Health Impact Assessment in Spatial Planning: a theory-building process evaluation of established practice in Wakefield District and Borough of Doncaster
Evaluation in progress, expected completion January 2027
At a glance
Spatial planning is about deciding where to build houses, shops, roads, schools, and parks. These choices help shape places where people live. In Doncaster and Wakefield, councils make these choices. The choices can affect health, for example through clean air, places to play, safe paths to walk or cycle, and good-quality homes.
The councils sometimes use something called a Health Impact Assessment (HIA). An HIA is a check that looks at how a new plan or building might affect people’s health. It also suggests ways to make plans healthier. Once completed, HIA findings should inform planning decisions about the design of schemes.
This study looks at how HIAs are used in real planning decisions. It looks at who uses them, how much they matter, and what can be learned for other places.
What does the research mean for Local Government?
This evaluation will help councils, planners, public health teams and others understand how HIAs can be used better to support health.
It will detail how the HIA process works in Doncaster and Wakefield and how it affects planning decisions.
How are the public involved in the evaluation?
A PHIRST South Bank public contributor helped shape the early design through workshops, contributing research questions and feedback on proposed methods. Building on this, we have recruited a panel of six public contributors from Doncaster and Wakefield who guide the scoping, development, and delivery of the evaluation. Panel members have helped refine the focus of the research, commented on public-facing summaries, and advised on priority issues. Throughout the project, the panel will meet regularly to review materials, shape recruitment and data collection approaches, discuss emerging findings, and support accessible and meaningful dissemination.
Evaluation details
What is HIASP
Health Impact Assessment in Spatial Planning (HIASP) is a structured process used within local council planning systems to consider how new developments may affect people’s health and wellbeing. When developers submit planning applications, they may be asked to complete a Health Impact Assessment (HIA) – which involves identifying positive and negative impacts of a development on health. This can include issues such as access to green space, housing quality, opportunities for physical activity, active travel routes, air quality, and access to local services. The aim is to help shape developments so that they support healthier communities and reduce health inequalities.
Why is HIASP being evaluated?
There is growing interest both nationally and internationally in using planning systems to promote health and wellbeing. However, there is limited research explaining how HIAs influence planning decisions in practice, and under what conditions they are most effective.
Wakefield and Doncaster have established HIASP systems, making them suitable settings to explore these questions. The evaluation aims to build a clearer explanation of how HIASP works in practice.
What are the key evaluation questions that are being explored?
This study asks: how and in what circumstances Health Impact Assessments help shape planning decisions and new developments so they better support people’s health. We will:
- Consider how HIAs operate in practice in Wakefield and Doncaster.
- Consider how stakeholders understand and engage with the HIA process.
- Identify the factors that support or hinder effective engagement.
- Assess how HIAs influence planning processes and development outcomes.
- Better understand the contextual conditions that shape their impact.
How is the evaluation being carried out?
The evaluation has three main strands:
Workshops and interviews with core teams in Wakefield and Doncaster to explore how HIASP is intended to work and how it operates in practice.
Interviews with a range of stakeholders, including planners, public health professionals, developers, planning committee members, and consultants, to gather different perspectives on the HIA process.
Document review and case studies, including analysis of submitted HIAs and planning documents, site visits to selected developments, and interviews or focus groups with community members connected to those developments.
How are the public involved?
A panel of local public contributors from Wakefield and Doncaster has already been involved in shaping the evaluation design and reviewing accessible summaries.
The panel will continue to meet during the study to:
- Review lay summaries and participant information materials
- Provide feedback on interview topics and recruitment approaches
- Discuss emerging findings
- Help shape dissemination materials
Community members will also be involved directly in selected case studies. Interviews or focus groups will explore their views on whether developments meet local health needs and whether HIAs reflect community concerns.
Local Government / Partner(s)
PHIRST South Bank
Dr Thomas Mills (lead), Dr Sophie Elsmore, Dr James Bishop, Apolonia Radomska, Rosie Dalton-Lucas, Pratima Singh, Patience Gansallo, Susie Sykes, Jane Wills, Emma Doohan, Anita Hoque
Contact: phirst@lsbu.ac.uk