Strategic planning could better align infrastructure to development
From 26 November 2026, new regulations governing England’s strategic planning system come into force, establishing the process through which strategic planning authorities will prepare Spatial Development Strategies (SDSs).
This marks a significant change in how decisions about housing, employment, infrastructure and major growth locations will be made. It also creates another layer of politics for developers and investors to navigate.
A bigger growth picture
Spatial Development Strategies will establish the broad pattern of growth across areas spanning multiple councils. They will address how housing needs are distributed, where major development should be concentrated and what infrastructure is needed to support it.
They will not replace Local Plans. Detailed site allocations will remain a local responsibility, but Local Plans will need to be in “general conformity” with the adopted strategic framework. Once adopted, the SDS will also form part of the development plan used to determine planning applications.
For developers, the case for an application will increasingly need to extend beyond the boundaries of a single authority.
What happens next?
Existing strategic planning authorities such as WMCA will have 90 days to submit their first draft preparation timetable to Government. That makes late February 2027 the first key statutory deadline.
The process will involve preparing the evidence base, publishing a draft strategy for at least 12 weeks of consultation, considering representations and, normally, independent examination before adoption.
WMCA has already begun preparatory work. It previously indicated that consultation on a first draft could take place in 2027, with the full process potentially taking up to three years.
A real opportunity for the West Midlands
WMCA will lead preparation of the strategy covering Birmingham, Coventry, Solihull and the four Black Country authorities.
As a result. housing growth could be better aligned with rail and Metro investment. Employment development could be planned alongside the power capacity businesses require. Major regeneration could be considered across connected economic corridors, such as East Birmingham and North Solihull, rather than as separate projects within individual council boundaries.
There is also an opportunity to connect the region’s Growth Plan, Reindustrialisation Blueprint and investment programmes more closely with decisions about land and infrastructure. National policy explicitly expects strategic plans to establish this link between economic priorities and the geography of development.
For investors, this creates a stronger incentive to demonstrate how proposals contribute to regional growth.
Time to make the regional case
For major regeneration and investment, developers should be building a regional case alongside their local planning and community narrative.
A strong argument will explain how a project can meet local housing needs or provide accessible jobs while also strengthening a wider transport corridor, supply chain or innovation cluster.
It will also require greater collaboration between landowners and investors. Bringing sites together, sharing infrastructure and presenting a coordinated delivery programme could create a stronger proposition than promoting competing opportunities.
This will require earlier and more sustained engagement with mayors and combined authorities, alongside local councils and communities.