At its heart sustainable development is the simple idea of ensuring a good quality of life for everyone, now and for generations to come. It is about living within the carrying capacity of the environment so that how we live, work and enjoy leisure activities, does not harm or put undue pressures on the environment. It is about ensuring everyone has the opportunity to have a decent education, a quality environment that they take pride in, good health and a decent job.

The South West is one of the most attractive regions in Europe. It contains significant areas of international and national designations for nature conservation and landscape, and has large proportions of the country’s undeveloped coast. The region has two National Parks, Exmoor and Dartmoor, attracting millions of visitors each year, and a third of its area is classified as part of an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).

The region also contains important archaeological sites including over 6,000 Ancient Monuments, over 108,000 listed buildings and four UNESCO World Heritage Sites. These are Stonehenge and Avebury (Wiltshire); the City of Bath; the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape; and the Natural World Heritage Site of the Dorset and East Devon Jurassic Coast.

Geographically, the South West is the largest region in England (23,837 sq. km, over 18% of England’s land area). There are over 900 Sites of Special Scientific Interest, 638kms of designated Heritage Coast (61% of the total for England) and over 40 National Nature Reserves.

Tourism is one obvious area where the region benefits from its quality environment; that quality also attracts businesses and people to invest and settle here.

It is the most rural, with over half of the population living in rural areas, and has the longest stretch of coastline of any English region. The South West has a total population of just over 5 million (around 10% of the English total) and this represents the lowest population density of any English region (211 persons per sq km - the English population density is 387 persons per sq km).

If this outstandingly attractive and diverse region is to remain so, and become a better home for our children, then we need to make sure that the decisions we take today about the way we live and work reflect the principles of sustainable development.

This means that we must all work to reduce the environmental impact of what we do, adapt to the meet the effects of climate change, take account of the need to move towards a low carbon economy with a reduced requirement for oil and other fossil fuels, and help to give everyone a place within society.

April 2010