Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland – Page 2

25 September 2026Read article →

Developer contributions in Northern Ireland without a levy

Northern Ireland has no Community Infrastructure Levy, so every obligation is negotiated under section 76 of the 2011 Act. How councils approach it and how to budget for it.

Retained policy and the SPPS in Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland planning policy sits in layers: the SPPS, retained policy statements and each council's emerging plan. Here is how they rank and how to cite them.

Listed building consent in Wales and the role of Cadw

Wales requires a heritage impact statement with every listed building consent application as a matter of law, and it kept conservation area consent when England abolished it. The Welsh route explained.

Planning appeals to the Planning Appeals Commission

Northern Ireland appeals go to the Planning Appeals Commission, not the Planning Inspectorate. The deadlines, procedures and policy framework are all different.

Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland8 min read

Dwellings in the countryside in Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland has no presumption to balance. A countryside dwelling must fit one of a narrow set of policy routes, each with its own evidential tests.

Flood risk under NPF4 in Scotland and the avoidance principle

Scotland applies avoidance rather than sequential and exception tests. NPF4 asks whether development should be in a flood risk area at all.

Certificates of lawfulness in Scotland

Scotland keeps a four year and ten year structure for immunity. Here is what each certificate covers, what evidence proves a case, and how appeals work.

Section 42 applications in Scotland to change conditions

Section 42 of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 is the Scottish route for varying a planning condition. It creates a new permission, and the drafting has to be exact.

Planning permission in principle in Scotland

Permission in principle settles whether development belongs on a site in Scotland. The second stage is approval of matters specified in conditions, and the time limits run differently from England.

Pre-application advice in Wales: the statutory service

Pre-application advice in Wales is a statutory service with prescribed content, a regulated fee and a response deadline. Here is what the answer must cover and how to frame a request that earns a useful one.

The section 6 biodiversity duty in Welsh planning decisions

The section 6 duty falls on the authority, not the applicant. Writing the ecology chapter around the resilience attributes makes the officer's job, and your case, easier.

Green infrastructure statements in Wales: what to include

A Welsh green infrastructure statement is not a net gain calculation. It shows the step-wise approach, names multifunctional benefits and sets out how they will be managed.

Welsh language considerations in planning applications

Welsh authorities set thresholds for language impact assessment in their development plans. What the assessment covers, which evidence to use and how officers weigh it.

SuDS Approving Body consent in Wales and what it needs

In Wales, sustainable drainage approval is a separate statutory consent from planning permission. What triggers it, which standards apply and how adoption works.

Wastewater capacity constraints on development in NI

Wastewater treatment capacity is the constraint that stops Northern Ireland housing schemes. How to check it before buying a site, and the four routes when the network is full.

Listed building consent in Northern Ireland and HED

Listed building consent in Northern Ireland runs under Part 4 of the Planning Act (Northern Ireland) 2011, with councils deciding and the Historic Environment Division advising on special interest and harm.

Pre-application community consultation in Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland made community consultation a statutory step before major applications. Get the notice period wrong and the council can refuse to accept the application.

Section 76 planning agreements in Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland has no Community Infrastructure Levy. Every contribution a council seeks has to be secured through a section 76 agreement, which changes how you negotiate.

Building in the Northern Ireland countryside: the CTY tests

Northern Ireland assesses countryside housing against the CTY policies of Planning Policy Statement 21. The tests are specific, numerical in places, and quite unlike English countryside policy.

The SPPS and local development plans in Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland only. Eleven councils, one strategic policy statement, retained policy statements that switch off on Plan Strategy adoption, and mandatory pre-application community consultation for major schemes.

Flood risk in Scotland: SEPA maps and NPF4 policy

Scotland only. SEPA maps flood likelihood as high, medium and low, and NPF4 starts from avoidance rather than a sequential test. Here is how a Scottish flood risk assessment differs.

Short-term let control areas and planning in Scotland

Scotland only. Inside a designated control area, letting a whole property to visitors needs planning permission as well as a licence. This explains the designation, the exceptions and the evidence an application needs.

Building warrants and Scottish planning permission

A building warrant is a separate consent from planning permission, granted by the council as verifier. Starting work without one is an offence.

Biodiversity under NPF4: what applications must show

Scottish applications answer a policy test, not a metric. Here is what NPF4 asks for, what counts as enhancement, and how nature networks change the evidence.