The end of the West of England Joint Spatial Plan

It now looks like it might be the end of the road for the West of England Joint Spatial Plan (JSP). This is after Bath and North East Somerset Council voted unanimously to pull out of the Joint Spatial Plan (JSP) on the 16^th January 2020, following in the footsteps of North Somerset Council.

A Bath and North East Somerset Council spokesperson said, “We remain committed to working with our three neighbouring West of England councils and the West of England Combined Authority on the best way forward.”

Following years of costly collaboration between the four neighbouring unitary authorities of Bristol City, South Gloucestershire, North Somerset and Bath & North East Somerset councils, the Joint Spatial Plan was rejected by the planning inspectors last summer.

Planning Potential’s Bristol office submitted representations during the process which commented on the soundness of the JSP and highlighted concerns.

Government officials reprimanded the four authorities for trying to make the evidence fit into their housing, jobs and infrastructure strategy for the next two decades, rather than being led by it, and ordered them to go back to the drawing board.

“We conclude that robust evidence has not been provided to demonstrate that the 12 SDLs [Strategic Development Locations] proposed in the plan have been selected against reasonable alternatives on a robust, consistent and objective basis”, the Inspectors wrote in September. “Consequently, given that the SDLs are an integral part of the plan’s spatial strategy, we cannot conclude that the spatial strategy is itself sound.”

The Inspectors recommended that “Whilst ultimately this is a matter for the Combined Authority and Councils, it seems to us that the process of preparing and examining this suite of plans and strategies could well be very complex, potentially confusing to the public and unwieldy and would be likely to delay, rather than accelerate, the planning and delivery of new development across the Combined Authority area and North Somerset. With this in mind, now might be an appropriate time for the Councils and Combined Authority to consider whether the currently envisaged approach in respect of the SDS [Spatial Development Strategy], JSP and local plans continues to be the most appropriate.” It looks like the Councils are following this advice and will now concede a new approach is required.

The JSP looked set to be the first such joint planning approach in the UK, which would take into account the impact that development in one area has across council boundaries. It was intended to sit above and guide each council’s own Local Plans.

The aim was to set out the policies and principles that would be applied in determining the most appropriate and sustainable locations for future development and focus on the long-term housing and infrastructure needs of the west of England to 2036.

A dozen sites across the authorities had been identified for a total of 105,000 new homes in Strategic Development Locations (SDLs).

Earlier this month, North Somerset Council became the first to officially pull the plug on the JSP and instead push ahead with its own Local Plan. South Gloucestershire Council also look like they are set to formally withdraw from the Joint Spatial Plan (JSP) at full council next month. Bristol City Council are yet to announce a decision on the Joint Spatial Plan, but it is clear that there now needs to be a wider discussion about the return of regional level planning guidance and its effectiveness.

If you believe the above information will affect you and you need assistance with this, please get in touch with our London office on 020 7357 8000, or our Bristol office on 0117 214 1820.

James Tavernor, Planner