Conurbation to the west and north (4)
I believe the answer is:
town
'conurbation' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'to the west and north' is the wordplay.
'the west' becomes 'w' ('W' can be a synonym of 'west').
'and' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'north' becomes 'n' ('N' can be a synonym of 'north').
'to'+'w'+'n'='TOWN'
(Other definitions for town that I've seen before include "Small urban development" , "eg Yeovil" , "Carmathen?" , "eg Ripley" , "SECOND PART OF 17" .)