Scottish Government

SCOTTISH EXECUTIVE CENTRAL RESEARCH UNIT

Development Department Research Findings No.146

City Region Boundaries Study

Derek Halden (Derek Halden Consultancy)

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Main Findings

• The influence of Glasgow and Edinburgh extends well beyond the current Structure Plan areas. For Glasgow, in addition to the existing Glasgow and Clyde Valley Structure Plan area, there are strong links with North Ayrshire and Stirling. For Edinburgh, there are strong links with Fife and Scottish Borders. For Dundee and Aberdeen the existing Structure Plan areas appear to cover the most important linkages.
• The data and maps presented in this report can be viewed as a starting point for identifying cross boundary planning issues for the four largest cities. They provide a picture of some key linkages between the cities and their hinterlands. To define the geographical coverage required for joint strategic planning, further work will be needed including policy aims (such as economic development, housing and transport policy) and a wider range of strategic planning needs (such as river basin management).
• Travel to work areas have grown substantially over the last decade for Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dundee but not for Aberdeen. In 1991 the Aberdeen TTWA was much larger than for the other three cities, and the lack of further expansion for the Aberdeen boundary may indicate that growth in the future beyond the current 50 to 60km limit will be limited.
• The cities themselves represent only one part of the functioning city regions. The city regions have many centres with differing zones of influence. A similar analysis of the overlapping spheres of influence of all the Councils in the central belt would provide a clearer picture of the boundaries of the city regions.
• Case studies should be undertaken looking at how boundaries and joint working arrangements should be defined to ensure effective strategic planning is able to resolve conflicts between individual Council aims.

Introduction

Following the Review of Strategic Planning Consultation Paper (2001), which recommended the production of cross-boundary plans for the four largest cities in Scotland, this research was commissioned to identify the local authorities which could work in partnership for these cities. The principal concerns of strategic planning identified in the document, are housing, employment, retail and transport, so the main aims of this research were:

• To identify the area of influence of each of the four cities of Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee and Aberdeen using data covering housing market areas, transport links, travel to work and retail catchments; and
• To identify the local authorities that could participate in joint working on strategic planning for each city region.

The results of this research should be understood in the context of these aims.

Research Methods

The research reviewed the availability of national and local data on travel to work areas, housing market areas, transport links and retail catchments. A survey of Local Authorities and Structure Plan Teams identified current data sources used to analyse cross boundary issues. Representatives of the Structure Plan teams for Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee and Aberdeen were interviewed, and Heads of Planning in all Scottish Councils were contacted by letter.

Databases were developed to allow national sasines, and Scottish Household Survey and transport model results to be analysed for Scotland's four largest cities. The database results were then plotted using GIS. Much of the analysis was undertaken at a Council level, since this respects existing administrative structures and accountabilities. However, for some issues such as travel to work and shopping, more detailed analysis of travel patterns was also carried out at a postcode sector level.

Based on the plots, a framework analysis was undertaken ranking Councils according to their stake in each of the four main cities by function. Using the individual rankings by topic, a composite rank for each Council was derived.

Results of Surveys and Mapping

The survey of Local Authorities and Structure Plan teams showed that for housing, travel to work, and transport, national data was generally used from sasines, census, and strategic transport models respectively. For analysis of retail catchments, many councils had undertaken their own surveys or collectively undertaken surveys as part of Structure Plan preparation.

An analysis of house moves from each City Council to other Council areas between 1996 and 2000 showed that: 13 Councils received more than 200 house moves from Glasgow, 9 Councils received more than 200 moves from Edinburgh, 3 from Dundee and 2 from Aberdeen. For Glasgow, the Councils receiving these moves comprised the existing Structure Plan Councils, plus North Ayrshire, Stirling, Edinburgh and Fife. For Edinburgh, in addition to the Structure Plan Councils, Fife, Scottish Borders and Glasgow attracted the most moves, whilst for Aberdeen and Dundee the Structure Plan areas were largely self-contained. Planning has more power to steer development where demand is high and the need for a strategic perspective is perhaps greatest for up market property where purchasers are generally more mobile. The boundaries of the housing market areas are therefore sensitive to planning policy.

There is very little overlap between current 30 minute travel time contours by road and rail from the city centres. The 30 minute contours also broadly define the Council stakes in the Strategic Transport Planning Partnerships in Scotland, with the exception of Stirling and Falkirk which are closer to Glasgow than Edinburgh, but are members of SESTRAN (the South East Scotland Transport Partnership).

Figure 1 shows the travel to work boundaries for each city within which more than 10% of the resident population work in the city. Travel to work areas (TTWA) have changed very substantially over the last ten years for Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dundee, but not for Aberdeen. In 1991 there were relatively few travel to work trips beyond the current Structure Plan areas, but there are now many areas outwith the Plan coverage with more than 10% of the population travelling to the city. For Edinburgh this includes much of south Fife and the northern Scottish Borders, and for Glasgow includes parts of Stirlingshire and Ayrshire.

Figure 1 - Travel to Work Areas (Scottish Household Data 1999-2001)

Figure 2 shows the boundaries within which more than 10% and 20% of shopping trips are made to each city. The shopping trip data shows that most trips are within current Structure Plan areas. For Glasgow the majority of trips from beyond the Structure Plan area are from Ayrshire, Stirlingshire and Argyll and Bute; for Edinburgh from Scottish Borders, for Dundee from north Fife, and for Aberdeen from Angus. However, the role of the cities is greatest for comparison shopping. National trip data does not disaggregate trips by type of shopping, but analysis of accessibility to comparison shopping suggests a wider spread of influence based on turnover. In addition to the Structure Plan areas, Glasgow provides more than 10% of accessibility for comparison shopping to the Ayrshire Councils, Stirling, Falkirk and Clackmannanshire with a similar analysis for Edinburgh including Fife, Scottish Borders and Falkirk in addition to the Structure Plan areas. Although the catchments based on accessibility are likely to exaggerate the influence of the cities it demonstrates that the catchments will be larger than those shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2 - Retail Catchment Areas (Scottish Household Data 1999-2001)

City Region Boundaries

The mapping for the housing market areas, travel to work areas and retail catchments, has been combined to develop indicative composite catchments for the cities. Since there are no current proposals to alter Council boundaries, it is recognised that the practical planning framework must reflect the existing administrative structures so Table 1 is based on Council boundaries. It is recognised that at this very coarse geographical level many important interdependencies will not be identified, and some local cross boundary issues may appear to affect larger areas. Nevertheless, the approach does ensure that each Council's stake in the functioning of the major cities is defined seeking to match decision making roles with the responsibility for the implications of the decisions.

The fact that Councils with relatively strong economies such as Stirling are more likely to achieve higher scores, and Councils with weaker economies such as Inverclyde have lower scores raises a challenge for planning in the city regions. A key goal will be to bring the economy of Inverclyde up to the average for the city region, rather than to exclude it on the grounds that it is not as important to the economy of Glasgow as other Councils more remote from the city. Provided these policy factors are included, Table 1 should help to inform the debate on cross boundary planning for the City Regions.

Table 1 - Composite Council Catchments by City

About the Study

The "Review of Strategic Planning" consultation paper was published in June 2001. It recognised the need for improvements to strategic planning in Scotland and proposed changes to modernise and streamline the planning system. In particular, it suggested that a two-tier system of development planning was not necessary for all areas, with two-tiers only being needed for strategic issues likely to cross local authority boundaries. In parallel with the Review of Strategic Planning, a Review of Scotland's Cities started in 2001, and is scheduled for conclusion in 2002. The review examines the current prospects for the economic, environmental and social development of the cities; and will identify Scottish Executive policies that will improve those prospects, taking account of the interactions between the cities, their surrounding areas and the rest of Scotland.

Consultation responses for the Review of Strategic Planning were analysed by a consultant for the Scottish Executive and were published in February 2002. The Scottish Ministers announced the conclusions and proposals in June 2002.