Design and Access Statements

For most planning applications (not including house extensions unless located within a Conservation Area) and applications for Listed Building Consent received on or after 10 August 2006, there is a requirement to submit a Design and Access Statement before the application can be registered.

A Design and Access Statement is a report accompanying and supporting a planning application or application for listed building consent to illustrate the process that has led to the development proposal, and to explain and justify the proposal in a structured way.

Statements should include a written description and justification of the planning application. Sometimes photos, maps and drawings may need to further illustrate the points made. It is important that they are written specifically for the application they accompany and should demonstrate how the proposal has evolved taking account of the particular constraints and opportunities of the site and its surrounds. They should also show how the applicant has thought carefully about how everyone including disabled people, older people and very young children, will be able to use the places they want to build.

Important guidance in respect of what to include in your statement and how it should be structured can be found in the following documents:

• |Governments (DCLG) Circular 01/2006, and
• |CABE (Construction of Architecture and the Built Environment): Design and Access Statements - How to write, read and use them.

What happens to my application if I do not submit a Design and Access Statement in the prescribed format?
The application will not be registered and validated and therefore cannot be considered by the Council.

At what stage will I have to submit a Design and Access Statement with my planning application?
At the same time as the application forms, fees and plans are submitted to the council.

Which applications require a Design and Access Statement?
A Design and Access Statement will be required for all planning applications except for:

• Extensions to an existing dwelling house or an outbuilding within the curtilage (garden) unless located within a Conservation Area.
• A material change in use of land or buildings, unless it also involves operational (built) development.
• Engineering or mining operations.

Should you require further advice on Design and Access Statements please contact |Planning Services.