Design and Access Statement
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Design and Access Statements
What does a Design and Access Statement need to include?
There is a simple template you can use. You must include all the eight headings in the template;
- Use
- Amount
- Scale
- Layout
- Landscaping
- Appearance
- Access
- Developments within or affecting conservation area, a listed building or its setting, archaeologically sensitive areas, scheduled ancient monuments or historic parks and gardens
If the heading does not apply, please enter the words not applicable under that heading.
Do I need to include one with my application?
The short answer is 'yes', except for the following exemptions where a Design and Access Statement is NOT required:
- Householder developments (including flats), exempt unless in a Conservation Area.
- Change of Use
- Extensions to timelimits (i.e. where planning permission has already been granted)
- Applications for the removal or variation of conditions - exempt
- Non-domestic extensions less than 100sq m, exempt unless in a Conservation Area.
- Alterations that do not increase the size of a building, exempt unless in a Conservation area.
- Walls, fences, gates less than 2m high (or existing), exempt unless in a Conservation or with a Listed Building.
- Development on 'operational land' up to 15 cubic metres or 15m high.
For full details, see the Guidance on changes to the development control system and the CLG Guidance on information requirements and validation, published March 2010.
What are Design and Access Statements for?
The City Council must by law require a Design and Access Statement for certain types of planning application.
A Design and Access Statement is a short report supporting a planning application to illustrate the process that has led to the development proposal. It explains the proposal in a structured way. The level of detail depends on the scale and complexity of the proposal.
The Statement allows the Council to better understand the analysis that underpins the design, and how it contributes to quality, sustainability and inclusiveness.
The Statement must allow local communities, access groups and other stakeholders to understand how they are affected by the development without having to interpret technical or specialist documents that may be confusing.