Who set the boundaries for the South West region?
Broadly speaking (bearing in mind the Local Government Review in 1974) the current boundaries of the ‘South West region’ have been in use for many decades, certainly since the Second World War. When the regional network of Government Offices were created in 1994, they adhered to the same boundaries. In December 1997, the Government published its White Paper ‘Building Partnerships for Prosperity’. This proposed that Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) be created to promote each English region and ensure their economic success. The RDAs conformed to the boundaries already in use. The White Paper then proposed that regional chambers (now known as Assemblies) should be formed to represent the people of the region and to monitor and scrutinise the work of the regional development agency. The boundaries of the Chamber were co-terminous with the RDA boundaries.
