Planning Information

A Decision Notice is a ruling issued by a Local Planning Authority, stating whether an application has been approved or refused.

If approved, the Decision Notice may set out a number of conditions relating to the decision.  These conditions must be followed when carrying out the development. The decision notice will also set out the reasons for these conditions and the reasons for the decision.

A Design and Access Statement sets out a narrative for the design approach and rationale for a development. It demonstrates how proposals are a suitable response to the site and its setting. 

Design Guides support an Outline Planning Application. They inform the design principles and standards that proposals for a development should follow. They are important in communicating the design expectations and requirements. Reserved Matters Applications must follow Design Guides if they are to be considered acceptable.

A Development Specification Document provides a description of the quantum of land uses and built development that are proposed

There are often conditions attached to planning permissions that need further details to be submitted and approved by a local planning authority at certain stages of development. This process is called ‘discharge of conditions’.

An Illustrative Masterplan has been produced to demonstrate that a high quality and viable scheme can be achieved within the parameters of the Development Specification and Framework, Parameter Plans and Design Codes as well as relevant planning policy.

The Illustrative Masterplan for York Central is included within the Design and Access Statement.

A masterplan is the beginning of a process. It is a flexible framework built on strong principles which will guide future development and help to safeguard quality and site heritage. It is not a fixed plan for the final buildings which will be constructed, but will establish the criteria that investors and developers must satisfy if they wish to put forward plans, ensuring that any future development is right for the city.

What the masterplan will decide is a preferred access option, the basic infrastructure and layout, public realm and how the site will link to surrounding neighbourhoods. It will also agree the mix of development for the site (residential/ leisure/ commercial), together with guidance on where the mix might be flexible, maximum building height and massing guidelines.

An Outline Planning Application (OPA) sets the position of key uses and infrastructure, defining the uses, maximum and minimum amount of development, heights, layout of development plots, key points of access into the site and main routes through the site

Once outline permission is granted this means that the local planning authority have granted planning permission and established the principle of development. Only the details can then be considered, known as Reserved Matters.

Parameter plans include information on the proposed uses of land, building heights, area of potential built development, green infrastructure, access and movement and other key structuring and place making components.

An RMA is the next stage following on from an OPA having been granted. It provides more detail than an OPA and includes details about appearance, layout, landscaping and means of access.

A Section 106 Agreement is an agreement between a developer and a Local Planning Authority about measures that the developer must take to reduce their impact on the community. It is designed to make a development possible that would otherwise not be possible, by obtaining concessions and contributions from the developer. It forms a section of the Town And Country Planning Act 1990.

A section 106 agreement may be modified or discharged, for help negotiating this process a planning expert’s help should be sought.

A Statement of Community Involvement (SCI) is a document planning applicants are required to produce that sets out what consultation will take place with the community on the preparation of planning documents.