Regional sustainable development: are the new regional development agencies armed with the information they require?

With the creation of the Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) on 1 April 1999 a new regional focus for planning and development now exists within England. Whilst primarily being concerned with economic development and regeneration, the RDAs also have a statutory responsibility to promote sustainable development. Policy guiding RDAs and their responsibilities has been reviewed and examined in relation to their ability to satisfy two central tenets of sustainable development: the integration of economic, social and environmental policy domains, and long range, holistic planning. If the RDAs are to satisfy these two goals they will require high quality information on the economic, social and environmental conditions projected for their regions in the short, medium and long term. A case study looking at the availability of this information in the North West of England is presented. Findings from this case study suggest a serious shortage of information sources which offer long term projections and integrate economic, social and environmental information in the context of the North West region. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment