Metro Mayor and South Glos leader in row over Spatial Development Strategy concerns

South Gloucestershire Council leader Councillor Toby Savage blames metro mayor Dan Norris for pressing ahead with the blueprint for the region’s future, called the Spatial Development Strategy (SDS), without crucial input from the local authority.

He says the West of England Combined Authority (Weca), which is run by the regional Labour mayor, is taking a “mushroom farming approach” by preparing the complex document in “darkness and secrecy” and says the impact on the district could be calamitous.

Mr Norris has dismissed the claims and says big choices are needed to make sure homes built over the coming years are in communities with good transport links and close to jobs.

But Conservative Councillor Savage said time was already running out to ensure the SDS, which will set out broad locations where new houses and flats will go across the Weca area – comprising Bristol, Bath & North East Somerset and South Gloucestershire – over the next 20 years, was fit for purpose.

He said: “The concerns boil down to a lack of engagement between the councils and Weca, particularly at the strategic level.

“Bearing in mind that SDS decisions will be taken by the Weca committee and therefore the leaders of each of the councils plus the Weca mayor, you would have expected there to have been more discussions between the leaders and mayors as the SDS has evolved.

“But to my immense frustration that has not happened and indeed meetings that had been planned get cancelled at the 11th hour.

“It feels that Weca is taking a mushroom farming approach to the preparation of the SDS – working on this in darkness and in secrecy.”

Councillor Savage said he was very concerned about the consequences.

“Does it mean South Gloucestershire is likely to see an unsustainable housing target foisted upon it?” he asked.

“Does that in turn mean we’re going to have to approve all manner of different big development sites to meet that number?

“Are we going to be able to do that in a sustainable way? Is the infrastructure funding going to come with that?

“How does that measure up against our climate emergency commitments?

“It’s enormously concerning to the residents who live in communities where there is interest from developers.

“The risk is that at the 11th hour an SDS document will be presented to the Weca committee of which members of that committee have had little or no involvement in it.”

Councillor Savage said the decision to approve the draft document had to be unanimous, so if one of the council leaders did not support it then it could not proceed to the 12-week public consultation, currently set for this spring, and public examination by planning inspectors, in spring 2023.

He said this made the need for regular, collective discussions so important.

It was the rejection of the previous regional blueprint for 105,000 homes, the Joint Spatial Plan, by government inspectors in 2019 that led to its replacement, the SDS, which will have roughly the same number but could be up to 20,000 more or less, depending on government calculations.

Cllr Savage said Mr Norris should be arranging talks with the three council leaders but that there had been only a “five-minute discussion with him on the SDS in the last five months”.

“Bringing forward inclusive, sustainable developments is a shared regional goal. His reluctance to meet on a regular basis is putting all of that at risk,” he said.

“If we don’t get the SDS then we won’t be able to achieve the sustainable development that we want to see across South Gloucestershire and the wider region.

“The communities that are connected with proper infrastructure, that have high environmental standards, where we can learn the lessons of the past and really raise the standards of development we see coming forward, we can achieve that if we are united as a region.

“But at the moment we’re not united because we’re not having those discussions and that is a great shame.

“That sort of damaging legacy is a very real prospect.”

South Gloucestershire Council cabinet member for regeneration, environment and strategic infrastructure Cllr Steve Reade said the SDS had only a 50/50 chance of succeeding.

The Tory councillor said: “For some considerable time I and my fellow members have been calling for a leaders and mayors meeting to take place so we get that assurance we are heading in the right direction.

“We recognise this is a desperately important document and therefore it needs that level of scrutiny and reassurance.”

He said if the SDS was not approved, the fallback would be each council’s local plan which would “generate a lot of legal wrangling and challenge from developers”, and that even if the SDS was agreed, it might not hold up to scrutiny.

“Because of the direction of funding, in all likelihood if the SDS falters we will still need to produce a local plan but the risk is we will have more difficult access to the infrastructure funding and the supported bus funding that will make those developments, wherever they may be, sustainable,” Cllr Reade added.

Asked to respond to their concerns, Mr Norris said: “My starting point here is really simple, there is an affordable housing crisis.

“I want to make sure that there are more places that local people can call home.

“But this needs to be realistic – you can’t just plonk theoretical houses on a map – we need homes in communities with decent transport links and close to jobs. That will involve big choices.

“We also need a focus on homes that are affordable to run. Gas, electric and oil prices are going through the roof.

“I truly fear we are going back to the bad old days that we had under the last Conservative government where you would open a door and be met by a draught of cold air and people made impossible decisions between heating and eating.”

The SDS will cover the period 2022 to 2041, with a review partway through.