GOVERNMENT OFFICE FOR THE NORTH WEST

The role of the Government for the North West is to work in partnership with local people to maximise the competitiveness, prosperity and quality of life in the region.

An essential element of this is to help secure prosperity in the North West whilst at the same time working with other to protect, conserve and enhance the environment. In other words to help create a vibrant economy but in a sustainable way and not to the detriment of the environment.

A prime example of this co-operation is 'Action for Sustainability', which is an initiative facilitated by the Government Office but produced in partnership with a wide range of regional organisations. It has now been adopted as an important document by the North West Regional Assembly. It aims to deliver greater sustainability within the Region and comprises a source document and an action plan. In terms of biodiversity the action plan sets out a series of short, medium and long term objectives and targets. The overall vision for biodiversity
is a region in which the special and common wildlife is valued and safeguarded by the community.

The Government Office is also active in working with the NW Biodiversity Forum and helped to produce a booklet to raise awareness among the major decision makers about those species and habitats under threat in the North West which were highlighted in the Biodiversity audit published in 1999.

Protecting and enhancing the environment is also an important part of the Local Agenda 21 process to improve the quality of people's lives and the Government Office encourages local authorities to facilitate action to involve communities in drawing up Local Agenda 21 strategies and local community plans. The Rural Forum for the North West was set up in 1999, its function is to bring together regional organisations, with interests in rural development, to discuss and generate coherent advice on rural policy for the benefit of Government, the
North West regional Development Agency and other organisations. The Forum aims to meet three times a year under the joint chairmanship of the Government Office and DEFRA.

The Government Office is also working with its partners through the Northwest Coastal Forum to raise the profile of coastal issues in the region and facilitate the development of an integrated coastal strategy. The 1000km of NW coast from the Solway to the Dee are an asset with natural and economic resources of international importance. The nature conservation value of the NW coast relates especially to estuaries and associated marshlands and dunes recognised in a chain of Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) including
the Ribble estuary National Nature Reserve (the largest NNR in England). Most of the SSSIs are incorporated in Special Protection Areas (APSs) and Special Areas of Conservation (SACs).

In its role of scrutinising local authority Development Plans, the Government Office has particular regard to consistency of proposed policies with regional planning guidance and national planning policy guidance, including nature conservation and coastal planning.