Design & Access Statement

A Design and Access Statement will be required for all planning applications except for:

• a material change in the use of land or buildings, unless it also involves operational development
• engineering or mining operations
• development of an existing dwelling house, or development within the curtilage of a dwelling house for any purpose incidental to the enjoyment of the dwelling house, where no part of that dwellinghouse or curtilage is within a designated area. 'Designated area' includes all conservation areas, Sites of Special Scientific Interest and World Heritage Sites
• advertisement control, tree preservation orders or storage of hazardous substances

Important Note.

This means that:

• all householder applications affecting a dwelling within the Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage Site or any of the seven Conservation Areas within Borough of Telford & Wrekin will require a Design and Access Statement. Further details can be found on our conservation area page
• all applications for Listed Building Consent require a Design and Access Statement

What is a Design and Access Statement?

A Design and Access Statement is a report which explains the design thinking behind an application, in order to demonstrate that the applicant has thought carefully about how everybody will be able to use the places they want to build and how the proposed design is appropriate to its surrounding area.

For most straightforward applications, the statement can be short, whereas more complicated applications will require a detailed report.

There is no specfic format to it and there is no special form you need to fill in. Each statement should be individual and relevant to the application and can contain plans or photographs if appropriate.

The Council has produced simple guidance notes to help you understand what information should be provided.

Further information on this is given in 'Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) Circular 01/2006' - Guidance on changes to the Development Control system and in the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) publication 'Design and Access Statements' - How to write: read and use them".

Amendment to the process of outline planning applications.

From 10th August 2006 , amendments to the GDPO regulations modify the outline planning regime in relation to the information to be provided at the outline planning stage and the matters that may be reserved.

Outline applications allow the decision on general principles of how a site can be developed and are typically used where applicants are looking for a formal agreement concerning the amount and nature of development that can take place on site prior to preparing detailed proposals.

The amendments made to the GDPO, when taken alongside the requirement to submit a design and access statement, mean that outline applications will have to demonstrate more clearly that the proposals have been properly considered in light of relevant planning policies and the site's constraints and opportunities.

Outline permission is granted subject to a condition requiring the subsequent approval of one or more reserved matters. Reserved matters previously consisted of siting, design, external appearance, means of access and the landscaping of the site.

The amendments made to the General Permitted Development Order 1995 (GDPO) state that reserved matters will now need to include:

• layout - the way that buildings, routes and open spaces are provided within the development and their relationship to buildings and spaces outside the development
• scale - the height, width and length of each building proposed in relation to its surroundings
• appearance - the aspects of a building or place which determine the visual impression it makes, excluding the external built form of the development
• access - this covers accessibility to and within the site for vehicles, cycles and pedestrians in terms of the positioning and treatment of access and circulation routes and how these fit into the surrounding access network
• landscaping - the treatment of private and public space to enhance or protect the amenity of the site through hard and soft measures. For example, through planting trees or hedges or screening by fences or walls

Due to these amendments there has been a change in the level and type of information needed to validate outline planning applications, including the layout of application forms.

A design and access statement must contain details of the use and the amount of development proposed as a minimum.

An outline planning application should as a minimum always include information on each of the following:

• use - the identification of the proposed use of the development and the identification of any distinct development zones within the site
• amount of development - the amount of development proposed for each use (shown as a measurement of floor space)
• indicative layout - a plan showing the layout of any separate development zones within the site boundary
• scale - an indication of the upper and lower limits for the height, width and length of each building within the site boundary
• indicative access points - a plan showing the proposed access(es) to the site

Advice and guidance notes for Design & Access Statements.