Negotiated strategic regional planning: emerging practice in the London–Cambridge corridor

Abstract

Formal regional planning structures were abolished in England in 2011. One response has been to call for their restitution, another has been to argue instead for negotiated strategic regional planning. The latter envisages the formation of partnerships in lieu of formal structures, with two key benefits being it is less vulnerable to government tinkering and is more attuned to economic and political actors. We employ a proxy – the UK Innovation Corridor – to look at the possibilities for negotiated strategic planning. This leads us to conclude that a hybrid model of formal and negotiated regional planning would offer a more robust model.