015.

References

External links

Sustainable Communities section of ODPM homepage
Conservation in England Public policy in England Town and country planning in England {{UK-gov-stub

Definition

See also

References

External links