(Please note, the Welsh Assembly Government is currently in the
process of reforming the local planning system in Wales, however these
details will remain relevant until new procedures are in place.)
Planning permission and planning policy
Planning permission overrides the need for a felling licence, tree
preservation orders and the protection afforded by other
designations, once it has been granted. The planning system is
important and it is essential to understand how it works. Most cases
of woods under threat which the Woodland Trust deals with relate to
planning applications for development affecting ancient woods,
parkland and individual ancient trees.
The planning system works hand in hand with the felling licence
system. Felling trees and clearing the land does not in itself require
planning permission. The planning authority could only prevent that
from happening by serving an emergency tree preservation order.
However, felling may require a felling licence.
The planning system consists of two parts: planning policy and
development control (increasingly known as development management).
- Planning policy is produced by central and local government to
guide future development in an organised and coordinated manner.
- Development control over individual planning proposals is
operated by local planning authorities, which must make their
decisions within the framework set out by the forward planning
system
Permitted development
covers certain classes of development which do not require a planning
application.
"Development" covers building work, and changes of use of buildings
and land
National planning guidance
Planning Policy Wales (PPW) provides overarching principles of
planning in the country. The policies provided in this guidance should
be reflected in local development plans. PPW provides the best
national protection for ancient woodland of any country in the UK
stating: “ancient and semi-natural woodlands are irreplaceable
habitats of high biodiversity value which should be protected from
development that would result in significant damage.” It also states:
“local planning authorities should seek to protect trees, groups of
trees and areas of woodland where they have natural heritage value or
contribute to the character or amenity of a particular locality.” (PPW
para 5.2.8).
Local development plans
There are 22 unitary counties and three national park authorities
which are all supposed to have prepared unitary development plans (UDPs)
for their areas. These provide the framework within which individual
planning applications are considered.
What you can do
UDPs are generally produced in consultation draft form (often replaced
or preceded by an issues report), before a formal deposit draft is
published. After a consultation period, the planning authority
considers any representations, and may issue proposed changes in an
attempt to overcome at least some of the objections and then publish
subsequent drafts (second deposit draft).
If you are concerned about a specific development proposal, you need
to check the stage of the UDP. If you can still feed comments in on
the development proposal, then the earlier in the process the better.
You can feed comments in through formal consultation procedures as set
out by the council.
You need to check the details of the development proposal set out in
the plan. It is also helpful to check what protection ancient woods
and trees have under the plan and ensure that it provides adequate
protection in line with PPW. If the proposal is
contrary to the plan, or to policies contained in the plan, this will
add weight to your campaign.
If the development has been approved in a previous plan and the land
is designated for that use then you need to engage with the
‘development control system’ which involves objecting to specific
planning applications (see Planning permission for more details).
You can comment on development plans even if you are not concerned
about a specific proposal. Ensuring the plan contains the best
possible protective policies for woodland and trees will pre-empt
development proposals that could lead to their damage or loss. When
commenting on development plans you can refer to national planning
policy guidance.
Find out more
- Your local council’s website, planning policy office or local library
should be able to provide you with details of the UDP.
-
The document 'Unitary Development Plans - A Guide to Procedures' is
available from the
UDP page of the Welsh Assembly website, along with other useful
information about UDPs in Wales.
Related sections
Disclaimer.
This information is based on the experiences of the
Woodland Trust and Ancient Tree Forum in dealing with cases of woods
and trees under threat. While its content is intended to broaden
understanding of the process, the Woodland Trust and Ancient Tree
Forum do not accept liability for any errors or omissions or for any
loss arising from use of the information contained herein by other
parties. In any circumstances outside the knowledge and competence of
an individual, he or she should always seek advice from an appropriate
qualified professional such as a surveyor or solicitor depending on
the case. None of the information on this web-page is to be relied
upon as a statement of fact.
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