Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland

DAERA, environmental assessment and consents in Northern Ireland

DAERA advises councils on planning applications and separately licences discharges, abstraction and marine works. Here is how the two roles interact and how to sequence them.

Northern Ireland planning agreements: Article 40 to s76

Northern Ireland still calls them Article 40 agreements, but the live power is section 76 of the 2011 Act. With no levy in the jurisdiction, every contribution has to be justified on its own facts.

Scotland: SEPA, flood risk and the drainage evidence

SEPA advises on flood risk using likelihood bands and a vulnerability classification rather than flood zones, and Scotland requires SuDS by legislation rather than policy.

Scotland: scheduled monument consent in practice

Scheduled monument consent is separate from planning permission, granted by Scottish Ministers through Historic Environment Scotland, and working without it is a criminal offence.

Scotland: section 75 obligations and how they differ

The Scottish planning obligation is registered against the title, can be modified or discharged through a statutory procedure, and carries the whole contribution load because Scotland has no levy.

Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland6 min read

Scotland: processing agreements and what they buy

A processing agreement is a written project plan between applicant and Scottish planning authority. It buys programme certainty and visibility, not a favourable decision.

Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland8 min read

Scotland: pre-application consultation duties

For Scottish national and major developments, consultation is a statutory duty with a 12 week minimum notice period. What the notice, the event and the report must cover.

Wales: the C5 and C6 use classes for second homes

Since October 2022 Wales has separate use classes for second homes and short-term lets. What that means for buying, switching letting models and proving an existing use.

Wales: phosphate limits on rivers and what they stop

Where a Welsh site drains to a river SAC failing its phosphorus targets, the authority cannot conclude there is no adverse effect. The drainage routes that let a scheme proceed.

Wales: the section 6 biodiversity duty on applications

Wales has no statutory biodiversity metric. Instead, section 6 of the Environment (Wales) Act 2016 and the step-wise approach in Planning Policy Wales require an officer to judge whether your scheme delivers a net benefit.

Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland6 min read

Wales: Future Wales and the development plan hierarchy

Future Wales sits inside the statutory development plan rather than above it, and conflict between tiers is resolved by hierarchy rather than by date.

3 October 2026Read article →

Householder permitted development in Northern Ireland

Extensions, outbuildings and dormers in Northern Ireland are governed by the Planning (General Permitted Development) Order (Northern Ireland) 2015, not the England Order. The differences are substantive.

The two tier planning system in Northern Ireland

Eleven councils determine most applications and the Department for Infrastructure takes the regionally significant ones. The category decides the consultation, the decision-maker and the appeal route.

Notification of planning applications to Scottish Ministers

Notification bites after a Scottish authority has decided to approve, not before. The categories that trigger it, what happens during the pause, and why withdrawing a statutory objection is the whole game.

The hierarchy of developments in Scotland explained

In Scotland the development category decides whether you must consult the community twelve weeks before applying, how long determination takes and where an appeal goes. Here is how to work out which category applies.

Listed building consent in Scotland: categories A, B and C

Scotland grades listed buildings A, B and C, protects interiors as standard and still requires a separate conservation area consent for demolition. Here is how the consent works and who must be consulted.

Local place plans in Scotland and what they change

The Planning (Scotland) Act 2019 gave communities a statutory route to set out proposals for land in their area. Registration matters, and so does the timetable.

NPF4 and the climate and nature tests in Scotland

In Scotland, National Planning Framework 4 is part of the development plan rather than a material consideration. That changes how a supporting statement has to be built.

Biodiversity duties in Wales without a net gain requirement

Schedule 7A to the Environment Act 2021 applies to England. In Wales, biodiversity is handled through the section 6 duty on the decision maker and a net benefit expectation in national policy.

Flood risk in Wales: TAN 15 and the development advice maps

Technical Advice Note 15 asks what the consequences of flooding would be for occupiers, in depth, velocity and rate of rise, rather than applying the English sequential and exception tests. The Welsh framework has its own zones, consultee and climate allowances.

Future Wales and how the national plan applies to your site

Future Wales: The National Plan 2040 is part of the development plan in Wales, not a material consideration like the English framework. What that means for how a planning statement is structured.

Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland6 min read

Statutory pre-application consultation for major schemes in Wales

The Planning (Wales) Act 2015 makes pre-application consultation a statutory duty for major development in Wales, with a minimum 28-day period and a mandatory report. England has no equivalent requirement.

Sustainable drainage approval bodies in Wales

Schedule 3 to the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 is in force in Wales, so construction work of 100m2 or more needs SuDS approval from the SAB before it starts. This is a Wales-only consent with no English equivalent.

The well-being duty in Welsh planning decisions

Welsh planning sits on a statutory sustainable development duty with no English equivalent. What the five ways of working require, and how to evidence them in a submission.