Preparing a Spatial Development Strategy (SDS) is a statutory requirement for the Combined Authority, which will set out a strategic framework for the development and use of land moving forward for at least 15 years.

To date, despite Covid, the Combined Authority has made good progress ensuring that as a City Region it is engaging with the wider community and especially those who do not usually engage with spatial planning.  Its public engagements to date have been nationally recognised as innovative.

However, there have been a number of recent Government announcements about potential national changes to spatial planning.  The Combined Authority has decided that, before consulting further on the SDS, it needs to gain a greater understanding of the Government’s policy direction, timing and implications on matters such as:

• The recently announced Investment Zones
• The implications for a more simplified planning regime
• Calculating housing number; and
• The awaited updates to the national planning policy framework 

Work will therefore continue on the SDS and specifically on key tasks that will ultimately support its delivery, namely:

• To further develop the supporting evidence base for the SDS and continue to jointly progress the Combined Authority’s work on spatial policies and priorities 
•  To produce a non-statutory Place Focused Strategy which will reflect collective strategic place priorities and embed these into the Combined Authority’s approach to place making and funding across the city region

This will be done through the work of the Housing and Spatial Planning Board,  which will report to the Combined Authority on progress next year.