The SDS will set out a long-term vision for future growth, establish a strategic framework for the development and use of land across the area. The SDS will be genuinely strategic in nature, allowing for more detailed issues to be dealt with at the individual local authority level.
This will provide a robust approach to place-based framework for growth and investment in Norfolk and Suffolk, integrating long term economic, social and environmental priorities with development and infrastructure, and in doing so will help create positive conditions for investors.
The spatial development strategy will support the delivery of sustainable growth by providing a coordinated approach to strategic issues, including homes, jobs, infrastructure, transport, climate resilience, and environmental enhancement. It will help ensure that decisions on future growth are aligned across Norfolk and Suffolk and informed by a shared understanding of opportunities and challenges facing the region.
The role of the SDS will reflect the Government's approach to strategic planning, providing a framework within which local plans can be prepared and implemented. It is important to note that whilst the SDS will have a central role in setting out the pattern of future growth, it will not allocate sites. The Local Plans will continue to identify and allocate sites for development but will have to be in ‘general conformity’ with the SDS.
Under the Government's devolution programme, responsibility for preparing, maintaining and reviewing the Spatial Development Strategy is expected to transfer to the future Norfolk and Suffolk Mayoral Strategic Authority (MSA) once established. The work currently being undertaken by Norfolk County Council and Suffolk County Council will provide an important foundation for the MSA in taking forward strategic planning across Norfolk and Suffolk.
