Planning Policy and Technical Advice Notes for Wales

Planning Policy Wales (PPW), published in March 2002, sets out the land use planning policies of the Welsh Assembly Government. It is supplemented by a series of Technical Advice Notes (TANs). Procedural advice is given in the National Assembly for Wales/Welsh Office Circulars.

View 'Planning Policy Wales' here (PDF 711kb).

PPW, the TANs and circulars together comprise national planning policy which should be taken into account by local planning authorities in Wales in the preparation of unitary development plans (UDPs). They may be material to decisions on individual planning applications, including any that are called in, and to appeals dealt with by Planning Inspectors. Detailed advice on the preparation of UDPs is contained in Unitary Development Plans Wales, 2001.

The Assembly Government’s land use planning policies for minerals development are contained in a separate document, Minerals Planning Policy Wales. Land use planning is an important delivery mechanism for the Assembly’s Sustainable Development Scheme and sustainable development principles form the basis for all the policies contained in PPW. In particular, the document:

• contains strategic messages on sustainability, human rights, equal opportunities and community involvement in the planning process;
• provides new guidance on other strategic issues with new sections on Europe and spatial planning;
• addresses sustainable settlements, the location of new development, the commitment to the re-use of land and promoting sustainability through good design;
• provides significant new guidance on biodiversity, particularly on community involvement in the Local Biodiversity Action Plan process and how these link into the planning process;
• contains clearer policies on the rural economy, particularly to encourage farm and rural diversification, with a new policy allowing new economic development within farm complexes even those in the open countryside;
• contains new guidance on accessibility to reduce the need to travel;
• emphasises good design, encourages mixed use, and the need for development plan policies to reflect the hierarchy of designated sites; and
• also retains many long established planning policies including the strict policy against new housing in the open countryside, with re-use of rural building for residential use limited to affordable housing.

PPW will continue to be monitored and reviewed in relation to the Assembly Government’s objectives for Wales. Any changes or additions to policy which are agreed before a revised version of PPW is issued will be notified by Ministerial statement and will subsequently be published as numbered Interim Planning Statements.