Design Statements became mandatory from 1 June 2009. Planning and listed building consent applications (with defined exceptions) submitted after this date will require a Design, and an Access Statement to accompany the application. 

The guidance on design and access statements is contained in appendix 1 of the revised Technical Advice Note (TAN) 12 'Design' issued on 1 June 2009.

As a minimum the design and access statement should explain the concepts and principles in relation to:

ð Accessibility
ð Character (including amount, layout, scale, appearance and landscaping)
ð Community Safety
ð Environmental sustainability
ð Movement to, from and within the development

A DAS accompanying a listed building consent application must as a minimum explain the concepts and principles in relation to:

ð Appearance
ð Environmental sustainability
ð Layout
ð Scale

Legislation

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

ð The Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Amendment) (Wales) Regulations 2009 (external link)

Further Guidance

There are a number of documents and guidance notes to help you prepare a design and access statement these are available from the Downloads section on the right.  Additional guidance can also be downloaded in relation to Full, Outline and Listed Building Consent applications.

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Planning for Sustainable Buildings Leaflet - from 01.09.2009

The Welsh Assembly Government is committed to improving the sustainability of new buildings in Wales in order to reduce their impact on the environment and to tackle climate change. The Assembly Government published a new national planning policy that expects most new developments to meet a sustainable building standard as part of the planning application process.

View the download on the right to check if your planning proposal falls into the national planning policy threshold.