# Spatial Planning > An independent reference on Spatial Development Strategies in England. This is not a government website. Facts are compiled from legislation.gov.uk and GOV.UK. Dates matter: the SDS duty depends on commencement regulations, and the geography map is still a consultation proposal. Last page update: 2026-09-20 Canonical host: https://spatialplanning.uk Full text: https://spatialplanning.uk/llms-full.txt ## How to cite Name the page URL and the page 'as at' date. If this site and a primary source disagree, use the primary source. Pages are independent commentary, not official guidance. ## Hubs - [Basics](https://spatialplanning.uk/basics): Canonical definitions for Spatial Development Strategies and the bodies that prepare them. - [Participate](https://spatialplanning.uk/participate): What an SDS means for your area, and how to have a say when one is consulted on. - [The system](https://spatialplanning.uk/system): Statute, commencement, process, examination and transition. - [Geographies](https://spatialplanning.uk/geographies): Proposed SDS areas, the four consultation groups, and what is still undecided. - [Evidence](https://spatialplanning.uk/evidence): Appraisal, cumulative effects and the methods used at strategic scale. - [Outcomes](https://spatialplanning.uk/outcomes): Outcomes frameworks, indicators and worked templates for SDS monitoring. - [Templates](https://spatialplanning.uk/templates): Letters, checklists and framework packs you can copy or print. - [Resources](https://spatialplanning.uk/resources): Glossary, editorial standards and the update log. ## Pages - [About this site](https://spatialplanning.uk/resources/about): Spatial Planning is an independent reference on Spatial Development Strategies in England. It is not a government website and is not affiliated with MHCLG or the Planning Inspectorate. - [Cumulative impact assessment at strategic scale](https://spatialplanning.uk/evidence/cumulative-impact-assessment): There is no single UK method for cumulative effects. At SDS scale the relevant tests sit in SA/SEA, HRA in-combination assessment, and named professional guidance. Environmental Outcomes Reports are emerging, not yet the operating system. - [Editorial standards](https://spatialplanning.uk/resources/editorial-standards): How Spatial Planning sources claims, dates pages, and treats facts that are still open. - [How to respond to an SDS consultation](https://spatialplanning.uk/participate/how-to-respond-to-an-sds-consultation): A Spatial Development Strategy consultation is the point to influence broad locations, housing distribution and strategic infrastructure. It is not the point to argue about a single field. - [How to write one SDS outcome](https://spatialplanning.uk/outcomes/writing-an-outcome): Three worked rewrites from a vague vision sentence to a monitorable SDS outcome, with a measure, indicator and dataset. - [Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 — SDS provisions](https://spatialplanning.uk/system/planning-and-infrastructure-act-2025): Section 58 of the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 inserts the Spatial Development Strategy system into the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004. It sets who prepares an SDS, what it must contain, and what it must not do. - [Questions to take to an SDS drop-in](https://spatialplanning.uk/templates/drop-in-questions): A one-page list of process questions for residents attending an SDS exhibition or hearing. The sheet does not supply a position on any development. - [SDS consultation letter template](https://spatialplanning.uk/templates/consultation-letter): A plain-English letter for residents and parish councils responding to a draft Spatial Development Strategy. Adapt the square brackets. Do not treat this as legal advice. - [SDS evidence-base checklist](https://spatialplanning.uk/templates/evidence-base-checklist): A printable checklist for SDS evidence, built from NPPF PM1 and the usual appraisal stack. It is a working list, not official guidance. - [SDS glossary](https://spatialplanning.uk/resources/glossary): Short definitions of Spatial Development Strategy terms, linked to the statute or policy that uses them. - [SDS outcomes framework template](https://spatialplanning.uk/templates/outcomes-framework): A ten-theme working template for SDS objectives, outcomes, measures and indicators. Example wording only. Not official guidance. - [SDS process and timetable](https://spatialplanning.uk/system/process-and-timetable): From preparatory work to adoption and review. An SDS covers at least 25 years. Work on a replacement should start no later than seven years after adoption. - [SDS vs local plan](https://spatialplanning.uk/basics/sds-vs-local-plan): An SDS sets the strategic frame for a sub-region. A local plan allocates sites and sets detailed policy. After adoption, the local plan must be in general conformity with the SDS. - [What is a Spatial Development Strategy?](https://spatialplanning.uk/basics/what-is-a-spatial-development-strategy): A Spatial Development Strategy is a high-level spatial plan for a sub-region in England. It sets strategic land-use policy for local plans and cannot allocate individual sites. - [What is a strategic planning authority?](https://spatialplanning.uk/basics/strategic-planning-authority): The body with the duty to prepare a Spatial Development Strategy. In the 2025 Act that is a strategic planning board, a combined authority, a combined county authority, or (where none of those cover the area) an upper-tier county or unitary council. - [What is a strategic planning board?](https://spatialplanning.uk/basics/strategic-planning-board): A strategic planning board is a joint committee, created by regulations, that becomes the strategic planning authority for two or more principal authorities and prepares their SDS. - [What is an outcomes-based planning framework?](https://spatialplanning.uk/outcomes/what-is-an-outcomes-framework): An outcomes framework turns a spatial vision into objectives, outcomes, measures and indicators that can be monitored. Several UK examples exist. None is yet a required SDS template. - [What is general conformity?](https://spatialplanning.uk/basics/general-conformity): After an SDS is adopted, a local plan must be in general conformity with it. That is a soundness test for the local plan. The phrase is not defined at the margins. - [Worked example — ten outcomes for a growth-corridor SDS](https://spatialplanning.uk/outcomes/worked-example-growth-corridor): An illustrative set of ten written SDS outcomes for a sub-regional growth corridor, each with a measure, indicator and dataset. Example wording only. Not adopted policy.