Mr. Henk van der Kamp:

I will respond to the question of what we expect of the next national spatial strategy. We would like to be optimistic but we must be realistic and consider what was contained in the last strategy. We are part of an institute of professional planners dealing with spatial planning. The next spatial strategy, if anything, should be spatial, which means it should be about choice and deciding where things go in the country. It should recognise that some areas have strengths for some types of activities, whereas other areas are particularly suitable for other activities. We welcome explicit and consistent identification of areas for particular purposes. In doing that, synergies can be achieved, as noted in our statement, to maximise the potential of different parts of the island for energy, landscape protection, housing and agriculture and other activities. Very often, land users can work together to provide these kinds of synergies, and this is what should be addressed by the national spatial strategy. In this context, a landscape strategy is essential, along with a coastal management policy for the coastline and foreshore area.

I will address the Deputy's question about rural areas and villages. It is not for the national spatial strategy to dictate which village grows and which does not. That is a matter for a local county council and its county development plan. The planning system should continue to be based on the subsidiarity principle that what can be determined locally should be determined locally.

What the Deputy referred to in terms of smaller villages taking their share in accommodating growth by zoning areas near the centre perhaps is something that would fit into a settlement strategy determined at a local level. We fully support that idea and that principle. We welcome development in villages. The settlement strategy needs to be consistent with the higher level strategies adopted in the regional planning guidelines and ultimately in the national spatial strategy. We sometimes refer to this as the Russian dolls - the planning hierarchy. Local planning needs to fit in regional planning strategies and the national planning strategies. There is a link between the national spatial strategy and ultimately which village gets disowned. It is just a link of logic, not a link of determination at national level.