Draft Submission Plan (Regulation 19)
National and Regional Context for the New Plan Comment
National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF)
21.The latest NPPF was published in August 2026. It states that local plans being completed under the legacy system will be tested against the NPPF published in December 2024. Comment
22.However, whilst the plan itself will be tested against the 2024 NPPF, it is important to note that for development management purposes, the 2026 version will be the relevant NPPF for determining planning applications and appeals from the date it is published, i.e. from 17th August 2026 onwards. Comment
23.The practical consequence of this, is that this plan ought to take into account how planning applications will be treated under the 2026 NPPF. For example, if under the new NPPF a particular category of development is no longer constrained by Green Belt policies, then there is justification for it to be taken into account in the assumptions that underpin this plan. Comment
24.A key change in the 2026 NPPF is the introduction of National Development Management Policies (NDMPs), which are outlined further below. In some instances, the new NDMPs can usefully be informed by a local plan policy to aid implementation of the NDMP, and where this is appropriate an opportunity has been taken to complement the NDMP. They are not intended to duplicate, restate or be inconsistent with the NDMP. Comment
25.As a result of the above there are multiple references to both versions of the NPPF, but unless otherwise stated reference will be intended to be to the 2024 version. Comment
West Midlands Spatial Development Strategy
26.Until 2010 strategic planning was undertaken through the production of Regional Spatial Strategies, but these were then replaced with a duty-to-cooperate. This meant that Councils in the Housing Market Area[6] (HMA) would work together so that individual local plans would address the area’s needs, including the scale and distribution of growth. Comment
27.The Government is working towards reintroducing formal strategic planning across wider areas than individual local plans and it is expected that, at least in part, this will be achieved through the production of a Spatial Development Strategy (SDS) for the West Midlands. The West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) will be responsible for producing this plan. Comment
28.As the WMCA describes: Comment
A SDS is a long-term plan that set outs where new homes, jobs, transport and green spaces should go across the whole region. Instead of each council planning in isolation, it joins things up, so growth is balanced and makes sense across towns and cities.
It helps protect important natural habitats and green spaces while guiding investment into highly sustainable locations.
29.In July 2025 the WMCA Board approved the initiation of the project which includes establishing governance and working arrangements, a public and stakeholder engagement plan and the adoption of eight guiding principles to inform the development of the SDS at each stage. The intended timescale for the SDS is as follows[7]: Comment
- Summer 2025 – autumn 2026 – SDS initiation and scoping including: commissioning evidence base; establishing working groups and wider governance; and initial public & stakeholder engagement.
- Winter 2026 - spring 2027 – Issues and Options Consultation (following publication of regulations and guidelines).
- Summer – autumn 2027 – Publication of draft SDS and public consultation.
- Autumn 2027 – winter 2027 – Public examination.
- Spring/summer 2028 onwards – Adoption, monitoring and review.
30.As the regulations and guidelines for producing SDSs have still to be published, this timescale effectively remains provisional and will be subject to change. However, this has not prevented the WMCA from commencing preparation of the evidence base etc needed to support the strategy. Comment
31.The eight principles to guide the development of the SDS are as follows: Comment
- Co-development and Equality of participation - All LAs participate as equal partners with respect for different priorities and relationships.
- Timing and momentum - To set firm timelines against each milestone in line with the Regulations, whilst allowing sufficient space and time for internal discussions on all aspects of the SDS.
- Infrastructure First – growth must be supported by the guarantee of provision of transport, energy, green and blue infrastructure and social infrastructure. The SDS can make this explicit in terms of timing and costs associated with different growth options.
- Brownfield First – the SDS must maximise the use of previously developed land consistent with national and local priorities. However, alternative sources of land supply will be required to be identified given anticipated levels of need and finite availability of sites within the existing urban area. There will need to be a consistent approach to any greenfield or Green Belt release activity, and an opportunity to give priority to suitable sites in highly sustainable locations.
- Enhancing the functions of green spaces - the SDS must recognise the strategic importance of green open spaces in the West Midlands and establish a consistent and positive approach to Green Belt land beyond the principal planning purposes of preventing urban sprawl and the merging of towns. The SDS should seek to enhance the wider functions of green open spaces, including giving priority to i) protecting and enhancing natural habitats and promoting biodiversity, ii) enabling access to recreational land, iii) protecting and establishing carbon-sequestering land uses, and iv) recognising that successful growth and the promotion of the region requires these spaces.
- Additionality to local plans – the SDS must provide additionality to and not replicate the content of Local Plans produced by the local authorities. The SDS must also be sufficiently detailed to enable Local Plans to understand the implications of the SDS policies and proposals for application at the local level, for example in relation to the identification of growth areas and infrastructure.
- Evidence-led – the SDS must be based on a comprehensive and robust evidence base, with all policies and proposals fully justified and capable of withstanding challenge at examination.
- Integration – the SDS must be fully integrated with and support the delivery of key national, regional and local priorities and programmes, most significantly in relation to the Local Transport Plan, Regional Energy Strategy, Local Nature Recovery Strategy and the Local Growth Plan (regional industrial strategy).
32.Local plans within the area covered by the SDS will be expected to be in general conformity with it. This means that the scale of growth to be included in local plans will be largely determined by the SDS. Comment
33.It is anticipated that an SDS would be adopted by a simple majority vote of the constituent authorities with the West Midlands Mayor having a casting vote in the event of a tie. Comment
Duty to Cooperate (DtC)
DtC and Local Plans
34.Plans prepared under the current plan-making arrangements were required to fulfil both a legal and policy test in order to demonstrate that the Council has fulfilled its duty to cooperate obligations. Important updates with regard to the DtC were given by way of letters from the Minister of State for Housing and Planning to the Planning Inspectorate dated 9th October 2025 and 27th November 2025. Comment
35.This includes the following from the October letter: Comment
“We have also been clear about the importance of effective strategic planning across local planning authority boundaries, both to support the effective distribution of housing across appropriate geographies and also provide high-level frameworks for infrastructure investment. I look forward to welcoming the development of Spatial Development Strategies across England following the passage of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill.
In advance of the new plan-making system and mechanisms for cross-boundary cooperation coming into force, the final set of local plans being delivered within the current system remain essential to facilitating the effective delivery of housing, jobs and infrastructure. It is therefore critical that Inspectors approach examinations of current system plans with the appropriate degree of flexibility. The evidencing of expectations to establish whether the legal and soundness tests have been met – including with respect to the Duty to Cooperate – should be proportionate to the context in which plans in the existing system are being prepared.”
36.This includes the following from the November letter: Comment
“The new plan-making system provided by the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023 does not include the Duty. Instead, the new system will rely on revised national policy and the new tier of strategic planning to ensure effective co-operation between plan-making authorities. The Regulations for the new system will also ‘save’ the current plan-making system for a period to allow emerging plans to progress to examination by 31 December 2026. Given the above, and to help drive local plans to adoption as quickly as possible and progress towards our objective of universal local plan coverage, we have decided not to ‘save’ the Duty, thereby removing this requirement for plans in the current system.
The Duty will therefore cease to apply when the Regulations come into force early next year, including for plans at examination at that point. On the basis of the government’s firm intention to abolish the Duty for the current system, examining Inspectors may wish to begin any necessary dialogue with LPAs in advance of the Regulations coming into effect, with reference to this letter. Of course, LPAs should continue to collaborate across their boundaries, including on unmet development needs from neighbouring areas and Inspectors should continue to examine plans in line with the policies in the NPPF on ‘maintaining effective co-operation’”.
37This approach is particularly noteworthy for plans being brought forward under the legacy system as it signals a degree of pragmatism around the DtC and that, depending on circumstances, the role SDS’s will have with regard to ensuring cross boundary collaboration takes place. Comment
38Subsequently, the regulations[8] that came into force on 25 March 2026 formally removed the legal basis for demonstrating compliance with the duty for plans in the current system. However, the soundness test to DtC remains. Comment
DtC and Strategic Plans
39.An important part of the new plan-making arrangements will be how the DtC will work between SDS areas. This is particularly important in the West Midlands as the area to be covered by the SDS is only part of the functional Housing Market Area. Comment
The Council’s Approach to the DtC
40.Whilst there is some certainty about what the development needs of the Borough are (for example the housing need considered in a later chapter), there is current uncertainty about how this figure will be influenced by the WMSDS. In this respect the SDS may result in a lower need for Solihull; or it may conclude that it is appropriate for Solihull to accommodate just its own needs; or it may seek that Solihull provides for more than its own needs. Comment
41.Furthermore, plan preparation by other Council’s, both in the CA area and wider Housing Market Area may have implications in this respect. For instance, some of the Black Country authorities have indicated that they will be unable to accommodate all of their own growth longer term but have recently brought forward new Local Plans under a legacy style approach, which in some cases have not included the release of Green Belt land. With regards Birmingham City Council’s latest plan, this accommodates all of their own needs (following the changes to the Standard Methodology for housing requirements) but does not make any Green Belt land release to accommodate unmet needs arising elsewhere in the HMA. Birmingham and the Black Country authorities will all be preparing a new plan under the new planning system in due course, which will ensure full conformity with the SDS. Comment
42.As noted above, the approach to the duty-to-cooperate has changed for plans being brought forward under the legacy system with the legal test falling away; and the greater flexibility Inspectors are encouraged to take. This is in the context that the new plan-making system will rely on the new tier of strategic planning to ensure effective co-operation between plan-making authorities. Comment
43.It is in this context that the Council’s is bringing forward a plan under the legacy plan-making system and will plan positively to establish a strategy that can accommodate its own needs. The Council will continue to positively engage with other authorities, both within the WMCA area and wider Housing Market Area, to bring forward the first SDS for the West Midlands. It is believed that this would be the most appropriate mechanism for addressing any unmet needs that can’t be met in situ in other areas, in a consistent, comprehensive and more robust manner. Comment
44.The Council consider that on the basis that it is planning to accommodate all of its own needs and is not seeking to rely on any other authority or authorities to help it meet its needs, that this represents an appropriate approach to a legacy plan pending the development of the SDS. Comment
45.The Council acknowledges that the approach in this plan may mean that when the WMSDS makes more certain progress, and for example, demonstrates with robust evidence that Solihull ought to accommodate more than just it’s owns needs, this may be a trigger for bringing forward a new plan more quickly than would otherwise have been the case[9]. Comment
Cross Boundary Impacts from Developments
46.On-going engagement with neighbouring authorities will continue to address and mitigate the impacts of cross-boundary growth. Comment
[6] The following authorities are located in the HMA: Birmingham, Bromsgrove, Cannock Chase, Dudley, Lichfield, North Warwickshire (also in Coventry & Warwickshire HMA), Redditch, Sandwell, Solihull, South Staffordshire, Stratford-on-Avon (also in Coventry & Warwickshire HMA), Tamworth, Walsall and Wolverhampton.
[7] WMCA web site as of September 2026.
[8] The Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2026 (SI 2026/186).
[9] Under the new plan-making arrangements, the Council would ordinarily need to commence plan-making for a new plan in order for it to be adopted within 5 years of the adoption of this plan. This paragraph acknowledges that, depending on the content of the SDS, work on a new plan may need to be commenced sooner.
