The Town and Country Planning Department (TCPD) in collaboration with COWI Consulting Firm (CCF) has held a day’s workshop on the appropriate and proper planning of land for chiefs and queen mothers in the Western Region at Takoradi.

Addressing them, Mr Asiedu Poku, Acting National Director of the TCPD said, chiefs and their elders who are the custodians of the land, were being involved in the planning process to ensure that sanity prevails in the land use planning for the nation.

He said the government has sought funding from the “Norwegian Fund For Development” to establish a Spatial Development Framework (SDF), which seeks to provide a strategic vision for the Western region over a period of 15 to 20 years.

According to Mr Poku, the Oil exploration in the region has necessitated the establishment of the Spatial Development Framework, which is the first of its kind in the country.

He said the new spatial planning system shows a perspective view of approval of proposals for what kind of development should take place, either quantitatively and qualitatively.

It would indicate “where and how development project should happen so that the region takes due advantage”, he stated.

The TCPC National Director impressed on the traditionalists to embrace the programme and own it, adding, “when fully accomplished, the DSF would not only increase the potential value of land and direct investments but offer employment potentials for the region.

He noted that the SDF would minimize the scramble for land for speculative purpose, which leaves the traditionalists poorer in the end.

After the SDF, Mr Poku pointed out; a more detailed structure plan would be prepared before the realization of local plans where everybody could identify parcels of plots for specific uses.

The participants expressed concerns about how projects were being sited in the region and welcomed the SDF, which they said, must be implemented to suit the various communities to avoid misgivings.**