We're publishing the companion spreadsheet to the evidence base guidance later today. http://www.pas.gov.uk/pas/core/page.do?pageId=46130 It has provoked alot of discussion here at PAS and with some of our stakeholders. Because it is a reasonably comprehensive list of baseline datasets it runs the risk of making the evidence base preparation look * massive * expensive * all planning's problem Another issue is that many of the topics covered are specialist areas with their own particular expertise. We cannot hope to codify the intricacies of minerals & waste planning (for example) in a few lines on a spreadsheet. Lastly, because it approaches the evidence base thematically it doesn't feel very 'spatial'. The evidence required to support a DPD should be expressed around a place - not broken out by different land uses. These caveats notwithstanding, it serves as a useful baseline of the main policy requirements and the many sources of information out there. It is not to be used in isolation - use the guidance and the notes at the front of the spreadsheet. Please use this forum to feed back any problems, suggestions or improvements. It would also be interesting to hear how you have worked with your partner organisations to use their evidence & analysis.
