Planning & Design Statements

Circular 1/06 says that a statement must be submitted with most planning applications (except some householder applications, minerals or engineering works or changes of use). Mercury Planning can work with designers to prepare such statements.

The design element — which should show the process that has been gone through and explain the scheme in terms of its:

• Amount — how much would be built on the site.
• Use — what buildings and spaces will be used for.
• Layout — how the buildings and public and private spaces will be arranged on the site and the relationship between them and the buildings and spaces around the site.
• Scale — how big the buildings and spaces would be (their height, width and length).
• Landscaping — how open spaces will be treated to enhance and protect the character of a place.
• Appearance — what the building and spaces will look like, for example, building materials and architectural details
• The access element — which should include details of consultations done.
• Vehicular and transport links — why the access points and routes have been chosen, and how the site responds to road layout and public transport provision.
• Inclusive access — how everyone can get to and move through the place on equal terms regardless of age, disability, ethnicity or social grouping.

Statements can go a lot further if the applicant wants. The local authority may also want particular covered. For example, in some areas statements need to explain their scheme in terms of sustainable design and/or crime prevention.

The applicant must show that they have followed a rigorous design process in drawing up the application scheme. This is where the statement can particularly useful. The statement can clearly explain what the applicant thinks the local context is, what they consider important about it, and how the scheme responds to this. Many authorities have their own views and guidance on the form of design statements.

Statements can also be a useful way of checking that the applicant and the authority think that the same policies and objectives apply to the site. Although statements should not simply repeat policies in PPSs or LDFs, they should explain how the scheme meets policy objectives.