Design & Access Statements

Statements are documents that explain the design thinking behind a planning application. For example, they should show that the person applying for permission (the applicant) has thought carefully about how everyone, including disabled people, older people and very young children, will be able to use the places they want to build. Statements should include a written description and justification of the planning application. Sometimes photos, maps and drawings may be needed to further illustrate the points made.

They will be available alongside the application for anyone to see, so should avoid jargon or overly technical language. It is important that they are written specifically for the application they accompany. They need not be very long, but the amount of detail they contain should reflect how complex the application is. So, a statement for a major development is likely to be much longer than one for a single building. 

For further information on statements relating to the Historic Environment please visit our Conservation pages.

General guidance is contained in the downloadble documents listed at the bottom of this page. Alternatively the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment have produced a booklet entitled Design and access statements, how to write, read and use them.