Planning and development
The tasks of the Regional Council include regional and land-use planning, and the promotion of local and regional interests in general.
Planning and development
The tasks of the Regional Council include regional and land-use planning, and the promotion of local and regional interests in general.
The South Savo Regional Council is responsible for the preparation of development plans for its own region, in cooperation with municipalities and other public and private actors. The Regional Strategic Plan, the Regional Programme and the Regional Land Use Plan are development plans prepared by the Council. The Implementation Plan includes indicative funding and actors for these plans.
The South Savo Regional Strategic Plan
The Regional Strategic Plan is a steering instrument for the regional development and the allocation of regional resources. It is built in active cooperation between The South Savo Regional Council and The Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment for South Savo (ELY), along with municipalities, business life, educational and research institutes and organisations.
The South Savo Regional Strategic Plan includes a vision and strategic priorities for 2030.
The Programme is carried out with the help of a more detailed annual Implementation Plan.
The strategic priorities of South Savo:
Forest
Forest growth in South Savo region is 9 million cubic meters per year. Forestry and wood processing is the largest business sector in the area. The forests are perfect for outdoor leisure activities and South Savo is among Finlands topmost holiday areas.
Water
The lakes in South-Savo are the cleanest in the world. Our high-tech water technologies provide extensive business opportunities. The beautiful nature around Lake Saimaa attract movers from everywhere.
Food
South Savo nature grows the best and purest tastes. To prepare excellent dishes, we use local ingredients that are produced by regional farmers. Our food expertise is high grade business.
Land Use Plan
The basis for regional land use planning is the Land Use and Building Act. The land use plan defines the use of areas needed for particular purposes and the principles of urban structure from the point of view of regional development.
It provides guidelines for the member municipalities and for all other land use planning in the region.
The Land Use Plan outlines building and environmental development in the coming decades. The Land Use and Building Act lays down the content requirements of the regional plan.
Regional Programme
The Regional Programme is a medium-term development programme derived from the objectives and strategies of the Regional Strategic Plan. Its purpose is to steer and coordinate regional development. The programme contains the development objectives of the region. The development objectives are based on the region’s potential, needs, culture and other special characteristics, a description of the projects central to the region’s development and other important measures, planned cooperation agreements and a plan for financing the programme.
The Regional Council provides EU-Funding for regional development projects
The South Savo Regional Council grants development funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF, in Finnish EAKR) for fixed-term development projects. The objective of funding is to improve employment and increase the competitiveness and vitality of regions. The South Savo Regional Council has specified the development areas for funding purposes in the Regional Programme.
Just Transition Fund (JTF)
The Finnish Government approved the addition of the JTF to the Innovation and Skills in Finland 2021–2027 – EU regional and structural policy programme on 20 October 2022. The aim is that the European Commission will approve the JTF measures as part of Finland’s programme during this year.
The EU established the JTF to reduce the negative impact of the climate transition. This goal is to be achieved by supporting the regions and employees that will be the most significantly affected by the transition, and by promoting a balanced socioeconomic transition.
In Finland, the JTF measures are based on the Government Programme’s goal to halve the use of peat as energy by 2030. The JTF offsets the adverse socioeconomic and environmental impact caused by halving the use of peat as energy. The JTF will be implemented in 14 JTF regions through regional transition plans.
The total amount of Finnish JTF and government funding is 644 million euros. 43 million euros will be allocated to South Savo.