What is a design and access statement?
A design and access statement is a short report that explains why a proposal looks the way it does and how people will get into and around it. It accompanies the drawings. In a conservation area it is required for any development of one or more dwellings.
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What the statement says
Think of it as the written half of the application. The drawings show what you will build. The statement says why: how the design responds to the street, the neighbours, the materials nearby, and how the building will be reached, including by people who cannot manage steps.
A good one is plain and specific to the site. It names the road, describes the existing house, and explains the choices in the proposal without general claims. It does not argue the case for approval; it gives the planning officer what they need to understand the design.
When a London council asks for one
The government's planning practice guidance sets two triggers in designated areas. In a conservation area or World Heritage Site a statement is required for development of one or more dwellings, and for a building or buildings with floor space of 100 square metres or more. You can read the wording in the guidance on making an application.
Many householder extensions fall outside both triggers, so they do not need one. If your home is in a conservation area, check before you submit: the glossary entry on conservation areas and our guide to conservation area extension rules help you check your own street.
Planning drawings start from £745 as a fixed fee, and the package includes a design statement where the borough requires one.
How it fits with the drawings
The same guidance says any plans or drawings in an application must be drawn to an identified scale and must show the direction of north. The statement refers to those drawings, so the two should agree line for line: a dimension quoted in the text has to match the plan.
That is why we prepare the two together. Our planning drawings page shows the set the statement accompanies, and the guide to planning drawings against building regulations drawings explains where each one is used.
Timing and the council's clock
Where a statement is required and missing, the application can be treated as invalid, which delays the start of the decision period. Once it is valid, the period for an application that is not major development is 8 weeks, and for major development it is 13 weeks (DMPO 2015, article 34). The guide to how long planning permission takes shows how those periods are counted.
Cost
We do not price a statement as a separate product. Planning drawings start from £745 as a fixed fee, and the package includes a design statement where the borough requires one. The pricing page lists the rest.
Sources
Every figure on this page, where it comes from and a link to the original.
| Figure | Source | Link |
|---|---|---|
| one or more dwellings | Planning practice guidance, Making an application, paragraph 030 (ID 14-030-20140306): design and access statement required in a conservation area or World Heritage Site for development of one or more dwellings | www.gov.uk |
| 100 square metres | Planning practice guidance, Making an application, paragraph 030 (ID 14-030-20140306): design and access statement required in a conservation area or World Heritage Site for a building or buildings with floor space of 100 square metres or more | www.gov.uk |
| identified scale | Planning practice guidance, Making an application, paragraph 023 (ID 14-023-20140306): any plans or drawings must be drawn to an identified scale and plans must show the direction of north | www.gov.uk |
| 8 weeks | DMPO 2015 art 34(2)(b): decision period for an application that is not major development (source wording: 8 weeks beginning with the day immediately following receipt) | www.legislation.gov.uk |
| 13 weeks | DMPO 2015 art 34(2)(a): decision period for major development (source wording: 13 weeks beginning with the day immediately following receipt) | www.legislation.gov.uk |
| £745 | DrawingsDirect starting fixed fee for planning drawings, from the published price list | drawingsdirect.co.uk |