Wales uses a tiered statutory development-plan system rather than relying on one local document alone.

Future Wales is the National Development Framework and provides the national spatial tier. Strategic Development Plans are intended to address cross-boundary regional planning matters, while Local Development Plans provide the local planning framework.

The tiers are intended to work together.

An LDP should therefore not be researched in isolation from Future Wales or, where applicable, the relevant strategic planning framework. National planning policy in Planning Policy Wales and Technical Advice Notes also remains important, although those documents should be distinguished from the statutory development plan itself.

Plan status must be checked carefully during periods of revision.

The Welsh Government can prepare a replacement or revised National Development Framework while the existing Future Wales remains operative. Consultation on a future plan does not, by itself, extinguish the current plan.

Sources and further information

Welsh Government - Future Wales: The National Plan 2040

Welsh Government - Strategic Development Plans: a community guide

PEDW - Local development plan examinations: procedure guidance

Last checked: 26 September 2026

Make the request within the formal representation process and identify the oral contribution sought.

State that the individual or group requests an Open Floor hearing, identify the application reference and explain the planning issues the speaker wishes to raise.

Explain why oral participation would assist the examination.

PEDW gives examples such as community-wide issues or oral evidence. A useful request identifies information that can be explained efficiently by a local representative rather than simply saying that the community wants a public meeting.

Keep the requested issues within the examination's planning remit.

The Examining Authority is concerned with planning impacts, benefits and the applicable development-plan framework. A request based solely on matters outside that remit is unlikely to assist the examination.

Nominate a spokesperson where several people will make the same case.

PEDW's Open Floor procedure allows speakers to nominate a spokesperson to avoid repetition. Campaign groups should decide this in advance and give the representative authority to present the agreed community evidence.

After the PEN is issued, opt in again where required.

The Primary Examination Notice sets the deadline for confirming or requesting attendance. A campaign should not assume that the earlier request means no further response is needed. Read and comply with the PEN.

Sources and further information

PEDW - How we examine Significant Infrastructure Projects

PEDW - How communities can take part in a Significant Infrastructure Project

Last checked: 26 September 2026

Most planning appeals are dealt with by written representations, although PEDW can use a hearing, inquiry or a combination of procedures where appropriate. The Inspector considers the application material, appeal documents, relevant law and policy and other material considerations.

An appeal is not simply a second public consultation. Participants should follow the procedure and deadlines specified for the appeal.

Sources and further information

Welsh Government / PEDW - Planning appeals guidance https://www.gov.wales/planning-appeals-guidance-html

Last checked: 25 September 2026

There is no general third-party planning merits appeal equivalent to the applicant's section 78 appeal. A person who believes a decision is legally flawed may need to consider the separate legal remedies available rather than a planning appeal.

Legal challenges are subject to different tests and strict time limits. Obtain appropriate legal advice promptly if considering court proceedings.

Sources and further information

Welsh Government / PEDW - Planning appeals guidance https://www.gov.wales/planning-appeals-guidance-html

Last checked: 25 September 2026

Planning enforcement concerns development that may have been carried out without required permission or in breach of planning control. Local planning authorities have enforcement powers and must decide whether formal action is appropriate in the circumstances.

An enforcement dispute is different from objecting to a current planning application. Where an enforcement notice is served, specified persons with an interest in the land can have statutory appeal rights.

Sources and further information

Welsh Government / PEDW - Appeal a planning enforcement notice https://www.gov.wales/appeal-planning-enforcement-notice

Last checked: 25 September 2026

Use the current Welsh Development Management Manual and the authority's case record.

The Manual contains the Welsh application-validation framework and lists of information requirements. Identify the application type before deciding what material should accompany it.

Validation does not prevent later requests for clarification or further information.

Welsh Government guidance expressly distinguishes validation from the authority's ability to request clarification or further material during determination. A campaign should therefore identify whether its concern is a formal validation defect or a substantive evidential deficiency.

Create a current-document list.

Record the application form, location and proposed plans, supporting statements, environmental material and revisions. Where a document is replaced, keep the earlier version but clearly mark its status.

For infrastructure cases, do not mix ordinary planning application procedure with the SIP regime.

A Significant Infrastructure Project follows its own statutory application and examination process. Use the relevant PEDW case documentation for the SIP rather than assuming the local planning application validation rules govern it.

Sources and further information

Welsh Government - Development Management Manual

Last checked: 26 September 2026

Welsh local planning authorities use schemes of delegation.

The current Development Management Manual explains that each authority's scheme identifies which applications are determined by planning committee and which can be decided by the Head of Service or another authorised officer.

The scheme should be checked for the particular authority.

Criteria can concern development type, objections, the identity of the applicant and other locally defined circumstances. Do not assume another Welsh council's procedure applies.

Planning committees focus on the cases requiring member determination.

The Welsh guidance describes committee cases as often more sensitive, strategically important, technically complex or controversial, while delegation allows straightforward cases to be handled efficiently.

Committee procedure is also locally documented.

Welsh guidance notes that authorities commonly have committee protocols dealing with public speaking, running order, site visits and voting.

The local route is separate from nationally determined infrastructure.

Welsh Significant Infrastructure Projects are examined through PEDW under the Infrastructure (Wales) Act regime rather than determined by a local planning committee.

Sources and further information

Welsh Government - Development Management Manual

PEDW - Significant infrastructure projects: how a decision is made

Last checked: 26 September 2026

Welsh Government guidance expects a reasoned decision.

The Development Management Manual states that committees should have good reasons where they approve development that departs from the development plan, conflicts with Welsh Government planning policy or goes against written officer advice. Those reasons should be recorded.

Refusal reasons need to be clear.

Where permission is refused, the authority must state the reasons. Campaigners should distinguish concerns expressed during debate from the actual reasons adopted by the committee.

A cooling-off deferral may be appropriate.

The Manual advises that where necessary a committee should defer to a later meeting when minded to determine contrary to officer recommendation, allowing officers to provide further reports and prepare robust refusal reasons or necessary approval conditions.

A contrary decision is not automatically improper.

The committee is the decision-maker where the scheme assigns the application to it. The issue is whether the decision is based on relevant planning grounds and the applicable statutory and policy framework.

Check the minutes and later report.

If a case is deferred, the subsequent officer report may materially change the decision record. Campaigners should preserve both versions.

Sources and further information

Welsh Government - Development Management Manual

Last checked: 26 September 2026

A SIP is not decided by the local planning committee.

PEDW appoints an Examining Authority to examine the application. The relevant local planning authority contributes through mechanisms including its Local Impact Report but is not the statutory decision-maker on the infrastructure consent application.

The statutory decision route can place the final decision with the Examining Authority or Welsh Ministers.

PEDW's current guidance explains that the Examining Authority may issue the decision in cases assigned to it, while in ministerial cases it submits conclusions and a recommendation to Welsh Ministers for final determination.

The decision framework is prescribed by the Infrastructure (Wales) Act regime.

The decision-maker must apply the relevant infrastructure policy statement, National Development Framework where relevant, marine plan where relevant and other statutory considerations, subject to the legislation.

The examination record matters.

Representations, Local Impact Reports, Marine Impact Reports where applicable, written evidence and oral examination material feed into the report and decision.

Use the final decision and reasons, not the recommendation alone.

Where Welsh Ministers decide the case, the Examining Authority's recommendation is not the final outcome. The final order or refusal and statement of reasons establish the statutory decision.

Sources and further information

PEDW - Significant infrastructure projects: how a decision is made

PEDW - How we examine significant infrastructure projects

Last checked: 26 September 2026

The examination moves from collecting representations to identifying and testing the main issues.

The Examining Authority reviews the application, representations, Local Impact Reports, any Marine Impact Report and the site, then decides how the examination should proceed.

PEDW states that the procedure decision is normally made within 28 days of the end of the representation period.

The examination can use written representations, hearings, inquiries, open-floor hearings or a combination.

The Primary Examination Notice is the key document for campaign groups.

It identifies matters and questions, further information required, deadlines, sessions, invitees and the target for the report or recommendation. Once issued, campaigns should rebuild their work programme around that notice rather than the earlier consultation deadline.

Oral sessions normally start within ten weeks after the representation period unless the timetable changes for reasons identified in the guidance.

Participants invited to a hearing or inquiry receive at least six weeks' notice.

Sources and further information

PEDW - How we examine Significant Infrastructure Projects

PEDW - How communities can take part in a Significant Infrastructure Project

Last checked: 26 September 2026

A hearing is an Examining Authority-led discussion about specified issues.

The examining inspectors ask questions about the application, evidence and participants' positions. Professional advisers can attend, but participants do not have an unrestricted right to present formal evidence or question others unless the ExA permits it.

An open-floor hearing serves a different purpose.

PEDW guidance states that one is held if requested in a written representation during the representation period. Interested parties can speak on issues they choose, subject to the ExA's control, order and any speaking time limits. A spokesperson can be nominated to reduce repetition.

An inquiry is more formal and is intended for complex contested technical or legal evidence.

Questioning is commonly led by barristers or solicitors and witnesses give evidence and answer questions. The volume of local opposition alone is not normally a reason to use inquiry procedure.

Campaigns should not confuse access with procedure.

Hearings and inquiries can be observed by the public, but participation is controlled by the ExA. A person not invited who wishes to participate should follow PEDW's procedure for requesting participation and explain why their involvement would assist examination of the issue.

Sources and further information

PEDW - How we examine Significant Infrastructure Projects

PEDW - How communities can take part in a Significant Infrastructure Project

Last checked: 26 September 2026

Start with the Primary Examination Notice.

Answer the questions and matters assigned to the campaign or relevant to its participation. Do not assume that a longer version of the original representation is what the ExA needs.

Observe the formal limits.

PEDW guidance explains that requested further written representations are subject to the requirements stated in the notice, including how a 3,000-word limit applies. An inquiry statement over 1,500 words must have a summary of up to 1,500 words.

Prepare oral evidence around disputed issues.

If the topic is landscape, identify the specific assessment, viewpoint, receptor or methodology in dispute. If it is policy, identify the policy wording and the factual proposition that determines compliance. If it is ecology, identify the survey evidence, species or habitat issue and the technical basis for disagreement.

Expect the procedure to evolve if new evidence genuinely changes the case.

PEDW can alter the examination procedure, and if new evidence or facts arise after examination closes, participants can be asked whether a hearing or inquiry should be reopened or further written evidence may be requested.

Sources and further information

PEDW - How we examine Significant Infrastructure Projects

Last checked: 26 September 2026

A valid representation made during the formal representation period registers the person as an interested party for the SIP examination. PEDW and the Examining Authority then use the representations, application documents, impact reports and other evidence to identify the main issues and determine the examination procedure.

Keep copies of what you submit and follow the Primary Examination Notice and later procedural correspondence, because further deadlines may apply.

Sources and further information

Welsh Government / PEDW - How we examine significant infrastructure projects https://www.gov.wales/how-we-examine-significant-infrastructure-projects-sip

Welsh Government / PEDW - How communities can take part in a significant infrastructure project https://www.gov.wales/how-communities-can-take-part-significant-infrastructure-project-sip

Last checked: 25 September 2026

After examination, the Examining Authority produces the report required by the Infrastructure (Wales) Act regime.

Depending on the statutory decision route, it may make the decision or report and recommend to Welsh Ministers. Where Ministers decide the application, the recommendation remains confidential until the final decision is issued.

The final decision must be read with its reasons and the examination report when published.

Campaign groups should check how the principal representations, Local Impact Report, policy framework and mitigation were treated.

PEDW guidance states that the final SIP decision can only be challenged through judicial review.

Judicial review addresses legal error rather than asking the court to remake the planning merits. Specialist legal advice should be sought urgently if a challenge is contemplated.

Sources and further information

PEDW - Significant Infrastructure Projects: how a decision is made

PEDW - How we examine Significant Infrastructure Projects

Civil Procedure Rules - Pre-Action Protocol for Judicial Review (England and Wales)

Last checked: 26 September 2026

The Primary Examination Notice, often called the PEN, is a key procedural document issued for the examination. It identifies the matters to be examined, questions or information required, the examination timetable, hearing or inquiry arrangements and relevant deadlines.

Participants should treat the PEN as the working timetable for the case and check for updates if the procedure or timetable changes.

Sources and further information

Welsh Government / PEDW - How we examine significant infrastructure projects https://www.gov.wales/how-we-examine-significant-infrastructure-projects-sip

Last checked: 25 September 2026

An open-floor hearing allows interested parties to speak on issues they choose within the procedural arrangements set by the Examining Authority. PEDW guidance states that an open-floor hearing will be held if one is requested in a written comment submitted during the representation period.

If you want one, request it in the representation and explain why oral participation would assist the examination.

Sources and further information

Welsh Government / PEDW - How we examine significant infrastructure projects https://www.gov.wales/how-we-examine-significant-infrastructure-projects-sip

Welsh Government / PEDW - How communities can take part in a significant infrastructure project https://www.gov.wales/how-communities-can-take-part-significant-infrastructure-project-sip

Last checked: 25 September 2026

A hearing is generally an inquisitorial discussion led by the examining inspectors on identified issues. An inquiry is more formal and is used where complex technical or legal evidence may need to be tested, including questioning by legal representatives.

The amount of public interest alone does not normally determine the procedure. The Examining Authority decides how the issues can be examined fairly and efficiently.

Sources and further information

Welsh Government / PEDW - How we examine significant infrastructure projects https://www.gov.wales/how-we-examine-significant-infrastructure-projects-sip

Last checked: 25 September 2026

Yes. PEDW's community guidance states that written representations carry equal weight to oral evidence. A person does not need to secure a speaking role at a hearing for their evidence to be considered.

This makes a clear, evidenced written representation particularly important.

Sources and further information

Welsh Government / PEDW - How communities can take part in a significant infrastructure project https://www.gov.wales/how-communities-can-take-part-significant-infrastructure-project-sip

Last checked: 25 September 2026

Examining inspectors visit the site and local area. Where relevant features can be seen from public places the visit may be unaccompanied; access arrangements can be made where necessary.

The site visit is not an opportunity to argue the case. Requests for particular locations to be viewed should be made through the written process within the relevant deadline.

Sources and further information

Welsh Government / PEDW - How we examine significant infrastructure projects https://www.gov.wales/how-we-examine-significant-infrastructure-projects-sip

Last checked: 25 September 2026

Yes, but changes are controlled through the statutory variation process. PEDW distinguishes general variations from requests involving additional land for compulsory acquisition and applies specific timing, consultation and examination requirements.

A variation will not be accepted if it would amount to a substantial change to the project. If a variation is accepted, further publicity, consultation or examination steps may be required.

Sources and further information

Welsh Government / PEDW - Changing a significant infrastructure project https://www.gov.wales/significant-infrastructure-projects-sip-changing-project-variation

Last checked: 25 September 2026

PEDW guidance provides for the examination to be reopened where new evidence or facts arise after closure and further procedural fairness is required. Participants may be asked whether they want a hearing or inquiry reopened or may be invited to provide further written evidence.

Do not assume that unsolicited late material will automatically be accepted. Follow the Examining Authority's directions.

Sources and further information

Welsh Government / PEDW - How we examine significant infrastructure projects https://www.gov.wales/how-we-examine-significant-infrastructure-projects-sip

Last checked: 25 September 2026

An Infrastructure Consent Order can include powers to acquire land or rights without the owner's agreement where the statutory requirements are met. The compulsory acquisition case forms part of the infrastructure examination and affected land interests receive specific procedural protections.

PEDW states that compulsory acquisition will usually be considered at a hearing or inquiry. People whose land or rights are affected should read the relevant notices carefully and consider professional advice.

Sources and further information

Welsh Government / PEDW - Compulsory acquisition in infrastructure consenting https://www.gov.wales/significant-infrastructure-projects-sip-compulsory-acquisition-infrastructure-consenting

Last checked: 25 September 2026

Potentially, but a specific statutory variation procedure applies. The applicant must first consult affected landowners for at least the period required by the regulations and must justify why the additional land is needed and why it was not included earlier.

PEDW then decides whether the variation can be accepted and examined within the statutory process.

Sources and further information

Welsh Government / PEDW - Changing a significant infrastructure project https://www.gov.wales/significant-infrastructure-projects-sip-changing-project-variation

Welsh Government / PEDW - Compulsory acquisition in infrastructure consenting https://www.gov.wales/significant-infrastructure-projects-sip-compulsory-acquisition-infrastructure-consenting

Last checked: 25 September 2026

The examining authority conducts the examination and normally provides a report and recommendation. Welsh Ministers then consider the case and make the decision in accordance with the Infrastructure (Wales) Act 2024 framework, except where legislation provides for a decision by the examining authority.

The decision-making framework includes relevant infrastructure policy statements, the National Development Framework where relevant, any relevant marine plan, impact reports, climate considerations and other relevant matters.

Sources and further information

Welsh Government / PEDW - How a SIP decision is made https://www.gov.wales/significant-infrastructure-projects-sip-how-decision-made

Last checked: 25 September 2026

A final infrastructure consent decision is not subject to an ordinary planning merits appeal. PEDW guidance states that it can be challenged through judicial review.

Judicial review concerns legal error rather than asking the court to remake the planning merits decision. Strict time limits apply, so specialist legal advice should be obtained promptly.

Sources and further information

Welsh Government / PEDW - How a SIP decision is made https://www.gov.wales/significant-infrastructure-projects-sip-how-decision-made

Last checked: 25 September 2026

Make a representation during the formal representation period.

PEDW registers anyone who sends a valid comment as an interested party. If an objection made during pre-application consultation remains unresolved, PEDW guidance says a new representation should be submitted when the formal representation opportunity opens. Do not assume the developer's consultation record automatically registers the campaign for the examination.

If the campaign wants an Open Floor hearing, request it in the representation.

PEDW's current community guidance expressly says an Open Floor hearing can be requested in the representation and asks the person to explain why oral participation would help. This is therefore an opt-in step that should be considered before the representation deadline, not after the examination timetable has already been fixed.

Read the Primary Examination Notice in full.

The PEN identifies the matters for hearings or inquiries, the parties invited, the people with a right to speak at an Open Floor hearing, event details and participation deadlines. PEDW requires parties to read the notice and confirm or request attendance at an Open Floor hearing by the specified deadline.

Topic hearings and inquiries are invitation-led.

PEDW states that public hearings and inquiries can be observed, but participation in their discussions is limited to those invited by the Examining Authority, except for the different Open Floor procedure. A campaign should therefore not assume that interested-party status alone gives an unrestricted right to speak at every topic session.

Respond immediately if invited.

Confirm attendance, name the representative, identify any professional adviser and comply with the evidence or statement requirements in the PEN. If the campaign believes it can materially assist a topic session but has not been invited, contact PEDW promptly and explain the relevant evidence or local knowledge. Participation remains for the Examining Authority to control.

Sources and further information

PEDW - How we examine Significant Infrastructure Projects

PEDW - How communities can take part in a Significant Infrastructure Project

Last checked: 26 September 2026

Yes, if the issue remains unresolved and you want it considered in the formal examination. PEDW's community guidance expressly advises people to submit a new representation during the formal representation period rather than relying on an earlier pre-application response.

Check the applicant's consultation report to see how the earlier comment was recorded and whether the proposal changed in response.

Sources and further information

Welsh Government / PEDW - How communities can take part in a significant infrastructure project https://www.gov.wales/how-communities-can-take-part-significant-infrastructure-project-sip

Last checked: 25 September 2026

Yes. PEDW advises that the request should be made in the representation submitted during the formal representation period and should explain why an open-floor hearing would assist.

Requesting one does not give a participant control over the examination. The examining inspectors set the arrangements, speaking order and any time limits.

Sources and further information

Welsh Government / PEDW - How communities can take part in a significant infrastructure project https://www.gov.wales/how-communities-can-take-part-significant-infrastructure-project-sip

Welsh Government / PEDW - How we examine significant infrastructure projects https://www.gov.wales/how-we-examine-significant-infrastructure-projects-sip

Last checked: 25 September 2026

PEDW advises participants to focus on planning issues, use facts, be specific and provide examples or evidence. A representation should explain plainly what the Examining Authority is being asked to understand about the proposal.

Local evidence can be particularly useful where it tests an assumption in the application, but it should be connected to the planning effect being alleged.

Sources and further information

Welsh Government / PEDW - How communities can take part in a significant infrastructure project https://www.gov.wales/how-communities-can-take-part-significant-infrastructure-project-sip

Last checked: 25 September 2026

PEDW explains that the examination is guided by the issues raised, not simply by how many people raise them. An issue does not receive greater weight solely because it appears in many objections.

Petitions and shared material can demonstrate community concern, but planning arguments should still identify the relevant impacts and evidence.

Sources and further information

Welsh Government / PEDW - How communities can take part in a significant infrastructure project https://www.gov.wales/how-communities-can-take-part-significant-infrastructure-project-sip

Last checked: 25 September 2026

Read the variation documents rather than relying on the original application. Identify what has changed, whether the environmental or planning effects have changed and whether earlier concerns remain accurate.

If PEDW re-publicises or consults on the varied scheme, respond within the stated period and focus on the consequences of the change as well as any unresolved original issue.

Sources and further information

Welsh Government / PEDW - Changing a significant infrastructure project https://www.gov.wales/significant-infrastructure-projects-sip-changing-project-variation

Last checked: 25 September 2026

For new qualifying infrastructure cases, the Significant Infrastructure Project (SIP) regime replaced the DNS system from 15 December 2025. The SIP regime is established under the Infrastructure (Wales) Act 2024 and creates a unified infrastructure consenting process.

Some older DNS applications continue under transitional arrangements. Therefore, a live Welsh case may still legitimately be described as DNS if it entered the system under the transitional provisions.

Sources and further information
Welsh Government: Developments of National Significance transitional guidanceWelsh Government: Significant Infrastructure Projects guidanceLast checked: 25 September 2026

A SIP is a major infrastructure project within the Infrastructure (Wales) Act 2024 regime. The Act covers specified infrastructure in areas including energy, transport, water, wastewater and waste, subject to statutory definitions and thresholds. Welsh Ministers can also have powers to bring certain other projects into the regime.

A SIP requires infrastructure consent rather than ordinary planning permission from the local planning authority.

Sources and further information
Welsh Government: Significant Infrastructure Projects guidanceWelsh Government/PEDW: How we examine Significant Infrastructure ProjectsLast checked: 25 September 2026

Applications are submitted to Planning and Environment Decisions Wales (PEDW), which administers and processes SIP applications on behalf of Welsh Ministers. After a valid application is accepted, PEDW appoints one or more Planning Inspectors to form the Examining Authority (ExA) and conduct the examination.

For most SIP cases, Welsh Ministers make the final decision after considering the ExA's report and recommendation. PEDW therefore administers the process and provides the examining function through appointed Inspectors, while Welsh Ministers are the statutory decision makers for the usual SIP route.

Sources and further information
Welsh Government: Significant Infrastructure Projects guidanceWelsh Government/PEDW: How we examine Significant Infrastructure ProjectsLast checked: 25 September 2026

An Infrastructure Consent Order is the legal order through which infrastructure consent may be granted for a Welsh SIP. It specifies the authorised development and can include requirements similar to planning conditions. Depending on the case and statutory powers sought, it may also incorporate other consents or powers such as compulsory acquisition.

The draft ICO is a core application document and should be read alongside the explanatory memorandum and environmental material.

Sources and further information
Welsh Government: Significant Infrastructure Projects guidanceWelsh Government/PEDW: How we examine Significant Infrastructure ProjectsLast checked: 25 September 2026

Community involvement begins before the application. The applicant must carry out statutory pre-application consultation for at least 42 days. After a valid application is accepted, PEDW publicises it and opens a formal representation period.

Welsh Government guidance states that the examination can use written representations, hearings, inquiries or open-floor hearings. Follow the project’s case page because the formal deadlines determine when representations and later examination submissions must be made.

Sources and further information
Welsh Government: Significant Infrastructure Projects guidanceWelsh Government/PEDW: How we examine Significant Infrastructure ProjectsLast checked: 25 September 2026

Use the deadline published for the individual SIP application. Current detailed PEDW examination guidance says that, after acceptance, PEDW asks for comments during a six-week representation period, and its community guidance says local communities have at least six weeks to submit representations.

There is an inconsistency within current official Welsh Government material: the SIP overview page describes a minimum five-week representations period, while the more detailed examination and community guidance says six weeks or at least six weeks. ObjectNow therefore does not recommend relying on a generic number where a live case notice is available: the PEDW case-specific notice and deadline should be followed.

Sources and further information
Welsh Government: Significant Infrastructure Projects guidanceWelsh Government/PEDW: How we examine Significant Infrastructure ProjectsLast checked: 25 September 2026

No. The Welsh Government has transitional provisions for projects already within the former consenting regimes. Some DNS applications submitted before 15 December 2025 continue to be processed under the DNS system.

This is why the PEDW casework portal can contain both DNS and SIP cases. Check the case title and procedural notices to determine which regime applies.

Sources and further information
Welsh Government: Developments of National Significance transitional guidanceWelsh Government: Significant Infrastructure Projects guidanceLast checked: 25 September 2026

DNS was the previous Welsh national planning route for specified large infrastructure. PEDW handled applications and an Inspector examined the case, with Welsh Ministers making the decision in the usual DNS model. The process included pre-application stages, validation, a representations period, examination and decision.

DNS remains relevant to transitional cases, but new qualifying infrastructure applications from 15 December 2025 are generally dealt with through the SIP regime.

Sources and further information
Welsh Government: Developments of National Significance transitional guidanceWelsh Government: Significant Infrastructure Projects guidanceLast checked: 25 September 2026

For a SIP, each relevant planning authority whose area contains part of the proposed development is required to submit a Local Impact Report (LIR) by the consultation deadline. The LIR describes the likely effects of the proposed development in that authority's area and covers matters such as planning history, local designations, policy, constraints, likely impacts and suggested requirements or obligations.

Community councils, and planning authorities whose administrative boundaries do not contain the development, may submit a voluntary LIR. The LIR is an important source of local evidence, but the Examining Authority also considers representations, application documents, policy, consultee evidence and other examination material.

Sources and further information
Welsh Government: Significant Infrastructure Projects guidanceWelsh Government/PEDW: How we examine Significant Infrastructure ProjectsLast checked: 25 September 2026

A Local Development Plan is the local statutory development-plan document prepared by a Welsh Local Planning Authority.

It sets the local spatial strategy, identifies allocations and contains policies against which development proposals are assessed.

Do not stop at the policy title.

Read the policy wording, supporting text, proposals map and any site-specific allocation requirements. Then check how the policy sits within Future Wales and other applicable national planning policy.

Also establish whether the LDP is still current or under replacement.

A replacement plan can generate substantial consultation and examination material while the existing adopted LDP remains the operative local development plan. When relying on replacement-plan material, identify its exact stage and do not present draft policy as adopted policy.

Sources and further information

PEDW - Local development plan examinations: procedure guidance

PEDW - Preparing a local development plan for submission

Welsh Government - Future Wales: The National Plan 2040

Last checked: 26 September 2026

A Strategic Development Plan is intended to address planning issues that operate across individual local-authority boundaries.

Welsh Government guidance identifies regional SDP arrangements for North Wales, Mid Wales, South West Wales and South East Wales.

Its purpose is strategic rather than merely administrative.

Issues such as growth, infrastructure and spatial choices can have effects across several council areas, so an SDP can provide a regional framework within which local plans operate.

Communities should engage before the strategic choices are fixed.

Waiting until a later individual application can mean that the wider strategic principle has already been addressed through plan-making. For ObjectNow research, check whether an SDP is operative, emerging or at consultation stage and distinguish that status from the adopted LDP.

Sources and further information

Welsh Government - Strategic Development Plans: a community guide

Last checked: 26 September 2026

A submitted Welsh LDP is examined by an independent Inspector appointed by Welsh Ministers.

The examination considers whether the plan is sound and whether the applicable legislative requirements have been satisfied.

PEDW's procedure uses structured examination material.

The Inspector can identify Matters, Issues and Questions and hold hearing sessions with the authority and representors. The examination can involve focussed changes, further focussed changes or matters arising changes within the applicable process.

The hearing is not simply an opportunity to make a longer objection.

Participants should address the Inspector's identified issue and the tests of soundness. Evidence should be proportionate, relevant and directed to whether the plan can properly proceed in its submitted or modified form.

Sources and further information

PEDW - Local development plan examinations: procedure guidance

PEDW - Preparing a local development plan for submission

Last checked: 26 September 2026

Future Wales provides the national spatial development-plan framework, while the LDP supplies local policy and allocations.

Where both contain policies relevant to a proposal, a professional assessment should consider both rather than selecting whichever document appears more favourable to one side.

The relationship is especially important for strategic development and infrastructure.

A proposal may engage national spatial priorities while also raising highly local questions about landscape, settlement form, access, biodiversity or site allocation.

Always distinguish development-plan policy from other Welsh planning policy.

Planning Policy Wales and Technical Advice Notes are important national policy documents, but they are not simply interchangeable labels for Future Wales or the LDP. Correctly identifying the status of each source makes an objection more precise and harder to dismiss as confused policy analysis.

Sources and further information

Welsh Government - Future Wales: The National Plan 2040

PEDW - Local development plan examinations: procedure guidance

Last checked: 26 September 2026

No. An allocation establishes a development-plan position about the intended use or development of land, but it does not automatically grant consent for any scheme subsequently submitted.

The actual proposal must still be assessed through the appropriate planning or infrastructure-consenting process.

The allocation wording is crucial.

It may specify capacity, access, infrastructure, environmental safeguards, phasing or other requirements. A proposal can therefore be supported in principle by an allocation yet still conflict with the development plan because its details do not satisfy those requirements or other policies.

Objectors should focus on the real planning issue.

If the principle of development has already been established through the plan, explain why the submitted scheme departs from the allocation, causes effects not resolved through plan-making or fails other applicable policy tests.

Sources and further information

PEDW - Local development plan examinations: procedure guidance

Welsh Government - Future Wales: The National Plan 2040

Last checked: 26 September 2026

Future Wales: The National Plan 2040 is the current National Development Framework and has development plan status. It sits at the highest tier of the statutory development plan system in Wales and should be read alongside Planning Policy Wales.

As of September 2026, Welsh Government is consulting on revision of the National Development Framework, but Future Wales remains the current adopted national plan unless and until replaced through the statutory process.

Sources and further information
Welsh Government: Future Wales - The National Plan 2040Welsh Government: Planning Policy WalesLast checked: 25 September 2026

Planning Policy Wales sets out national land-use planning policy for Wales. It is supplemented by Technical Advice Notes, circulars and other national guidance. Future Wales provides the national spatial development plan, and the two should be read together where relevant.

For a representation, use the policy version applicable to the decision and explain how the project engages the specific policy rather than relying on broad references to PPW.

Sources and further information
Welsh Government: Future Wales - The National Plan 2040Welsh Government: Planning Policy WalesLast checked: 25 September 2026

Welsh guidance treats conditions and obligations as different tools.

The Development Management Manual states that conditions and planning obligations can enable a proposal to proceed where refusal would otherwise be necessary. Conditions are governed by Welsh Government Circular 016/2014 and the six tests.

A Section 106 obligation should not be the first choice where a condition can properly address the impact.

The Welsh Development Management Manual states that planning obligations should only be used where it is not possible to address unacceptable impacts through a planning condition.

The three statutory obligation tests are separate from the six condition tests.

For an obligation capable of being taken into account under the relevant CIL Regulations, it must be necessary to make the development acceptable in planning terms, directly related to the development, and fairly and reasonably related in scale and kind.

Check the heads of terms.

Welsh guidance expects committee or officer reporting to identify the heads of terms for planning obligations and the anticipated signing timetable. Campaigners should compare those terms with the mitigation the authority says is required.

Do not treat a contribution as a licence for unrelated harm.

A financial or other obligation must meet the applicable tests. It does not remove the authority's duty to assess the development as a whole against the development plan and other material considerations.

Sources and further information

Welsh Government - Development Management Manual

Welsh Government - The use of planning conditions for development management (WGC 016/2014)

Welsh Government - Planning policy and guidance: obligations

Last checked: 26 September 2026

Start with the six tests and the specific impact being controlled.

Welsh Government model-condition guidance for nationally significant development expressly points back to Circular 016/2014 and the requirements of necessity, planning relevance, development relevance, enforceability, precision and reasonableness.

Check project-specific parameters rather than assuming a model condition is automatically suitable.

Model wording can provide a starting point, but the actual condition must fit the development. For energy projects, scrutinise timings, approved plans, micro-siting, decommissioning, management plans, ecology, lighting, heritage, drainage, highways, radar and amenity where relevant.

Identify what will be approved later.

Where a condition reserves a management plan or scheme, ask whether the essential performance standard is already defined and whether the later approval is genuinely detail rather than an unresolved question central to acceptability.

Check implementation wording.

A requirement to submit information is not necessarily the same as a requirement to obtain approval before a trigger and thereafter comply with the approved material. Read the whole condition.

Record the final condition set after the decision.

Draft conditions can change during examination or determination. Campaign monitoring should use the conditions actually imposed, not an earlier draft.

Sources and further information

Welsh Government - The use of planning conditions for development management (WGC 016/2014)

Welsh Government - Developments of national significance: model conditions

Last checked: 26 September 2026

Welsh public authorities are generally subject to FOIA and the Environmental Information Regulations 2004.

Environmental planning records should be considered under the EIR where they fall within the statutory definition, while other recorded information may be handled under FOIA.

Start with the relevant public case record.

For a local planning application use the local planning authority's register. For a Significant Infrastructure Project, check PEDW's published case material before requesting additional records.

Target the authority that holds the information.

Depending on the issue, that may be a local planning authority, Welsh Ministers, PEDW or another Welsh public body. A body cannot disclose information it does not hold.

Use the review and ICO route for unresolved access disputes.

Where the authority's internal process does not resolve the matter, complaints concerning FOIA or EIR compliance can be taken to the UK Information Commissioner's Office in accordance with its procedures.

Do not confuse Welsh-language or administrative access arrangements with the legal disclosure test.

The key question for FOI/EIR purposes is whether the authority holds recorded information and whether a statutory basis permits or requires withholding it.

Sources and further information

Welsh Government - Freedom of information

ICO - Guide to the Environmental Information Regulations

ICO - Internal reviews under the Environmental Information Regulations

Last checked: 26 September 2026

For a DNS planning permission, post-decision monitoring is primarily a local planning authority function.

Welsh Government procedural guidance states that where Welsh Ministers grant planning permission on a DNS application, the local planning authority has sole responsibility for monitoring implementation and ensuring compliance with the plans and conditions.

PEDW does not carry out routine post-consent enforcement.

If the local planning authority considers that development does not comply with the permission, it has planning-enforcement powers. PEDW's role in the determination does not make it the compliance authority.

Most later condition variations and non-material amendments also go to the local planning authority.

Welsh DNS guidance identifies limited exceptions, so the live procedure should be checked for the particular amendment.

Campaigners should therefore monitor both records.

Keep the original DNS decision material, but also watch the local planning authority's register for condition approvals, amendments and enforcement matters.

This article concerns legacy/transitional DNS cases.

New qualifying Welsh infrastructure proposals now use the Significant Infrastructure Project regime, while existing DNS cases can remain relevant under transitional arrangements.

Sources and further information

Welsh Government - Developments of national significance: procedural guidance

Welsh Government - Development Management Manual

Last checked: 26 September 2026

Wales has a statutory non-material amendment procedure.

Section 96A allows an application for a non-material amendment to an extant planning permission. Welsh Government guidance emphasises that whether a change is non-material depends on the particular permission and circumstances.

A non-material amendment can be sought at different implementation stages.

Welsh guidance states that the procedure can be used before development starts, during implementation or after completion, provided the relevant permission is extant and the statutory requirements are met.

Material changes need another route.

If the change cannot properly be treated as non-material, the developer may need a condition-variation application or a new planning application as appropriate.

The local planning authority is responsible for planning enforcement.

Where development is unauthorised or a condition is not complied with, the authority can investigate and decide whether formal action is expedient.

Enforcement notices can be appealed on statutory grounds.

PEDW's current 2026 guidance sets out the appeal grounds and evidence requirements. Campaigners should distinguish the authority's enforcement decision from the later appeal process.

Sources and further information

Welsh Government - Planning permission: small amendments to existing permission

PEDW - Appeal a planning enforcement notice

Welsh Government - Development Management Manual

Last checked: 26 September 2026

The Infrastructure (Wales) Act 2024 contains an express legal-challenge regime.

Section 96 provides that an infrastructure consent order, refusal and several other decisions can be questioned only through judicial review within the statutory period specified for the relevant decision.

For an infrastructure consent order, the period is six weeks.

The claim form must be filed before the end of six weeks beginning with the day after publication of the order or, if later, publication of the statement of reasons.

A refusal has its own trigger.

For refusal of infrastructure consent, section 96 links the six-week period to the day after publication of the statement of reasons.

Other SIP decisions have their own statutory trigger dates.

Section 96 separately addresses non-acceptance, correction decisions, changes or revocation and other acts or omissions. Do not calculate every challenge from the same date.

The challenge remains a legality review.

The court is not conducting a new infrastructure examination. Obtain specialist Welsh planning/public-law advice immediately if a legal defect is suspected.

Sources and further information

Infrastructure (Wales) Act 2024 - section 96 legal challenges

Civil Procedure Rules - Pre-Action Protocol for Judicial Review

Last checked: 26 September 2026

Preserve the infrastructure consent order and statement of reasons as soon as they are published.

Those documents can determine both the substance of the challenge and the statutory time calculation.

Download the examination record.

Keep the application, representations, Local Impact Reports, hearing material, written questions and responses, examination report where published, environmental information and relevant procedural decisions.

Record the publication dates separately.

The Infrastructure (Wales) Act uses publication events to trigger several six-week periods. Save evidence of the date on which the order and statement of reasons were published.

Identify whether the concern relates to the examination or the final decision.

The statutory framework can cover acts and omissions during the application process as well as the final order, but the correct route and trigger require legal assessment.

Do not wait for a campaign meeting before seeking advice.

Six weeks is a short litigation timetable. Governance and fundraising can proceed alongside, not before, urgent legal assessment.

Sources and further information

Infrastructure (Wales) Act 2024 - section 96 legal challenges

Last checked: 26 September 2026