Independent reference · not a government website

England

Spatial Planning

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

Editorial standards

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If a consultation has closed but the outcome is unpublished, say that.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paper has been replaced (for example the shift from a 20-year to a 25-year SDS period), say that the older paper is out of date on that point.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

  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. National Planning Policy Framework — Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, 17 August 2026. Replaces earlier NPPF versions. Plan-making policies include PM1 (SDS content) and PM14 (SDS examination).
  3. Areas for producing spatial development strategies — MHCLG, 12 February 2026. Non-statutory consultation, 12 February to 26 March 2026. Outcome awaited as at 20 September 2026.

Related