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England

Spatial Planning

For residents · Updated 20 September 2026 · As at 20 September 2026

How to respond to an SDS consultation

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 After submission it can only be withdrawn if it fails examination, the Secretary of State directs withdrawal, or the authority votes against adoption.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 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).
  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. If you attend a drop-in, take the questions sheet.

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.

Questions

Will this decide whether houses are built in my village?
It can decide whether your area sits in a broad location for growth, and how housing need is shared between councils. The exact site is a later local-plan decision. If you only write about one field, you may miss the decision that matters.
Do I need a planner to write a response?
No. A short, sourced letter is enough. Use the template if it helps. Quote the draft policy or map, and attach or link the evidence you rely on.

Sources

  1. Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025, c. 34, section 58 — legislation.gov.uk, 18 December 2025. Inserts new sections 12A to 12W into the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004. Royal Assent 18 December 2025.
  2. NPPF August 2026, policy PM1 (Spatial development strategies) — MHCLG, 17 August 2026
  3. Areas for producing spatial development strategies (consultation paper) — MHCLG, 12 February 2026
  4. NPPF August 2026, policy PM14 (Examining spatial development strategies) — MHCLG, 17 August 2026

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