# Spatial Planning

> An independent reference on Spatial Development Strategies in England.

This is not a government website. Cite the page URL and the 'as at' date. Prefer legislation.gov.uk and GOV.UK when this text and a primary source differ.

Last page update: 2026-09-20
Index: https://spatialplanning.uk/llms.txt

## About this site

https://spatialplanning.uk/resources/about
As at 2026-09-20. Updated 2026-09-20. Audience: both.

This site is an independent public-interest reference on Spatial Development Strategies in England. It is not a government website. It is not affiliated with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, the Planning Inspectorate, or any strategic planning authority. Pages compile statute and published official sources. They are dated because the regime is still being stood up.

## What you can use it for

- A first explanation of what an SDS is, and what it is not
- A map of the proposed geographies, clearly marked as consultation proposals
- Process and examination tests, with links to the primary documents
- Templates for residents and practitioners

You should still read the statute, the NPPF and the documents your local strategic planning authority publishes. If this site and a primary source disagree, the primary source wins.

## What it is not

- Not official guidance
- Not legal advice
- Not a campaign site
- Not a substitute for the consultation portal of the authority preparing an SDS

## Corrections

If a section number, date or status is wrong, that is a serious error on a reference site. Email a correction with the URL, the sentence and the primary source. We will date-stamp the change on the page.

Contact: [hello@spatialplanning.uk](mailto:hello@spatialplanning.uk)

## Analytics

Cloudflare Web Analytics measures page views. It does not use cookies and it does not identify you. There is no advertising pixel.

## Publisher

The site is published as an unnamed independent reference. There is no named sponsoring department or campaign. [Editorial standards](/resources/editorial-standards) explain how pages are sourced and when they are reviewed.

Sources:
- Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025, c. 34, section 58 (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2025/34/section/58)
- National Planning Policy Framework (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/national-planning-policy-framework)

## Cumulative impact assessment at strategic scale

https://spatialplanning.uk/evidence/cumulative-impact-assessment
As at 2026-09-20. Updated 2026-09-20. Audience: planners.

Cumulative impact assessment asks what happens when many plans and projects act on the same place, catchment or habitat. There is no single UK methodology. The Planning Inspectorate says so. At Spatial Development Strategy scale the live tools are Sustainability Appraisal incorporating Strategic Environmental Assessment, Habitats Regulations "in-combination" assessment, and professional methods from IEMA, GLVIA3 and CIEEM. Environmental Outcomes Reports are proposed, not yet in force.

## Why this is an SDS question

An SDS apportions growth and identifies broad locations across many local planning authorities. Effects on water, nutrients, transport, air, landscape and habitats do not stop at district boundaries. If each local plan is assessed alone, the combined load can be missed. That is the problem HRA calls "in combination" and IEMA calls inter-project effects.

PM14 requires an SDS to be **appropriate**, taking into account reasonable alternatives. At plan level, reasonable alternatives are the usual home for comparing spatial options (for example a concentrated pattern against a dispersed one) on cumulative terms.

This page is about **methods**. It does not argue for a particular settlement form.

## The named methods

Use these as the starting set. Say which you used and why.

| Source | What it gives you |
| --- | --- |
| [PINS advice on cumulative effects assessment](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/nationally-significant-infrastructure-projects-advice-on-cumulative-effects-assessment) (formerly Advice Note 17) | A staged process and a zone-of-influence approach. Explicit that there is no single industry standard. Written for NSIPs; the staging is still the most cited public method. |
| IEMA, *Demystifying Cumulative Effects* (2020) | Distinguishes inter-project cumulative effects from intra-project inter-relationships. |
| GLVIA3 (2013), plus later Landscape Institute technical notes | Cumulative landscape and visual effects. |
| CIEEM EcIA guidelines | Cumulative ecological effects. |
| [Habitats Regulations 2017](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2017/1012/contents) | Screening must consider effects in combination with other plans or projects. |

A workable SDS evidence note will, for each topic:

1. define the receptor and the zone of influence
2. list other plans and projects included, and those excluded with reasons
3. say whether the effect is in-combination (HRA) or inter-project (EIA/SEA language)
4. compare at least two reasonable spatial alternatives on that receptor
5. state residual risk and what is left for local plans and project assessment

Print this as the [evidence-base checklist](/templates/evidence-base-checklist).

## What is changing

Part 6 of the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 provides for Environmental Outcomes Reports to replace the current EIA/SEA/SA stack over time. The March 2026 consultation outcome and roadmap described three phases, with regulations intended by the end of 2027 and a non-regression duty. Until those regulations apply to plan-making, do not treat EOR as the SDS appraisal system.

EOR proposals have been described as retaining reasonable alternatives and cumulative-effects assessment, with project-level reports tiering down from plan-level conclusions. That is a design aim, not yet an operative rule.

## Honest limits

- Nutrient and water neutrality show catchment-scale cumulative loading in named areas. They are a case of the method, not a conclusion about any particular SDS geography.
- A concentrated pattern can reduce some cumulative loads and increase others. Location and infrastructure timing change the result. A method that only reports one spatial option is not comparing reasonable alternatives.
- If the evidence base cannot support a cumulative claim, say so. An open gap is more durable than an unsourced number.

Sources:
- Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects: advice on cumulative effects assessment (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/nationally-significant-infrastructure-projects-advice-on-cumulative-effects-assessment)
- Impact Assessment Outlook Journal Volume 7: Demystifying Cumulative Effects (https://www.iema.net/)
- Guidelines for Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment, 3rd edition (https://www.landscapeinstitute.org/technical/glvia3-panel/)
- Guidelines for Ecological Impact Assessment in the UK and Ireland (https://cieem.net/resource/guidelines-for-ecological-impact-assessment-ecia/)
- Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017 (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2017/1012/contents)
- Environmental Outcomes Reports: consultation outcome and roadmap (https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/environmental-outcomes-reports-a-new-approach-to-environmental-assessment)
- NPPF August 2026, policy PM1 (Spatial development strategies) (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/national-planning-policy-framework)
- NPPF August 2026, policy PM14 (Examining spatial development strategies) (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/national-planning-policy-framework)

## Editorial standards

https://spatialplanning.uk/resources/editorial-standards
As at 2026-09-20. Updated 2026-09-20. Audience: both.

Every factual claim on a reference page should be traceable to a primary source. Volatile facts are dated. Open questions stay open. Pages are reviewed when the underlying document changes, and at least quarterly for statutory material. This is not official guidance.

## Sources

Prefer, in this order:

1. legislation.gov.uk
2. GOV.UK (NPPF, MHCLG consultations, PINS advice)
3. the strategic planning authority's own published documents
4. named professional guidance (IEMA, CIEEM, Landscape Institute) when the subject is method

Do not treat a law-firm blog, a newspaper or this site as the source of a statutory fact.

Each article lists its sources with publisher, date and URL. The source catalogue lives in the repository so a wrong citation is fixed once.

## Dates

Every page has two dates:

- **Updated** — when this page last changed
- **As at** — the date the facts were checked against the sources

If a consultation has closed but the outcome is unpublished, say that. If a figure in an older paper has been replaced (for example the shift from a 20-year to a 25-year SDS period), say that the older paper is out of date on that point.

## Uncertainty

If the law or the map is not settled, the page carries a "What is still uncertain" box. Do not convert an open question into a prediction.

Geography tables are copied from the February 2026 consultation and labelled as proposals. They are not the confirmed map.

## Voice

Plain English. No campaigning adjectives. No advice to support or oppose a particular development. Templates help people participate; they do not supply a position.

## Review

Statutory and geography pages should be re-read when commencement regulations, the NPPF, or an MHCLG outcome is published, and otherwise at least once a quarter. Method pages should be re-read when PINS or the relevant institute updates the named guidance.

Sources:
- Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025, c. 34, section 58 (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2025/34/section/58)
- National Planning Policy Framework (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/national-planning-policy-framework)
- Areas for producing spatial development strategies (https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/areas-for-producing-spatial-development-strategies)

## How to respond to an SDS consultation

https://spatialplanning.uk/participate/how-to-respond-to-an-sds-consultation
As at 2026-09-20. Updated 2026-09-20. Audience: residents.

When a strategic planning authority consults on a draft Spatial Development Strategy, you can make written representations. This is the stage that settles the sub-regional pattern of growth, the distribution of housing and the broad locations. It is not the stage that allocates a particular site. Say who you are, which part of the draft you are writing about, what change you want, and why the evidence supports it.

## What you are being asked about

An SDS can identify **broad locations** for growth and regeneration, including new settlements and major urban extensions. It can set how housing need is shared between local planning authorities. It can identify strategic infrastructure. It cannot allocate a named site.

So a useful response is about:

- the pattern of growth the draft chooses (and the alternatives it assessed)
- the housing numbers given to each council
- whether a broad location is justified by the evidence
- missing strategic infrastructure (water, transport, energy, flood risk)
- cross-boundary effects the draft has not addressed

A less useful response is only "please do not build on field X". Field X is a local-plan question unless the SDS has already treated that area as a broad location.

## When the window opens

The Act requires a draft SDS, consultation and representations, then submission and independent examination. MHCLG has said an SDS can be changed and re-consulted up to submission. After submission it can only be withdrawn if it fails examination, the Secretary of State directs withdrawal, or the authority votes against adoption.

Until the duty is commenced for your area, you will not see a formal SDS consultation. You may see preparatory engagement. Treat that as useful but not the statutory round.

Watch your combined authority, county or the [geographies list](/geographies) for which body will consult.

## How to structure a representation

1. Your name, address and whether you are writing as a resident, parish, business or group.
2. The document name, date and the policy, paragraph or map you mean.
3. The change you want, in one sentence.
4. Why: evidence, a reasonable alternative the draft ignored, or a legal/policy test you think is failed (see [PM14](/system/planning-and-infrastructure-act-2025)).
5. What you are *not* asking the SDS to do (for example, allocate or reject a named site).

Keep it short. Examiners read many representations. A two-page letter with sources beats a twenty-page one without.

Use the [consultation letter template](/templates/consultation-letter). If you attend a drop-in, take the [questions sheet](/templates/drop-in-questions).

## After you send it

Ask for an acknowledgement and a reference number. Note the closing date. If the draft changes, you may need to write again. If the SDS is submitted, the examination is a second chance to speak to the tests, not a repeat of the original letter.

Sources:
- Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025, c. 34, section 58 (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2025/34/section/58)
- NPPF August 2026, policy PM1 (Spatial development strategies) (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/national-planning-policy-framework)
- Areas for producing spatial development strategies (consultation paper) (https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/areas-for-producing-spatial-development-strategies/areas-for-producing-spatial-development-strategies)
- NPPF August 2026, policy PM14 (Examining spatial development strategies) (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/national-planning-policy-framework)

## How to write one SDS outcome

https://spatialplanning.uk/outcomes/writing-an-outcome
As at 2026-09-20. Updated 2026-09-20. Audience: both.

An SDS outcome is a change you would observe, written so someone can tell whether it happened. A vision sentence is not an outcome. This page rewrites three common lines. Each rewrite keeps the ambition and adds a measure, an indicator and a dataset. If you cannot name the dataset, the sentence is not ready.

## The test

Write the outcome. Then answer, out loud:

1. What would I see if this worked?
2. What number would I collect?
3. Where does that number already exist?
4. What would I do in year two if the number went the wrong way?

If (3) is blank, stop. Put the sentence back in the vision.

## Example 1 — housing and infrastructure from the outset

**Too vague.** "Everyone can access high-quality homes that support thriving communities, with facilities close by."

**As an outcome.** Everyone can access a high-quality home that remains affordable across generations. A school, a surgery, a shop and open space are within an easy walk of new homes and are open from the outset, not years after occupation.

**Measure.** Affordable completions by tenure; months between first occupation and the first school, surgery or shop opening.

**Indicator.** Percentage of completions that are affordable, by tenure. In each broad location, months from first occupation to the first school, surgery or shop.

**Dataset.** MHCLG live tables / LPA AMRs / education authority and ICB.

The useful move is **from the outset**. Without a trigger (a month, or a number of occupations), "close by" cannot fail, so it cannot be monitored.

## Example 2 — water as a limit, not a hope

**Too vague.** "Growth is sustainable and respects the environment."

**As an outcome.** Water supply and wastewater capacity are secure for the strategy period. The housing trajectory fits the water-company plans.

**Measure.** Supply-demand balance in the WRMP; wastewater headroom in the DWMP.

**Indicator.** Whether the SDS trajectory still fits those plans at each annual report. If it does not, the outcome has failed.

**Dataset.** Water company WRMP and DWMP / Environment Agency.

## Example 3 — transport before the estate is finished

**Too vague.** "People and goods move easily and sustainably."

**As an outcome.** New homes are planned so that a frequent public-transport service and a safe walking route are available when people move in.

**Measure.** Homes completed within a stated walk of a frequent bus or rail service; date the service starts relative to first occupations.

**Indicator.** Percentage of new homes that meet the access standard in the year they complete.

**Dataset.** DfT / operator data / LPA.

## A note on copying London or Wales

The London Plan's six Good Growth objectives and the seven Welsh well-being goals are real, published models. They show that outcomes can be few and named. They do not give you the measures for a different geography. Rewrite, then attach data. See the [growth-corridor worked set](/outcomes/worked-example-growth-corridor) for ten filled rows.

Sources:
- NPPF August 2026, policy PM1 (Spatial development strategies) (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/national-planning-policy-framework)
- NPPF August 2026, policy PM2 (Local plans) (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/national-planning-policy-framework)
- The London Plan: the spatial development strategy for Greater London (https://www.london.gov.uk/programmes-strategies/planning/london-plan)

## Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 — SDS provisions

https://spatialplanning.uk/system/planning-and-infrastructure-act-2025
As at 2026-09-20. Updated 2026-09-20. Audience: planners.

The Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 received Royal Assent on 18 December 2025. Section 58 inserts new sections 12A to 12W into the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004. Those sections create the duty to prepare a Spatial Development Strategy, define strategic planning authorities and boards, set mandatory and optional content, and prohibit site-specific allocations. Most of the machinery needs commencement regulations.

## The insertion

[Section 58](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2025/34/section/58) (Chapter 2 of Part 2) inserts, before section 13 of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004, a run of new sections. The ones that matter first:

| Inserted section | Subject |
| --- | --- |
| 12A | Who is a strategic planning authority; what a strategy area is; London carved out to the GLA Act |
| 12B–12C | Strategic planning boards and the regulations that create them |
| 12D | Mandatory and optional contents; climate change; local nature recovery strategies; the site-specific ban |
| 12E–12F | SDS timetable |
| 12G–12L | Draft, consultation, representations, submission, examination, adoption |
| 12W | Definitions |

Read the [full text on legislation.gov.uk](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2025/34/section/58). This page is a map, not a substitute.

## Contents rule (12D)

Must include: strategic land-use policies, reasoned justification, period.

May include: strategically important infrastructure; amount or distribution of housing, including affordable housing.

Must: contribute to climate-change mitigation and adaptation; take account of relevant local nature recovery strategies.

Must not: go beyond what 12D permits; specify particular sites; repeat or contradict national development management policy.

The Secretary of State may prescribe further matters, form and accompanying documents.

## Boards (12B–12C)

A board is a joint committee created by regulations after consultation. It becomes the strategic planning authority for the combined area. See [strategic planning board](/basics/strategic-planning-board).

## National policy sitting on top

The Act says what an SDS *is*. The [August 2026 NPPF](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/national-planning-policy-framework) says what a sound one *does*:

- **PM1** — nine content expectations, including a period of at least 25 years and a replacement started within seven years
- **PM14** — examination tests: positive, appropriate, effective, consistent with national policy

Secretary of State intervention powers are flagged in PM1(3) and in the Act's examination and adoption sections.

## Commencement

MHCLG's February 2026 paper said secondary legislation was required to make the system operational, expected to be laid before the summer recess, at which point the SDS provisions would be commenced and the duty would become active. Formal SDS work cannot start until then. Preparatory work can.

Always check the latest commencement regulations rather than this paragraph.

Sources:
- Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025, c. 34, section 58 (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2025/34/section/58)
- Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025, inserted PCPA 2004 s.12A (strategic planning authorities) (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2025/34/section/58)
- Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025, inserted PCPA 2004 s.12B (strategic planning boards) (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2025/34/section/58)
- Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025, inserted PCPA 2004 s.12D (contents) (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2025/34/section/58)
- Areas for producing spatial development strategies (consultation paper) (https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/areas-for-producing-spatial-development-strategies/areas-for-producing-spatial-development-strategies)
- NPPF August 2026, policy PM1 (Spatial development strategies) (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/national-planning-policy-framework)
- NPPF August 2026, policy PM14 (Examining spatial development strategies) (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/national-planning-policy-framework)

## Questions to take to an SDS drop-in

https://spatialplanning.uk/templates/drop-in-questions
As at 2026-09-20. Updated 2026-09-20. Audience: residents.

Take this sheet to a Spatial Development Strategy drop-in or public meeting. The questions are about process, evidence and what happens next. They are not a script for supporting or opposing a particular scheme. Write the answers in the space under each item while you are there.

Print this page.

## Before you go

- Draft SDS title and date: _______________
- Closing date for written comments: _______________
- Where to send them: _______________

## Ask

**1. Who is the strategic planning authority for this document?**  
Is it a combined authority, a board, or another body? Who votes on adoption?

Answer:

**2. Which version am I looking at?**  
Is this preparatory engagement or the statutory consultation? Can the draft still change after tonight?

Answer:

**3. Where is my area on the key diagram?**  
Is it inside a broad location for growth, next to one, or outside? Which policy number is that?

Answer:

**4. How was housing need shared between councils?**  
Which standard-method or other figure was used? Which appendix shows the apportionment?

Answer:

**5. What reasonable alternatives were assessed?**  
Where is the comparison of spatial options? Which option was rejected for this area, and why?

Answer:

**6. What strategic infrastructure is assumed?**  
Water, transport, energy, flood risk. Which of those are committed, and which are only hoped for?

Answer:

**7. What is left for the local plan?**  
Which decisions tonight will constrain site allocation later through general conformity?

Answer:

**8. How do I make a representation that will be read at examination?**  
Format, deadline, whether I can speak later, and how I get a reference number.

Answer:

## After

Write the consultation letter the same week. Use [the letter template](/templates/consultation-letter).

Sources:
- NPPF August 2026, policy PM1 (Spatial development strategies) (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/national-planning-policy-framework)
- NPPF August 2026, policy PM14 (Examining spatial development strategies) (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/national-planning-policy-framework)
- Areas for producing spatial development strategies (consultation paper) (https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/areas-for-producing-spatial-development-strategies/areas-for-producing-spatial-development-strategies)

## SDS consultation letter template

https://spatialplanning.uk/templates/consultation-letter
As at 2026-09-20. Updated 2026-09-20. Audience: residents.

Use this letter when a strategic planning authority consults on a draft Spatial Development Strategy. Replace the square brackets. Write about the pattern of growth, housing distribution, broad locations or strategic infrastructure. Do not use this letter only to object to a named field. Print it, or copy it into an email.

Print this page. The site header and footer will hide.

## Letter

[Your name]  
[Your address and postcode]  
[Email]  
[Date]

SDS consultation  
[Name of strategic planning authority]  
[Consultation email or postal address from the notice]

Dear SDS team,

**Representation on [title of draft SDS], dated [date], consultation closing [date].**

I am writing as a [resident of / parish council for / group in] [place]. This representation is about [policy / paragraph / map reference].

**1. The change I want**

I ask that the draft SDS [state the change in one sentence: for example, "does not identify [area] as a broad location for growth" / "reconsiders the housing apportionment to [council]" / "identifies the missing strategic infrastructure for [topic]"].

**2. Why**

The draft says [quote or paraphrase the relevant sentence].

That is not justified because [evidence: published document, missing reasonable alternative, catchment constraint, cross-boundary effect]. I attach / link [document names].

I understand that an SDS may identify broad locations and housing distribution, and that it must not allocate a particular site. I am not asking the SDS to allocate or refuse [site name]. I am asking it to get the strategic frame right.

**3. Alternatives the draft should compare**

The appraisal should compare at least [describe one other reasonable spatial option] against the preferred option on [water / transport / habitats / other receptor]. I cannot see that comparison in [chapter or appendix].

**4. Contact**

Please acknowledge this representation and give me a reference number. I [do / do not] wish to be notified of submission and of the examination.

Yours faithfully,  
[Name]

---

Notes for the writer (do not send these):

- One issue per letter is clearer than five.
- If you care about a named site, say so only to explain why the *broad location* is wrong or incomplete.
- Read [how to respond](/participate/how-to-respond-to-an-sds-consultation) before you post.

Sources:
- NPPF August 2026, policy PM1 (Spatial development strategies) (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/national-planning-policy-framework)
- Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025, inserted PCPA 2004 s.12D (contents) (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2025/34/section/58)
- Areas for producing spatial development strategies (consultation paper) (https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/areas-for-producing-spatial-development-strategies/areas-for-producing-spatial-development-strategies)

## SDS evidence-base checklist

https://spatialplanning.uk/templates/evidence-base-checklist
As at 2026-09-20. Updated 2026-09-20. Audience: planners.

Use this checklist when assembling or reviewing a Spatial Development Strategy evidence base. The first block follows NPPF policy PM1. The second block is the appraisal and cumulative-effects stack. Tick only what exists as a dated document. If a box is empty, say so in the SDS. Do not invent a figure to fill it.

Print this page. Mark each row: **have** / **commissioned** / **gap**.

## PM1 content

| Required by PM1 | Document (title, date) | Status |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Growth strategy covering at least 25 years | | |
| Apportionment of housing and other strategic uses to LPAs | | |
| Broad locations for growth and regeneration | | |
| Spatial expression of Local Growth Plans / Industrial Strategy | | |
| General extent of Green Belt; broad locations for possible boundary work | | |
| Broad locations for nature; strategic historic environment | | |
| Strategic infrastructure (transport, social, waste, utilities, water, flood) | | |
| Alignment with the 10 Year Infrastructure Strategy and LTPs | | |
| Maps and diagrams | | |
| Delivery mechanisms | | |
| Monitoring framework | | |

## Act content (section 12D)

| Requirement | Document | Status |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Reasoned justification for strategic policies | | |
| Stated period | | |
| Climate-change mitigation and adaptation | | |
| Account of relevant local nature recovery strategies | | |
| Confirmation that no particular sites are specified | | |
| SDS timetable (sections 12E–12F) | | |

## Appraisal and cumulative effects

| Topic | Method named | Zone of influence | Alternatives compared | Status |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Sustainability Appraisal / SEA | | | | |
| HRA including in-combination | | | | |
| Water resources and quality | | | | |
| Nutrient / water neutrality (if advice applies) | | | | |
| Transport and air quality | | | | |
| Landscape and visual (GLVIA3 if used) | | | | |
| Ecology (CIEEM if used) | | | | |
| Cross-SDS growth corridors | | | | |

State, in one line, that there is no single UK cumulative-effects standard and which guidance you followed ([PINS CEA advice](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/nationally-significant-infrastructure-projects-advice-on-cumulative-effects-assessment), IEMA 2020, others).

## Examination readiness (PM14)

- [ ] Positive: needs met or a written exception after cooperation
- [ ] Appropriate: reasonable alternatives, 10 Year Infrastructure Plan, Industrial Strategy, Local Growth Plans
- [ ] Effective: local plans can allocate to implement the strategy; monitoring where markets must change
- [ ] Consistent with national policy: no restated national DM policies

Sources:
- NPPF August 2026, policy PM1 (Spatial development strategies) (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/national-planning-policy-framework)
- NPPF August 2026, policy PM14 (Examining spatial development strategies) (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/national-planning-policy-framework)
- Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects: advice on cumulative effects assessment (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/nationally-significant-infrastructure-projects-advice-on-cumulative-effects-assessment)
- Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017 (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2017/1012/contents)
- Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025, inserted PCPA 2004 s.12D (contents) (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2025/34/section/58)

## SDS glossary

https://spatialplanning.uk/resources/glossary
As at 2026-09-20. Updated 2026-09-20. Audience: both.

This glossary defines the terms used on this site in the sense the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 and the August 2026 NPPF use them. Where a word is still unsettled in practice, the entry says so. Each term links to a longer page where one exists.

### Apportionment

The SDS task of sharing objectively assessed housing (and other strategic) need between local planning authorities in the strategy area. See NPPF PM1.

### Broad location for growth

A strategic area identified in an SDS for significant new homes, jobs or other development. It is not a site allocation. See [SDS vs local plan](/basics/sds-vs-local-plan).

### Commencement

The regulations that bring a section of an Act into force. The SDS duty is not live until the relevant provisions are commenced.

### Constituent authority

A principal authority that sits on a strategic planning board. It is not itself the strategic planning authority. See inserted section 12A(3).

### Cumulative effects

Combined effects of more than one plan or project on the same receptor. No single UK method. See [cumulative impact assessment](/evidence/cumulative-impact-assessment).

### Environmental Outcomes Report (EOR)

The proposed replacement for EIA, SEA and SA under the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023. Emerging. Not the current SDS appraisal system.

### Examination

Independent test of an SDS for procedure and soundness. SDS tests are in NPPF PM14: positive, appropriate, effective, consistent with national policy.

### General conformity

The requirement that a local plan follow an adopted SDS on strategic matters. A PM15 soundness test. Not defined at the margins. See [general conformity](/basics/general-conformity).

### In-combination

Habitats Regulations term: effects of a plan or project together with other plans or projects.

### Local plan

The site-allocating development-plan document for a local planning authority. New-style plans have a 30-month timetable from Gateway 1 (PM2).

### Local nature recovery strategy

Environment Act 2021, section 104. An SDS must take account of any LNRS that relates to part of the strategy area (inserted section 12D(11)).

### Principal authority

Combined authority, combined county authority, upper-tier county or unitary, as listed in inserted section 12A(2)(b)–(e).

### Reasonable alternatives

Options the appraisal must compare. The usual place to test different spatial patterns at SDS scale.

### Spatial Development Strategy (SDS)

The strategic-tier plan defined in inserted sections 12A and 12D. See [what is an SDS](/basics/what-is-a-spatial-development-strategy).

### Strategic planning authority

The body with the duty to prepare the SDS. See [strategic planning authority](/basics/strategic-planning-authority).

### Strategic planning board (SPB)

A joint committee created by regulations to prepare one SDS for two or more principal authorities. See [strategic planning board](/basics/strategic-planning-board).

### Strategy area

The geography of the SDS: the board's combined area, or the area of the combined authority, county or unitary.

### Strategy period

How long the SDS has effect. The Act requires a period to be stated. NPPF PM1 says the growth strategy should cover at least 25 years.

Sources:
- Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025, c. 34, section 58 (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2025/34/section/58)
- National Planning Policy Framework (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/national-planning-policy-framework)
- Areas for producing spatial development strategies (consultation paper) (https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/areas-for-producing-spatial-development-strategies/areas-for-producing-spatial-development-strategies)
- Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017 (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2017/1012/contents)

## SDS outcomes framework template

https://spatialplanning.uk/templates/outcomes-framework
As at 2026-09-20. Updated 2026-09-20. Audience: planners.

Copy this table into an SDS monitoring chapter. Ten themes is a working ceiling, not a legal requirement. Each row needs one objective, one outcome, one measure and one indicator with a named dataset. If you cannot name the dataset, leave the row as a gap. The sentences below are examples. A fully written set for a growth-corridor SDS sits on a separate page. Do not publish either as adopted policy.

Print this page. Example text is in quotation marks so it is not mistaken for a recommended policy.

| Theme | Objective (example) | Outcome (example) | Measure | Indicator | Dataset |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Growth and economy | "The strategy area adds jobs next to the places it adds homes." | Employment land is taken up in the identified broad locations. | Floorspace completed by use class and location | % of strategic employment completions inside SDS broad locations | LPA monitoring / VOA |
| Housing | "Everyone can access a decent, affordable home." | More of the homes completed are affordable, by tenure. | Net additional dwellings; affordable completions | % completions affordable, by tenure, by LPA | MHCLG live tables / LPA AMRs |
| Health and wellbeing | "New growth does not worsen access to primary care." | Population growth is matched by primary-care capacity. | GP list size per FTE; new floorspace | Change in list size per FTE in each broad location | NHS / ICB |
| Transport and connectivity | "Growth is served by frequent public transport." | A rising share of new homes are near a frequent service. | Homes completed within a stated walk of a frequent bus or rail service | % of new homes meeting the access standard | DfT / operator data |
| Education and labour market | "School places keep pace with the apportionment." | Places are planned against the SDS housing trajectory. | Reception and secondary places vs pupil yield | Surplus/deficit by year, by broad location | Local authority education |
| Natural capital | "Nature recovery is planned at the same scale as growth." | LNRS priorities are reflected in SDS policy and monitoring. | Hectares enhanced or created toward LNRS measures | Hectares delivered against LNRS priorities | LNRS / Natural England |
| Water security | "Housing numbers stay inside water-resource and quality limits." | The trajectory is consistent with water-company and EA positions. | Supply-demand balance; quality status of named water bodies | Whether the SDS trajectory fits the WRMP / DWMP | Water company / EA |
| Climate resilience | "The land-use pattern reduces, not raises, climate risk." | New growth avoids the highest flood and heat-risk areas unless justified. | Homes permitted in Flood Zone 3; urban heat metrics | Share of new homes outside the highest risk bands | EA / Met Office |
| Communities and governance | "The public can see whether the SDS is on track." | An annual monitoring report is published. | AMR published by a stated date | On-time publication; actions against failed indicators | SPA |
| Design and place | "Broad locations set a design expectation local plans can apply." | Local plans adopt design outcomes that implement the SDS. | Local plans adopted in general conformity, with design outcomes | Number of LPAs with adopted conforming plans | SPA / PINS |

## Example outcome sentences (same ten themes)

Use these if the table cells above feel too short. Rewrite the place-names and the numbers for your area.

1. **Growth and economy.** The strategy area's economy has the space, homes and connections it needs. Gains reach market towns and outlying communities, not only the core.
2. **Housing.** Homes remain affordable across generations. A school, surgery, shop and open space are within an easy walk and are open from the outset.
3. **Health.** People live longer, healthier lives. The healthy-life-expectancy gap across the strategy area narrows. Care stays close to home.
4. **Transport.** New homes are planned so public transport and walking are available when people move in, not years later.
5. **Education and labour market.** Young people can build a career locally. School places keep pace with the housing trajectory.
6. **Natural capital.** Landscapes and heritage are enhanced. Every community is connected to high-quality green and blue space.
7. **Water security.** The housing trajectory fits the water-company WRMP and DWMP. If it does not, the outcome has failed.
8. **Climate resilience.** Communities are resilient to climate change. Places are designed to last.
9. **Communities and governance.** People can shape decisions and see, each year, whether the SDS is on track.
10. **Design and place.** Growth creates lasting places that reflect local identity. Broad locations have a design code before a stated occupation threshold.

Filled rows, with measures and datasets, are on the [growth-corridor worked example](/outcomes/worked-example-growth-corridor). Before-and-after rewrites are on [how to write one outcome](/outcomes/writing-an-outcome).

## Rules of use

- No more than ten outcomes if you can help it (PM2 uses that cap for local-plan visions).
- An indicator without a dataset is a wish. Leave it blank.
- Review the table when the SDS is replaced (PM1: start within seven years) or when an indicator fails two years running.
- This table is a method example. It is not a government template.

Sources:
- NPPF August 2026, policy PM1 (Spatial development strategies) (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/national-planning-policy-framework)
- NPPF August 2026, policy PM2 (Local plans) (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/national-planning-policy-framework)
- The London Plan: the spatial development strategy for Greater London (https://www.london.gov.uk/programmes-strategies/planning/london-plan)

## SDS process and timetable

https://spatialplanning.uk/system/process-and-timetable
As at 2026-09-20. Updated 2026-09-20. Audience: both.

A Spatial Development Strategy is prepared as a draft, consulted on, submitted, examined and adopted. Until commencement, authorities may only do preparatory work. The NPPF requires a growth strategy of at least 25 years, and that preparation of a replacement or alteration starts no later than seven years after adoption, or earlier if the strategy is out of step with national policy, infrastructure or new evidence.

## Before the duty is live

MHCLG listed preparatory work that is allowed before commencement:

- building the team and reading the Act and NPPF
- engaging local planning authorities, neighbouring SDS areas and infrastructure providers
- understanding local-plan timetables
- a project plan and draft SDS timetable
- collating existing evidence and commissioning gaps
- links to any local growth plan

That work may have to be adjusted if the final geography changes.

## Formal sequence

The inserted 2004 Act sections and MHCLG's description give this order:

1. **Timetable** — the authority must prepare and maintain an SDS timetable (sections 12E–12F).
2. **Draft** — prepare a draft SDS (section 12G) that conforms to section 12D.
3. **Consultation and representations** — at least one statutory round (section 12H).
4. **Change and re-consult** if needed, up to submission.
5. **Submission** to the Secretary of State.
6. **Independent examination** against procedure and the PM14 tests.
7. **Adoption** in the submitted form, plus any directed modifications.
8. **Monitoring**, then start a replacement or alteration.

After submission, withdrawal is only available if the SDS fails examination, the Secretary of State directs withdrawal, or the authority votes against adoption.

## Period and review

| Rule | Source | What it says |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Strategy period | NPPF PM1 | At least 25 years, including housing and other strategic-use apportionment |
| Start a replacement | NPPF PM1(2)(i) | No later than seven years after adoption |
| Start earlier | NPPF PM1(2)(i) | If the SDS is substantially inconsistent with current national policy; if planned infrastructure will significantly affect land use and was not considered; or if new evidence shows significant change in needs, opportunities or constraints |

The February 2026 MHCLG paper still said "at least 20 years". That figure was overtaken by the August 2026 NPPF.

## How this sits next to local plans

New-style local plans run on a **30-month** timetable from the Gateway 1 self-assessment (PM2). They must support delivery of the SDS. Their own review cycle is five years, or earlier if an SDS has significantly increased the housing requirement.

If you are a resident, the practical implication is that there are two windows: the SDS (pattern and numbers) and the local plan (sites). Missing the first does not stop you using the second, but the second is constrained by general conformity.

Sources:
- Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025, c. 34, section 58 (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2025/34/section/58)
- NPPF August 2026, policy PM1 (Spatial development strategies) (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/national-planning-policy-framework)
- NPPF August 2026, policy PM14 (Examining spatial development strategies) (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/national-planning-policy-framework)
- NPPF August 2026, policy PM2 (Local plans) (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/national-planning-policy-framework)
- Areas for producing spatial development strategies (consultation paper) (https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/areas-for-producing-spatial-development-strategies/areas-for-producing-spatial-development-strategies)

## SDS vs local plan

https://spatialplanning.uk/basics/sds-vs-local-plan
As at 2026-09-20. Updated 2026-09-20. Audience: both.

A Spatial Development Strategy sets the sub-regional frame. A local plan does the site-by-site work. The SDS may apportion housing, name broad locations for growth and identify strategic infrastructure. It must not allocate particular sites. Once adopted, the local plan must be in general conformity with the SDS. That conformity test is one of the soundness tests for the local plan.

## Side by side

| | Spatial Development Strategy | Local plan |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Scale | Sub-region / strategy area | Local planning authority |
| Job | Strategic policies for land of strategic importance | Vision, allocations, designations, local policy |
| Sites | Must not specify particular sites | Allocates sites and can set site requirements |
| Housing | May set amount and distribution, including affordable housing | Delivers the apportioned need through sites |
| Period | At least 25 years (NPPF PM1) | At least 10 years from adoption (NPPF PM2) |
| Review | Start a replacement no later than 7 years after adoption | Start the next plan no later than 5 years after adoption |
| Examination | PM14 tests: positive, appropriate, effective, consistent with national policy | PM15 tests, plus conformity with any adopted SDS |

## What moves up to the SDS

From the Act and PM1, these are SDS-scale matters:

- apportionment of objectively assessed housing need (and other strategic uses) to local planning authorities
- broad locations for growth and regeneration, including new settlements, major urban extensions and major cross-boundary development
- strategic infrastructure (transport, social infrastructure, waste, utilities, water, flood risk) and alignment with the 10 Year Infrastructure Strategy
- a spatial expression of strategic elements of Local Growth Plans and the Industrial Strategy
- the general extent of Green Belt, and broad locations where local plans may need to consider changes
- broad locations for nature conservation and habitat work, and strategic historic-environment issues

## What stays local

The local plan still:

- allocates land, with a site reference, use, indicative capacity and delivery window
- sets the detailed spatial strategy and policies for a period of at least ten years
- handles development-management detail and precise boundaries
- includes other policies only where they support allocated sites or address particular local issues (PM2)

MHCLG's February 2026 paper puts the same split in one sentence: SDSs identify broad locations; local plans allocate sites and must be in general conformity with the SDS once it is adopted.

## Why the order matters

If you want to influence *whether* an area is treated as a broad location for growth, the SDS is the document. If you want to influence *which field* is allocated, that is the local plan — after the SDS has set the frame.

PM2 also says a local plan should be prepared earlier than the five-year cycle where the area's housing requirement has significantly increased following adoption of an SDS.

Sources:
- Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025, inserted PCPA 2004 s.12D (contents) (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2025/34/section/58)
- NPPF August 2026, policy PM1 (Spatial development strategies) (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/national-planning-policy-framework)
- NPPF August 2026, policy PM2 (Local plans) (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/national-planning-policy-framework)
- NPPF August 2026, policy PM15 (Examining local plans) (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/national-planning-policy-framework)
- Areas for producing spatial development strategies (consultation paper) (https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/areas-for-producing-spatial-development-strategies/areas-for-producing-spatial-development-strategies)

## What is a Spatial Development Strategy?

https://spatialplanning.uk/basics/what-is-a-spatial-development-strategy
As at 2026-09-20. Updated 2026-09-20. Audience: both.

A Spatial Development Strategy (SDS) is a high-level spatial plan for a sub-region in England. It must state the strategic planning authority's policies for the development and use of land that are of strategic importance to that area, with a reasoned justification and a stated period. It may set housing amounts and strategic infrastructure. It must not specify particular sites.

## In statute

Section 58 of the [Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2025/34/section/58) inserts new sections 12A to 12W into the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004.

Inserted section 12A(1) requires strategic planning authorities to prepare a document, conforming to section 12D, known as a spatial development strategy.

Inserted section 12D requires an SDS to include:

- a statement of the authority's policies, however expressed, for the development and use of land in the strategy area that are of strategic importance to that area
- a reasoned justification for those policies
- the period for which the SDS is to have effect

It **may** specify or describe strategically important infrastructure, and an amount or distribution of housing, including affordable housing. A matter can be of strategic importance even if it affects only part of the area.

It **must** be designed so that the use and development of land contribute to mitigating and adapting to climate change, and must take account of any relevant local nature recovery strategy under section 104 of the Environment Act 2021.

It **must not**:

- include anything that is not permitted or required by section 12D
- specify particular sites where development should take place
- be inconsistent with, or in substance repeat, any national development management policy

## In national policy

Policy PM1 of the [August 2026 NPPF](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/national-planning-policy-framework) says an SDS should set a positive vision for growth and change at a sub-regional scale. Its content should be genuinely strategic, leaving detail to other parts of the development plan.

PM1 lists nine things an SDS should do. In short: a growth strategy of at least 25 years, including housing apportionment; broad locations for growth and regeneration (including new settlements and major urban extensions); a spatial framework for economic growth; the general extent of Green Belt and where boundary changes may need to be considered in local plans; broad locations for nature and the historic environment; the type, extent and broad location of strategic infrastructure; maps and diagrams; delivery mechanisms; and monitoring, with work on a replacement started no later than seven years after adoption (or earlier in stated cases).

## What government has said it is not

The [February 2026 MHCLG paper](https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/areas-for-producing-spatial-development-strategies/areas-for-producing-spatial-development-strategies) is explicit:

> SDSs are not big local plans. They cannot be site-specific or allocate/designate particular sites.

Site allocation stays with local plans. Those local plans will have to be in general conformity with the adopted SDS.

## London

London has had an SDS for more than twenty years: the London Plan, prepared under the [Greater London Authority Act 1999](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1999/29/part/VIII/chapter/I). That continues. The rest of England uses the 2025 Act once those provisions are commenced.

Sources:
- Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025, c. 34, section 58 (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2025/34/section/58)
- Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025, inserted PCPA 2004 s.12D (contents) (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2025/34/section/58)
- NPPF August 2026, policy PM1 (Spatial development strategies) (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/national-planning-policy-framework)
- Areas for producing spatial development strategies (consultation paper) (https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/areas-for-producing-spatial-development-strategies/areas-for-producing-spatial-development-strategies)
- Greater London Authority Act 1999, sections 334 to 343 (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1999/29/part/VIII/chapter/I)

## What is a strategic planning authority?

https://spatialplanning.uk/basics/strategic-planning-authority
As at 2026-09-20. Updated 2026-09-20. Audience: planners.

A strategic planning authority is the body that must prepare a Spatial Development Strategy. Section 12A of the inserted 2004 Act provisions names strategic planning boards, combined authorities, combined county authorities, and then upper-tier county councils and unitary authorities where no combined authority covers the area. London's Mayor continues under the Greater London Authority Act 1999.

## The statutory list

Inserted [section 12A(2)](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2025/34/section/58) defines "strategic planning authority" as:

1. a strategic planning board (see section 12B)
2. a combined authority
3. a combined county authority
4. an upper-tier county council for an area no part of which is in a combined authority or combined county authority
5. a unitary authority in England, likewise not inside a combined authority or combined county authority

A principal authority that is a constituent of a strategic planning board is **not** itself the strategic planning authority. The board is.

"Strategy area" follows the body: the combined area of the board's constituents, or the area of the combined authority, combined county authority, county or unitary.

SDS functions of a principal authority are not functions that can be delegated under section 101 of the Local Government Act 1972 in the usual way.

## How MHCLG has described it in practice

The [February 2026 consultation paper](https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/areas-for-producing-spatial-development-strategies/areas-for-producing-spatial-development-strategies) and the [12 February written statement](https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2026-02-12/debates/26021236000019/Sub-RegionalStrategicPlanning) say:

- where they exist, mayoral combined authorities, combined authorities, mayoral combined county authorities and combined county authorities are the strategic planning authorities
- Foundation Strategic Authorities will also be strategic planning authorities, but may need to be grouped
- otherwise the duty sits with upper-tier counties and unitaries, generally working together through a strategic planning board
- mayoral strategic authorities prepare the SDS for their area, with a stated exception that West of England Combined Authority will produce jointly with North Somerset

## London

Section 12A(6) points to sections 334 to 343 of the Greater London Authority Act 1999. London is not brought under the 2025 Act machinery.

## What a principal authority can do before commencement

Formal SDS work cannot start until the relevant provisions are commenced. MHCLG listed preparatory work that is allowed: building a team, engaging neighbouring areas and infrastructure providers, collating evidence, commissioning gap-filling studies, and drafting a project plan and timetable.

Sources:
- Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025, inserted PCPA 2004 s.12A (strategic planning authorities) (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2025/34/section/58)
- Areas for producing spatial development strategies (consultation paper) (https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/areas-for-producing-spatial-development-strategies/areas-for-producing-spatial-development-strategies)
- Sub-regional Strategic Planning (written ministerial statement) (https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2026-02-12/debates/26021236000019/Sub-RegionalStrategicPlanning)
- Greater London Authority Act 1999, sections 334 to 343 (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1999/29/part/VIII/chapter/I)

## What is a strategic planning board?

https://spatialplanning.uk/basics/strategic-planning-board
As at 2026-09-20. Updated 2026-09-20. Audience: planners.

A strategic planning board is a joint committee of two or more principal authorities, established by the Secretary of State through regulations, to prepare one Spatial Development Strategy for their combined area. Once established, the board is the strategic planning authority. Constituent councils are not. The Act requires consultation on a draft of those regulations before a board is created.

## In the Act

Inserted [section 12B](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2025/34/section/58) applies where the Secretary of State considers it desirable for an SDS to cover the areas of two or more principal authorities.

The Secretary of State may then, by regulations, establish a joint committee of those authorities. That committee is a **strategic planning board**.

A board may be established only after consultation on a draft of the proposed regulations with:

- the principal authorities that would be constituents
- any local planning authority wholly or partly within, or adjoining, those areas
- the person responsible for an SDS in an adjoining area

While a board is being considered or after it has been decided, the Secretary of State may direct the would-be constituents not to take steps on their own SDSs.

Section 12C says the regulations **must** name the constituents and the area. They **may** deal with composition, appointment, proceedings, voting, costs, and other machinery, including applying local-government enactments with modifications.

If either House annuls the establishing regulations, the board is dissolved from the date of the resolution.

## In the February 2026 paper

MHCLG described boards as the formal partnership where authorities need to produce one SDS together. The paper said the government expected to consult on the first boards as soon as possible and to make the secondary legislation from summer 2026. Not every board has to be created on the same day.

The consultation tables marked where an SPB was expected:

- **Not required** for existing and Devolution Priority Programme combined-authority footprints (Groups 1 and 2), and for London
- **Required** for most Group 3 partnerships (for example Wessex, Kent and Medway, West of England and North Somerset)
- **Later** for single-county proposals such as Surrey and Hertfordshire, which may need a board only when local government reorganisation takes effect
- **To be confirmed** for Group 4

See the [geographies tables](/geographies) for the consultation list.

## What is not in the Act

The Act does not fix how leaders vote, what happens if a constituent objects, or how disputes are resolved. Those are regulation-level questions. Treat any commentary on member vetoes as open until the relevant instrument is published.

Sources:
- Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025, inserted PCPA 2004 s.12B (strategic planning boards) (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2025/34/section/58)
- Areas for producing spatial development strategies (consultation paper) (https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/areas-for-producing-spatial-development-strategies/areas-for-producing-spatial-development-strategies)
- Sub-regional Strategic Planning (written ministerial statement) (https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2026-02-12/debates/26021236000019/Sub-RegionalStrategicPlanning)

## What is an outcomes-based planning framework?

https://spatialplanning.uk/outcomes/what-is-an-outcomes-framework
As at 2026-09-20. Updated 2026-09-20. Audience: planners.

An outcomes framework is a chain from vision to things you can count. In spatial planning the usual sequence is vision, principles, objectives, outcomes, measures or indicators, and a monitoring report. The London Plan's Good Growth objectives are the most fully worked English example. Wales embeds well-being goals in statute. The NPPF now asks local plans for no more than ten measurable outcomes. There is not yet a prescribed SDS template.

## The chain

Keep the words stable. Different strategies mix them up.

| Term | Meaning |
| --- | --- |
| Vision | The intended future for the strategy area |
| Principles | How you will work (for example, infrastructure first, or the Welsh "ways of working") |
| Objectives | The things the SDS is trying to achieve |
| Outcomes | The change you would observe if the objective worked |
| Measure | The quantity you will collect |
| Indicator / KPI | The measure expressed so it can be reported, often with a direction or target |
| Monitoring | The report that publishes the indicators and says what happens if they fail |

PM1 already requires an SDS to monitor implementation. PM2 asks local plans for a vision supported by **no more than ten measurable outcomes**. That local-plan rule is a useful discipline at SDS scale too: few outcomes, each with a measure.

## Reference models (not templates to copy blindly)

**London Plan Good Growth (2021).** Six named objectives, monitored through a statutory Annual Monitoring Report under the GLA Act. The strongest English example of outcomes tied to a legal monitoring duty:

1. GG1 Building strong and inclusive communities
2. GG2 Making the best use of land
3. GG3 Creating a healthy city
4. GG4 Delivering the homes Londoners need
5. GG5 Growing a good economy
6. GG6 Increasing efficiency and resilience

**Oxfordshire Strategic Vision (2021).** A long-term cross-authority vision to 2050 that does not fix a housing quantum. Useful as a shared frame. Weak as a monitoring system because indicators were acknowledged as needed and not set at adoption.

**Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015.** Seven well-being goals, national indicators and milestones, plus five ways of working. The most legally embedded outcomes model in the UK. Future Wales is aligned to it. England has no equivalent statute for SDS. The seven goals are: a prosperous Wales; a resilient Wales; a healthier Wales; a more equal Wales; a Wales of cohesive communities; a Wales of vibrant culture and thriving Welsh language; a globally responsible Wales.

Use these as comparisons in an SDS evidence note. Do not paste London's six objectives onto a different geography and call it done.

## A working SDS set

The [outcomes framework template](/templates/outcomes-framework) uses ten themes. That is a ceiling, matching the local-plan "no more than ten" idea, not a legal requirement:

1. Growth and economy
2. Housing
3. Health and wellbeing
4. Transport and connectivity
5. Education and labour market
6. Natural capital and green infrastructure
7. Water security
8. Climate resilience and net zero
9. Communities and governance
10. Design and place

Each row should have one objective, one outcome, one measure and one indicator. If you cannot name the dataset, it is not yet an indicator.

A filled version of those ten rows, written as full outcome sentences for a growth-corridor SDS, is on the [worked example](/outcomes/worked-example-growth-corridor). Three before-and-after rewrites are on [how to write one outcome](/outcomes/writing-an-outcome).

### One chain, written out

Take housing. A vision sentence such as "everyone can access a high-quality home in a thriving community" is not an outcome. An outcome adds the change you would observe, and a trigger you can fail:

> Everyone can access a high-quality home that remains affordable across generations. A school, a surgery, a shop and open space are within an easy walk of new homes and are open from the outset.

Measure: affordable completions by tenure; months between first occupation and the first school, surgery or shop. Indicator: those two numbers, reported per broad location. Dataset: MHCLG live tables, LPA AMRs, education and ICB returns. If "from the outset" has no month or occupation trigger, the outcome cannot fail, so it cannot be monitored.

## How this links to examination

PM14's **effective** test asks whether local plans will be capable of identifying sites to implement the spatial strategy, and it flags post-adoption monitoring where the SDS is relying on a change in market conditions. An outcomes framework is the place that monitoring lives. If the framework only restates the vision, it will not help at year seven when PM1 asks whether the SDS should be replaced early.

Sources:
- NPPF August 2026, policy PM1 (Spatial development strategies) (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/national-planning-policy-framework)
- NPPF August 2026, policy PM2 (Local plans) (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/national-planning-policy-framework)
- The London Plan: the spatial development strategy for Greater London (https://www.london.gov.uk/programmes-strategies/planning/london-plan)
- Oxfordshire Strategic Vision for Long-Term Sustainable Development (https://www.oxfordshireopb.org.uk/)
- Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/anaw/2015/2/contents)

## What is general conformity?

https://spatialplanning.uk/basics/general-conformity
As at 2026-09-20. Updated 2026-09-20. Audience: both.

General conformity is the legal and policy link between an adopted Spatial Development Strategy and the local plans beneath it. The local plan must follow the SDS on strategic matters. It does not have to copy it. NPPF policy PM15 makes conformity one of the soundness tests for local plans. How far a local plan may depart on a particular site or figure is not spelled out in a single statutory definition.

## Where the test sits

MHCLG's February 2026 paper says local plans will have to be in general conformity with the relevant SDS. That is the policy consequence of the SDS being the strategic tier.

The August 2026 NPPF puts it in the examination tests. Policy PM15 says a sound local plan must be, among other things:

> Conformity – the plan is in general conformity with any adopted spatial development strategy for the area.

A footnote adds that conformity with an *emerging* SDS should also be taken into consideration, depending on the stage of that SDS and whether an existing strategy already applies.

PM2 says local plans should set out a positive vision and spatial strategy which supports delivery of the SDS for their area.

## What "general" is doing in the sentence

The SDS must not specify particular sites. The local plan must allocate them. So conformity cannot mean that every allocation is written in the SDS. It means the local plan should not undermine the SDS on the matters the SDS is allowed to decide: the pattern of growth, the housing apportionment, the broad locations, the strategic infrastructure and the environmental frame.

That leaves a grey belt (in the ordinary sense) around:

- whether a local plan can add a large site that the SDS did not identify as a broad location
- whether it can fall short of an apportioned housing figure if it claims constraints
- how two SDS areas that overlap a national park should be read together

Those questions will be answered in examinations. This site will update when decisions exist.

## Practical use

If you are responding to an SDS consultation, argue the strategic point (the broad location, the distribution, the infrastructure). If you are responding to a local plan, check first whether the issue is already settled by an adopted SDS. A site objection that contradicts an adopted SDS on a strategic matter is a conformity issue, not only a local one.

If you are writing a local plan, record how each strategic policy relates to the SDS. That record is what the examiner will look for under PM15(e).

Sources:
- NPPF August 2026, policy PM15 (Examining local plans) (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/national-planning-policy-framework)
- NPPF August 2026, policy PM2 (Local plans) (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/national-planning-policy-framework)
- Areas for producing spatial development strategies (consultation paper) (https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/areas-for-producing-spatial-development-strategies/areas-for-producing-spatial-development-strategies)
- Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025, inserted PCPA 2004 s.12D (contents) (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2025/34/section/58)

## Worked example — ten outcomes for a growth-corridor SDS

https://spatialplanning.uk/outcomes/worked-example-growth-corridor
As at 2026-09-20. Updated 2026-09-20. Audience: planners.

This page shows what an outcomes framework looks like when the outcomes are written as full sentences, not theme labels. It is a worked example for a sub-regional growth corridor. MHCLG already names the Oxford-Cambridge Growth Corridor as a place where SDS areas must take a consistent approach. The wording here is illustrative. It is not a draft SDS and it is not official guidance.

## How to read this

Each block is one outcome. The **outcome** is the change you would observe. The **measure** is what you collect. The **indicator** is how you report it. If the dataset column would be blank, the outcome is not yet monitorable. Leave it out of an adopted SDS.

Print the [one-page template](/templates/outcomes-framework) if you need the empty grid. This page is the filled example.

## 1. Economy that reaches beyond the core

**Outcome.** The strategy area's innovation and everyday economy has the space, homes and connections it needs. More research turns into production and skilled jobs. The gains reach market towns and outlying communities, not only the core cities.

**Measure.** Employment land take-up by location; jobs by workplace; business births outside the core.

**Indicator.** Share of new strategic employment floorspace and jobs delivered outside the largest urban centre in the strategy area.

**Dataset.** LPA monitoring / VOA / ONS BRES.

## 2. Skills and routes into work

**Outcome.** People have clear routes into fairly paid work in growing sectors and in the everyday economy. Young people can build a career locally. Where someone starts does not limit where they get to.

**Measure.** 16-24 destinations; vacancies in named growth sectors filled from within the strategy area; pay in the everyday economy.

**Indicator.** Share of school and college leavers in sustained education, apprenticeship or employment, by district.

**Dataset.** DfE / LEO / ONS ASHE.

## 3. Homes that stay affordable, with infrastructure from the outset

**Outcome.** Everyone can access a high-quality home that remains affordable across generations. Social infrastructure (school, surgery, shop, open space) is within an easy walk of new homes and is provided from the outset, not years after occupation.

**Measure.** Affordable completions by tenure; median house-price to earnings; date social infrastructure opens relative to first occupations.

**Indicator.** Percentage of completions that are affordable, by tenure; months between first occupation and the first school, surgery or shop opening in each broad location.

**Dataset.** MHCLG live tables / LPA AMRs / authority education and ICB returns.

This is the row that most often fails in practice. If you cannot measure "from the outset", do not write it as an outcome. Write the trigger (for example, "no more than 200 occupations before a primary school is open") as the indicator.

## 4. Healthier, longer lives

**Outcome.** People live longer, healthier lives. The gap in healthy life expectancy between the best and worst parts of the strategy area narrows. Children get the best start. Care stays close to home.

**Measure.** Healthy life expectancy by district; children in low-income households; GP list size per FTE.

**Indicator.** Change in the healthy-life-expectancy gap across the strategy area, reported each two years.

**Dataset.** ONS / OHID / NHS.

## 5. Movement that prefers public transport and walking

**Outcome.** People and goods move easily between homes, jobs and services. New growth is planned so that public transport and active travel are the default, not a later retrofit.

**Measure.** Homes completed within a stated walk of a frequent bus or rail service; mode share for new developments; HGV routing on strategic roads.

**Indicator.** Percentage of new homes in broad locations that meet the stated public-transport access standard in the year they complete.

**Dataset.** DfT / operator data / LPA travel plans.

## 6. Nature, landscape and heritage

**Outcome.** People and nature thrive together. Landscapes, productive farmland and heritage are enhanced, not merely avoided. Every community is connected to high-quality green and blue space.

**Measure.** Hectares enhanced or created toward LNRS priorities; accessible green space within a stated walk; designated-heritage at-risk entries.

**Indicator.** Hectares delivered against named LNRS measures; percentage of new homes within the stated walk of accessible green space.

**Dataset.** LNRS / Natural England / Historic England / LPA GI assessments.

## 7. Climate resilience and water security

**Outcome.** Communities are resilient to climate change. Water supply and wastewater capacity are secure for the strategy period. Places are designed to last.

**Measure.** Homes permitted in Flood Zone 3; supply-demand balance in the relevant WRMP; wastewater headroom in the DWMP.

**Indicator.** Whether the SDS housing trajectory still fits the water-company WRMP and DWMP at each annual report; share of new homes outside the highest flood-risk bands.

**Dataset.** Environment Agency / water company WRMP and DWMP.

If the trajectory does not fit the water plan, the outcome has failed. Do not leave this as a qualitative hope.

## 8. Net-zero and circular use of resources

**Outcome.** The pattern of growth uses clean power, cuts wasted materials and treats land, water and energy as finite.

**Measure.** Operational and embodied carbon of strategic sites; residual waste per household; renewable generation connected in the strategy area.

**Indicator.** Residual household waste (kg per household); estimated operational carbon of new homes against the stated SDS standard.

**Dataset.** DEFRA waste / EPC register / NESO / LPA energy statements.

## 9. Enduring places

**Outcome.** Growth creates beautiful, lasting places that improve daily life and reflect local identity. Design is not left entirely to later local-plan codes.

**Measure.** Local plans and design codes adopted for SDS broad locations; resident satisfaction with new places; audit against the SDS design outcomes.

**Indicator.** Number of broad locations with an adopted design code or equivalent before a stated occupation threshold.

**Dataset.** LPA / Office for Place or equivalent audit.

## 10. Stewardship and a visible account

**Outcome.** People can shape decisions, share in the benefits of growth, and see whether the SDS is on track. Trust is treated as something the monitoring report has to earn.

**Measure.** Consultation reach by district; AMR published by a stated date; actions taken when an indicator fails two years running.

**Indicator.** On-time publication of the annual monitoring report, with a written action against every failed indicator.

**Dataset.** Strategic planning authority.

## What to strip out before you adopt

- Sentences that name a project or a preferred settlement form. An SDS outcome is about the strategy area, not a scheme.
- Outcomes with no dataset. They belong in the vision, not in the monitoring chapter.
- More than ten. If you need an eleventh, merge two.

Sources:
- NPPF August 2026, policy PM1 (Spatial development strategies) (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/national-planning-policy-framework)
- NPPF August 2026, policy PM2 (Local plans) (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/national-planning-policy-framework)
- Areas for producing spatial development strategies (consultation paper) (https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/areas-for-producing-spatial-development-strategies/areas-for-producing-spatial-development-strategies)
- The London Plan: the spatial development strategy for Greater London (https://www.london.gov.uk/programmes-strategies/planning/london-plan)