The policy compliance section of a Planning Statement
The policy section of a Planning Statement exists to answer section 38(6). Here is how to identify the development plan, select the policies that are genuinely engaged, and write a conclusion officers will copy.
The policy section of a Planning Statement has one job: to show that the proposal accords with the development plan taken as a whole, or to explain why material considerations justify a decision otherwise. Everything else in the planning statement policy section is supporting material. Section 38(6) of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 sets that test, section 70(2) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 requires the decision maker to have regard to the plan and to other material considerations, and a case officer reading your statement is looking for the two-stage answer those provisions demand.
Most weak policy sections fail in the same way. They list every policy in the local plan, mark each one compliant, and never reach a conclusion the officer can adopt.
Establishing what the development plan actually is
Before a single policy is quoted, state the plan. For a site in England outside London that usually means the adopted local plan with its adoption date, any saved policies from an earlier plan, the adopted minerals and waste local plan where relevant, and any made neighbourhood plan. In Greater London the spatial development strategy sits in the plan too, so a borough scheme has at least three documents in play.
Get the version right. A policy number that moved between the 2019 submission draft and the adopted document is the kind of error that makes an officer distrust the rest of the statement. Where part of the plan has been found out of date by the authority's own housing land supply position or by a recent appeal, say so plainly and set out the consequence rather than leaving it implied.
Supplementary planning documents are not part of the development plan. They are material considerations, and their weight comes from their consistency with the adopted policies they supplement and from the consultation behind them. Treating a householder design guide as if it were policy is a common overreach.
Choosing the policies that are genuinely engaged
A minor residential scheme in a suburban street might engage eight to twelve policies. A major mixed-use application might engage forty. In both cases the test is whether the policy has something to say about a matter in dispute or a matter the officer must resolve.
Work from the decision rather than the plan. Ask what the officer has to be satisfied about: principle of development, design and character, residential amenity, highways and parking, drainage, ecology, heritage, and any site-specific allocation or designation. Then find the policies that bear on each. Policies engaged only by their general aspiration can go in a short list at the end of the section with a single sentence.
Site allocations deserve their own paragraph. If the site is allocated, quote the allocation requirements verbatim and answer each one, because those requirements are usually the first thing a committee asks about.
A policy compliance table that earns its place
Tables get used badly in this section. A three-column table with policy number, policy title and the word "Complies" tells the officer nothing and pads the document.
A table that works looks more like this.
| Policy | What it requires | Where the scheme responds |
|---|---|---|
| Design policy on character | Development to respect prevailing plot rhythm and roofscape | Drawings 104 and 106, set back of 1.2 m from the building line, ridge kept below the neighbouring parapet |
| Amenity policy | No unacceptable loss of light or privacy | Daylight study section 4, no habitable windows within 21 m of a facing window |
| Parking standards | One space per two-bedroom flat | Layout plan 110, eight spaces for eight flats, cycle store for 16 |
The third column is what makes it useful. It points to the evidence rather than asserting a conclusion, so the officer can verify the claim in a minute.
Handling policies the scheme conflicts with
Almost every scheme conflicts with something. A statement that finds full compliance across a forty-policy plan reads as advocacy, and officers treat it that way.
Name the conflict, describe its extent, and then set out the case for the decision going the applicant's way. That case might be that the conflict is with a criterion rather than the policy's purpose, that the policy is out of date in the sense the Framework gives that term, that the harm is limited and demonstrably outweighed, or that the plan as a whole still supports the proposal because section 38(6) asks about accordance with the plan as a whole rather than with every policy in it. The judgment in City of Edinburgh Council v Secretary of State for Scotland remains the standard reference for that whole-plan approach, and it is cited in English decisions regularly.
Quantify where you can. A shortfall of two parking spaces against a standard is a different proposition from a shortfall of twenty, and saying so is more persuasive than a paragraph of adjectives.
Where national policy carries the argument
National policy is a material consideration, and in some cases a decisive one. The current National Planning Policy Framework, published on 17 August 2026, is organised by policy codes rather than the paragraph numbers used in the December 2023 and December 2024 editions. Readers and officers may be working from an older copy, so state the edition every time you cite it and check the wording on gov.uk before you file.
Three situations recur. Where the plan's most important policies for determining the application are out of date, the Framework's presumption applies and the balance changes shape. Where a specific national policy protects the asset in question, the presumption is disapplied and a separate test governs, which is why a Heritage Statement and a flood risk case are structured differently from a design argument. And where the plan is silent, national policy fills the gap directly.
Set out which of those three you are in, because the structure of your conclusion follows from it. A Planning Statement that reaches the tilted balance without first showing why it applies will be picked apart at committee.
Where a specific national policy is doing the work, the supporting technical evidence has to be in the pack and cross-referenced. A flood risk argument that relies on the Exception Test needs the two limbs of that test answered in the flood evidence, not asserted in the planning statement.
Weight for emerging policy
Emerging plans and emerging neighbourhood plans attract weight according to how far they have progressed, how many objections remain unresolved, and how far their policies are consistent with the Framework. That is a judgment, so record the reasoning rather than the conclusion alone.
Name the stage precisely: Regulation 18 consultation, Regulation 19 publication, submission, examination hearings, receipt of the inspector's report, adoption. State the date of the most recent milestone. If the emerging policy is contested at examination on the very point your scheme relies on, the honest answer is that it carries limited weight, and saying so protects the rest of your case.
Drawing the section 38(6) conclusion
The last part of the section should be short and should read as a finding. State whether the proposal accords with the development plan taken as a whole. Then, whichever way that goes, identify the material considerations that bear on the decision and explain why they do or do not indicate a different outcome.
An illustrative closing paragraph might run: the proposal accords with policies H3, D1 and T2 of the adopted local plan, conflicts with the parking standard in policy T4 to the extent of two spaces, and that limited conflict is outweighed by the sustainable location, the cycle provision and the absence of on-street capacity issues evidenced in the parking survey, so the development accords with the plan taken as a whole. Illustrative only, and the policy references are invented for the example.
Officers copy well-written conclusions into their reports. That is the practical test of whether this section has done its job.
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Frequently asked questions
What does section 38(6) actually require?
Section 38(6) of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 requires applications to be determined in accordance with the development plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise. It is a two-stage test. First, does the proposal accord with the plan taken as a whole. Second, do other material considerations indicate a different decision. Your policy section should answer both in that order.
Are supplementary planning documents part of the development plan?
No. An SPD is a material consideration, and its weight depends on its consistency with the adopted policies it supplements and on the consultation carried out before adoption. Treating a design guide or parking standards SPD as if it carried the force of adopted policy is a common error that officers and inspectors pick up.
How many policies should a policy compliance table contain?
Only the policies that bear on a matter the officer must resolve. A minor householder scheme might engage eight to twelve, a major mixed-use application forty. Policies engaged only in general terms can be listed in a single closing sentence rather than given a row each, which keeps the table readable.
Should a Planning Statement admit policy conflict?
Yes. Almost every scheme conflicts with something, and a statement claiming full compliance across an entire plan reads as advocacy. Name the conflict, describe how far it extends, then set out why the decision should still go your way. Quantified conflict, such as a shortfall of two parking spaces, is far more persuasive than adjectives.
How much weight does an emerging local plan carry?
It depends on the stage the plan has reached, the number of unresolved objections, and how far its policies are consistent with the National Planning Policy Framework. Name the stage precisely, from Regulation 18 through to adoption, give the date of the last milestone, and record your reasoning rather than asserting a weight.
Sources and further reading
This article is general guidance about the planning system in England and, where stated, the rest of the UK. It is not legal or professional advice. Check your local planning authority’s validation requirements and take professional advice for your specific site.