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Housing development in Bath

Work on the Spatial Development Strategy (SDS) has been halted and is not being progressed by the West of England Combined Authority. Metro Mayor Dan Norris has written to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to explain that he has asked officers to stop work as unanimous agreement on the plan by the councils has not been reached. In the absence of an SDS, the Combined Authority is committed to supporting its constituent councils to deliver their individual local plans. The information below sets out the previously published work undertaken by the Combined Authority and its partners on the SDS process.

Cyclist in an urban area

In November 2020, we surveyed people living in the West of England for their views about the region’s future. The survey asked nine questions about the priorities for the region’s emerging Spatial Development Strategy (SDS). This included a range of important social, environmental, and economic issues. Listening to local opinions is essential to our decision-making process. 

View Spatial Development's Strategy Engagement report >

Key themes in our strategy include:

  • Providing quality homes (relative to local incomes)
  • Protecting accessible green spaces for people, wildlife, and nature
  • Activities to prioritise our response to the climate emergency.
  • A high-quality sustainable transport network

Further information on our surveys and assessments

More information from the survey and our other assessments can be found in the following links:

Spatial Development Strategy technical documents

Below are links to technical documents which were developed in collaboration with our constituent authorities as part of work to develop the Spatial Development Strategy (SDS). While work on the SDS has been halted, these documents may remain relevant for the new local plans being prepared by the West of England Unitary Authorities, subject to checking with the individual authorities. 

Details of the UA local plans are available at:

Summaries of the Employment Land Spatial Needs Assessment and Local Housing Needs Assessment have also been published, due to the technical nature and length of the original documents. Summary pages are provided within the other documents to highlight their scope and purpose.