Guidance

Guidance: spatial development strategy accessibility coronavirus (COVID-19)

Updated 22 July 2020

Applies to England

1. How could the Greater London Authority (GLA) make arrangements to access published spatial development strategies where they cannot provide physical documentation?

Section 21 of the Business and Planning Act temporarily removes the requirements on the Mayor of London (in section 43 Greater London Authority Act 1999) to make the current spatial development strategy (“the Strategy”) available for physical inspection and to provide a hard copy on request. This is provided the current version of the Strategy is available for inspection free of charge by appropriate electronic means.

The Strategy must be available for electronic inspection in a reasonably convenient way. This is likely to be on its public website. However, the GLA are also strongly encouraged to supplement this to increase access by making use of electronic methods to their full potential. Examples of best practice in this regard include:

• Providing effective compatibility between the online versions of the Strategy and voice assistance tools
• Using various online tools, social media tools and apps effectively
• Ensuring the Strategy has a fixed URL to make it easier to find via search engines
• Ensuring each policy in the Strategy also has a fixed URL, so they are more easily shared
• Providing web-based versions of the Strategy (in addition to any PDF) so that they can be read easily on a variety of devices.

This list is neither prescriptive nor exhaustive and the GLA are encouraged to experiment with what works best for their communities.

The overall aim of the above could be to minimise the number of persons in London that are unable to access the Strategy by reasonably convenient electronic means.

2. How could the Greater London Authority make arrangements for appropriate mitigation where persons are not able to access the spatial development strategy by electronic means or are finding it difficult to do so?

The GLA will also need to take reasonable steps to ensure sections of the community that don’t have access to the spatial development strategy (“the Strategy”) by electronic means are not unduly prevented from accessing the Strategy if they wish to.

In order to assist sections of the community that don’t have access to the Strategy by reasonably convenient electronic means and wish to view the published Strategy, the GLA may wish to consider making arrangements with representative groups and providing information by telephone or in writing where this is feasible and alternatives cannot be identified. As is the case regarding electronic methods, these examples are not prescriptive nor exhaustive and the GLA are encouraged to experiment with what works best for their communities.

The GLA could assess mitigation measures by giving reasonable consideration of:

(a) Who would likely have publicly accessed the Strategy at principal offices, other such places the Mayor considers appropriate or have requested a copy of the Strategy for a charge but cannot access the Strategy by electronic means?

(b) Who could mitigation measures be targeted at based on the consideration of a)? This could take into account the expected outcomes of any measures to minimise the number of persons unable to access the Strategy by reasonably convenient electronic means.

(c) What services or measures could the GLA put in place to meet the needs of those in the community identified as finding it difficult to access the Strategy by electronic means?