The next stage of consultation on the West Yorkshire Mass Transit: Spatial Development Framework Joint Development Plan Document is now open.
Leeds City Council is working with the other West Yorkshire local planning authorities, Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees and Wakefield, and the West Yorkshire Combined Authority to prepare a West Yorkshire-wide planning framework to support current and future phases of Mass Transit.
The Spatial Development Framework will help guide how land use, growth, regeneration, infrastructure and investment are coordinated with Mass Transit. Once adopted, it will form part of the statutory development plan for the participating authorities.
This framework will sit alongside Local Plans and, once adopted, will form part of the statutory development plan for each district.
This Regulation 19 consultation is the final opportunity to make representations on the Publication Draft before the document is submitted to the Secretary of State for independent examination:
At this stage, comments should focus on the plan as drafted and the legal compliance and soundness tests. This consultation does not decide specific Mass Transit routes or station locations, allocate housing or employment sites, change Green Belt boundaries, or set housing and employment growth targets.
You can comment on the Publication Draft Spatial Development Framework and the supporting documents. If you object to any part of the document, please explain why and, where possible, set out what change you think is needed to make it legally compliant or sound.
The consultation is open for 8 weeks, from Tuesday 4 August until 11:59pm on Sunday 27 September 2026.
The consultation material includes the Publication Draft Spatial Development Framework, Sustainability Appraisal, Habitats Regulations Assessment, Regulation 18 Consultation Statement, Viability Statement, supporting evidence, and Frequently Asked Questions.
Further information on how to respond and where to view the documents is available in the Statement of Representation Procedure.
The council has been working with the other 4 Local Planning Authorities in West Yorkshire — Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees and Wakefield — and the West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) to prepare the West Yorkshire Mass Transit: Spatial Development Framework Joint Development Plan Document. The Spatial Development Framework will provide a long-term, West Yorkshire-wide planning framework to support current and future phases of Mass Transit, helping to guide land use, growth, regeneration, infrastructure and investment. Once adopted, it will form part of the statutory development plan for the participating authorities.
The Publication Draft Spatial Development Framework follows earlier Regulation 18 consultation and engagement held between January and March 2026. Representations received have helped inform this formal Regulation 19 stage, which is the final opportunity to make representations before the document is submitted to the Secretary of State for independent examination.
Representations should focus on whether the Publication Draft Spatial Development Framework is legally compliant and sound. The soundness tests, set out in the National Planning Policy Framework, ask whether the plan is positively prepared, justified, effective and consistent with national policy.
Further guidance on legal compliance and soundness is available in the consultation material and national planning policy guidance at Gov.UK.
Representations are invited on the West Yorkshire Mass Transit: Spatial Development Framework Joint Development Plan Document Publication Draft for an eight-week period, starting on Tuesday 4 August and ending at 11:59pm on Sunday 27 September 2026.
This statement provides details on how to view the consultation documents and make representations.
The consultation documents include:
The consultation will be carried out having regard to the Leeds Statement of Community Involvement.
You will also be able to access the consultation material at libraries and community hubs, as well as at the council’s main office at Merrion House, 110 Merrion Way, Leeds, LS2 8BB.
This is an important stage in preparing the Spatial Development Framework. Everyone who wishes to make a representation should have the opportunity to do so. Representations should relate to whether the Publication Draft Spatial Development Framework is legally compliant and sound.
People can have their say on the Spatial Development Framework by using the online response form on the consultation site:
Alternatively, email: MassTransit@westyorks-ca.gov.uk
By post: Freepost, West Yorkshire Combined Authority (no stamp is needed)
This Regulation 19 representation period on the Publication Draft Spatial Development Framework will run until 11:59pm on Sunday 27 September 2026.
Please make sure your representation includes your name and contact details. Anonymous representations cannot be accepted.
If you have any questions, need to respond in a different way, or require consultation materials in another format, please phone 0113 245 7676 (Metroline — charged at the standard operator’s rate) or email MassTransit@westyorks-ca.gov.uk. Alternatively, you can email the Leeds Local Plans team at localplans@leeds.gov.uk.
If you make a representation, you may request to be notified at a specified email or postal address of any of the following:
(i) that the West Yorkshire Mass Transit: Spatial Development Framework Joint Development Plan Document has been submitted to the Secretary of State for independent examination;
(ii) the publication of the recommendations or report of the person appointed to carry out the independent examination; and
(iii) the adoption of the West Yorkshire Mass Transit: Spatial Development Framework Joint Development Plan Document.
To meet statutory planning requirements, Leeds City Council, the other West Yorkshire Local Planning Authorities and the West Yorkshire Combined Authority must make representations available for public inspection, including online and as part of the examination process. Your name and representation may be made public. Personal information not required by law, such as telephone numbers and signatures, will be removed where appropriate. Your information will be shared with the participating authorities, the West Yorkshire Combined Authority and professional advisers supporting the preparation and examination of the Spatial Development Framework. Anonymous representations cannot be accepted.
Further information about how your personal data will be used is available in the relevant privacy notices: the Leeds City Council Planning Privacy Notice and the West Yorkshire Combined Authority Your Voice Privacy Notice.
You can view the consultation material and submit your representation online through Your Voice.
Submit your representationVisit the dedicated consultation website to:
Printed copies can also be viewed at selected locations across West Yorkshire.
If you have questions, need materials in a different format, or want to respond in another way, please contact the West Yorkshire Combined Authority at MassTransit@westyorks-ca.gov.uk or call 0113 245 7676 (Metroline – standard operator rate).
Alternatively, you can contact the Leeds Local Plans team, localplans@leeds.gov.uk.
After the consultation closes, the Publication Draft Spatial Development Framework, the representations received, and the supporting documents will be submitted to the Secretary of State for independent examination.
An independent Planning Inspector will then consider whether the document is legally compliant and sound before any decision is made on adoption.
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