The Town and Country Planning (General Development Procedure) (Amendment) (Wales) Order 2009

“Design and access statements: Wales4D.

(1)

This article applies to an application for planning permission which is not an application for planning permission for—

(a)

engineering or mining operations;

(b)

development of an existing dwellinghouse, or development within the curtilage of such a dwellinghouse for any purpose incidental to the enjoyment of the dwellinghouse as such; or

(c)

a material change in the use of land or buildings, provided that if the new use will necessitate access by an employee or involves the provision of services to the public or to a section of the public, with or without payment, then this article applies to the application as if—

(i)

in paragraph (3), for “a design and access statement” there were substituted “an access statement”;

(ii)

in paragraph (5), for “A design and access statement must, in relation to access,” there were substituted “An access statement must”; and

(iii)

paragraphs 3(a), (4) and (6) were omitted.

(2)

For the purposes of paragraph (1)(c) “the provision of services” includes the provision of any goods or facilities.

(3)

An application for planning permission to which this article applies must be accompanied by a statement (“a design and access statement”) explaining—

(a)

the design principles and concepts that have been applied to the development; and

(b)

how issues relating to access to the development have been dealt with.

(4)

A design and access statement must, in relation to design—

(a)

explain the design principles and concepts that have been applied to the following aspects of the development—

(i)

environmental sustainability;

(ii)

movement to, from and within the development;

(iii)

character; and

(iv)

community safety; and

(b)

demonstrate the steps taken to appraise the context of the development and how the design of the development takes that context into account in relation to its proposed use and each of the aspects specified in sub-paragraph (a).

(5)

A design and access statement must, in relation to access, explain—

(a)

the policy or approach adopted as to access and how policies relating to access in the development plan4 have been taken into account;

(b)

how any specific issues which might affect access to the development have been addressed; and

(c)

how features which ensure access to the development will be maintained.

(6)

In this article—

• “amount” means—

  1. (a)

     in relation to residential development, the number of proposed units for residential use; and

  2. (b)

     in relation to all other forms of development, the proposed floor space for each proposed use forming part of the development;

• “character” includes any landscaping comprised in the development and the amount, layout, scale and appearance of the development; and

• “context” means the physical, social, economic and policy context of the development.”.