As part of the Government’s Planning & Infrastructure Bill, Spatial Development Strategies (SDSs) have been proposed as a new tool to drive joined-up planning across wider geographies. Prepared by Combined Authorities, these strategies are intended to coordinate housing, infrastructure, and economic growth at a regional level.
At first glance, SDSs offer a promising framework for unlocking strategic growth – but arrive in a complicated landscape of devolution, political fragmentation, and a mixed track record for timely delivery - the London Plan took over five years from draft to adoption, illustrating how lengthy and politically sensitive strategic planning can become.
A Sense of Déjà Vu
Early in my career, I contributed to drafting policies in the Regional Spatial Strategies – which were ultimately scrapped in 2012 by Eric Pickles as part of the Government of the day’s push for localism, aiming to reduce what was seen as top-down regional control and return planning powers to local authorities.
Recent government announcements promises to “fix” planning, boost housing delivery, and support infrastructure investment. But the reality is that planning reform remains complex, ongoing, and often opaque. Political tensions over Green Belt release and housing growth continue to stall progress.
The return to regional planning reflects a growing recognition that many of the UK’s growth challenges – from housing shortages to infrastructure gaps – simply can’t be solved within individual local authority boundaries. SDSs are intended to help unlock growth by enabling a more strategic, joined-up approach. However, their impact is likely to be medium to long-term, given the time it takes to develop consensus, align investment, and implement delivery on a regional scale.
Why Strategic Planning Matters
Despite these challenges, Prologis fully support the introduction of SDSs. A regional approach to planning could provide a clearer spatial vision across local authority boundaries as well as clearer alignment between infrastructure, housing delivery, and the needs of a modern, high-performing economy – including the Industrial Logistics sector.
SDSs offer a platform to connect and execute growth in a more holistic way to sustain long-term economic growth, providing earlier identification of strategic employment land and enabling more proactive investment decisions.
SDSs represent an opportunity to engage earlier in regional dialogue, shape emerging policy, and support the development of future-ready sites aligned with infrastructure and sustainability goals.
Importantly, SDSs are also expected to incorporate climate resilience, health and sustainability – aligning closely with our commitment to delivering the best logistics parks, built for long-term community value.
Barriers to Progress
However, strategic planning is rarely simple. We’ve seen that cross-boundary planning can become politically sensitive – particularly when it comes to deciding which authorities absorb housing or employment growth.
While tools like “Cross Boundary Needs Assessments” exist, achieving genuine agreement remains difficult. Stockport’s withdrawal from the Greater Manchester Places for Everyone Plan is a recent example of how local politics can undermine regional planning – even after years of collaboration. Whilst that plan has been successfully adopted it was many years in the making and tension remains at a local level.
Without clear incentives, statutory mandates or guidance, SDSs may be treated as optional, risking further delays – as seen with the prolonged development of the London Plan.
The Risk of Delays to Local Plans
Since SDSs are designed to sit above Local Plans, there is a risk that local planning authorities may pause or delay their plan-making while waiting for regional strategies to take shape – potentially creating more uncertainty in the short term.
The absence of clear statutory requirements and guidance can already lead to delays in plan-making processes. Uncertainty around ongoing planning reforms and the lack of up-to-date Local Plans has resulted in a sluggish planning system – something that directly hampers investment.
At Prologis, we rely on certainty in the planning system to make informed, long-term investment decisions. Without clear direction and timely local plans, opportunities to bring forward strategic employment land and support economic growth can be stifled and in the worst case missed.
Moving Forward
We are at a pivotal moment. SDSs could unlock the long-term, strategic planning England urgently needs – but only if they are backed by:
- Clear guidance and statutory weight
- Robust cross-party support
- A genuine commitment to collaboration across authorities
The next few years will determine whether SDSs become a real driver of coordinated growth – or another layer of complexity in an already fragmented system.
At Prologis, we’ll continue to engage with partners and policymakers to help shape regional strategies that unlock economic opportunity, drive sustainability, and deliver the logistics infrastructure the UK needs.