PAS SDS Good Practice Tips for effective working between Strategic and Local Planning Authorities

• Establishing collaborative relationships between officers – There are a range of practices across the different areas with the established mayoral combined authorities (MCAs) having more established cross authority working whilst others already have different types of  cross authority meetings. There was consensus between all areas, that collaborative working and building trust is essential for effective strategic working.  

  All agreed the need to consider reviewing and streamlining current meetings.

  All areas also experienced challenges with resourcing and finding time to directly support SDS readiness and preparation. 

• Setting up robust and streamlined governance – good practice agreed was a need to codify governance with terms of reference (ToRs) for officer and member groups. This included clear decision-making routes, voting and assurance steps, and defining the secretariat support for governance. Key learning was to reset and streamline where needed.
• Build a clear SDS narrative for members. This should set out why an SDS is important for delivering coordinated investment, homes, jobs and infrastructure and ensure development is in the right places and delivering local priorities (doing the heavy lifting).
• Strong Leadership from Heads of Planning, Senior Management Teams and Senior Councillors is important to drive forward the SDS. Identify a senior responsible officer and resources. 

West of England CA, where there are sensitivities and a need to be clear and open about future governance of the SDS. In response, WECA officers spent time developing governance proposals, briefing councillors and seeking formal agreement at the relevant committee.

Essex is currently working with councils and political leaders across all authorities to raise the profile of the SDS and secure the resources and skills needed to support work.

• Focus on common ground between authorities – use tools such as statements of common ground and memoranda of understanding. Remembering that compromise may not always be found between authorities on specific issues.
• Interim strategic policy and guidance. Some workshop areas proposed the solution of preparing an interim SDS focused on narrowly defined policy areas to help guide emerging local plans. Alternatively, where agreed, some workshop areas are considering using existing strategy documents or strategic growth frameworks as initial guides for new style local plans being prepared before and concurrently with SDSs. Future versions of the SDS will be able to take a broader approach and be more comprehensive.
• Starting the audit of Local Plan timelines and content in the strategic area now and then look to align later if and when possible.
• Alignment practices where LPs largely new system and SDS still being prepared. 

Liverpool City Region Combine Authority (LCRCA) has used Statements of Common Ground to support SDS preparation combined with working with Local Planning Authorities.  This is an approach that can work with all stages of local plans.

LCRCA – is updating the emerging SDS (in line with housing needs in 2024 NPPF) whilst Local Plans in the city region will be in the new system so will require guidance now from an SDS. To address this, the LPAs are working closely together with LCRCA to ensure that emerging policy is aligned (see evidence preparation below).

• Joint evidence and mapping with clear separation of SDS and LP evidence. Coordinate joint evidence commissioning (such as transport and viability) and agree update cycles for shared models and agree assumptions early.
• Shared Evidence Hub: common data standards, matrices of who owns what, pooled commissioning, and digital sharing protocols (see SDS Readiness Guide and Toolkit).
• Investing in digital readiness — GIS, databases, mapping and sharing tools.
   

Essex – is part of the devolution priority programme – so is not yet a combined strategic authority. It’s made up of twelve local planning authorities (two of them being Unitaries). Of these, 9 are aiming for local plan submission in the current system, so officers are focused on progressing this work. The approach taken has been for one authority, Essex County Council, to take the lead role in early stages of SDS preparation. This includes an audit of local plans, data harvesting from LPAs, setting up governance structures, preparing topic papers and securing additional resources to support SDS.

 
LCRCA and North-East CA – both mayoral combined authorities have taken the approach of joint evidence base commissioning. In LCRCA, each authority has a lead role in specific topic areas.

• Prepare an SDS narrative and early vision to improve member understanding and support and frame long term choices.  
• Emphasise SDS as tool to secure strategic investment and protection — it’s not just about housing numbers. A strong and clear narrative is required specific to each area. Build a narrative not only about the requirements for an SDS – also focus on positives (securing investment, new homes, affordable homes, jobs, better infrastructure and delivering strategic priorities).
• Cascade engagement and narrative between officers, senior managers and leaders and members. Share these with residents.
• Infrastructure Provider and Statutory Consultee Protocol – set out expectations, response times, escalation and alignment with infrastructure priorities. 

• SDSs are important in aligning housing, jobs, transport, environment and infrastructure helping deliver a range of existing combined authority spatial objectives.
• It can provide a coordinating role in delivering infrastructure and investment particularly where several authorities in the strategic area are planning new settlements
• SDS as a tool to do the heavy lifting for local plans
• SDSs used to re-balance development between constrained areas and areas with capacity.
• SDS as a protection tool.
• The benefits of an SDS can be illustrated by monetising its impact – for example, the value of investment and cost of development and infrastructure levered into the area.
• SDSs can be used to target infrastructure funding and focus on priorities to unblock infrastructure bottlenecks.

• Identify the lead officer to provide SDS leadership, drive and momentum
• Identify support resources now to support SDS meetings, governance and SDS preparation.
• Skills Audit - Carry out a skills audit of the relevant authorities to identify resources and skills needed for SDS preparation.
• Officer Meetings – Set up or use existing Officer and Heads of Planning meetings across the area. Make changes to these to include upper tier authorities and ensure that strategic planning and SDS preparation is embedded as a standing item. Use meetings to develop a cross authority collaborative culture. Ensure there are clear terms of reference and the meetings are supported and resourced. For example, Essex has set up an SDS Officer Steering Group representing all authorities.
• Building a collaborative culture, momentum and trust - such as, joint training and events.
• Ensure senior councillors are engaged in strategic planning – and there are early mechanisms for engagement and governance. Where appropriate, engage with mayoral candidates.
• Develop Governance and decision-making processes
• Create an SDS narrative that will ensure the SDS is prioritised by senior managers and councillors. Share this with Heads of Planning and cascade it to senior managers, leaders and members. This will help with the case to resource and support SDS delivery during LGR and devolution transitions.
• Start now:
  Audit Local Plan positions now within the proposed and/or emerging strategic planning area.
  Start analysis of shared evidence bases underpinning Local Plans across the proposed/emerging strategic.
  Invest in digital readiness