Threshold for Design and Access Statements to be raised

The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) has published its response (10-page / 74KB PDF) to a consultation launched in January on proposals to streamline the planning application process.

The DCLG said that there had been strong support for the proposal to only require major planning applications and listed building consent applications to be accompanied by a Design and Access Statement.

"Reducing the number of applications that require a Design and Access Statement would remove statutory burdens on applicants, but it is not considered that this would be at the expense of good design and accessibility. As such, the proposal will be taken forward as consulted on," the response said.

The DCLG said that the changes would not affect an applicant's ability to explain or justify their design and neither would they alter a local planning authority's ability to apply its design and access policies when determining applications.

Under the proposals, lower thresholds would still apply in designated areas, including conservation areas and World Heritage Sites. The DCLG said that, in these areas, Design and Access Statements would still be required for applications for the provision of one or more dwellings or buildings with the creation of more than 100 square metres of floorspace.

Proposals to remove some of the requirements for the contents of Design and Access Statements, including explanations of certain specific design principles and details of access maintenance, will also be carried forward.

"Rather than watering down Design and Access Statements, we consider that the proposal would encourage a more proportionate approach to their preparation," the response said.

The Government will also introduce a new approach to validation of planning applications under which the information a local authority requires in an application must be relevant, necessary and material to the application.

The DCLG said that this could be beneficial for both applicants and local planning authorities in terms of reducing costs of administration and delays in validation.

The DCLG also said it would take forward the proposal to remove the requirement for local planning authorities to provide a written summary of reasons on decision notices when granting planning permission.

It said that planning officer reports and committee minutes would explain the full rationale of a decision and that the summary on decision notices therefore "adds little to the transparency or quality of the decision-making process".

Communities Secretary Eric Pickles said in a written statement that the new measures will come into force on 25 June.