Pre-application consultations (PAC)
Introduction
Under the Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (Wales) (Amendment) Order 2016 (DMPWO) changes were made to require developers wishing to develop major planning application sites to submit Pre-Application Consultations (PAC) directly to Statutory Consultees.
Criteria for a Major Development
Major development" means development involving any one or more of the following—
- the winning and working of minerals or the use of land for mineral-working deposits;
- waste development;
- the provision of dwelling houses where—
- the number of dwelling houses to be provided is 10 or more; or
- the development is to be carried out on a site having an area of 0.5 hectares or more and it is not known whether the development falls within sub-paragraph (c)(i);
- the provision of a building or buildings where the floor space to be created by the development is 1,000 square metres or more; or
- development carried out on a site having an area of 1 hectare or more;
In Schedule 4 to the DMPWO as amended by the 2016 Order a developer is only required to consult a statutory consultee listed in the table of this Schedule when the proposed development meets a "Description of Development" as listed in column 2 of that table.
Below is an extract of the table within Schedule 4 of the DMPWO where NPTCBC will be the Highway Authority.
Table (extract)
| Paragraph | Description of Development | Consultee |
|---|---|---|
| (f) | Development likely to result in a material change in the character of traffic entering or leaving a classified road or proposed highway | The local highway authority concerned |
| (g) | Development likely to prejudice the improvement or construction of a classified road or proposed highway | The local highway authority concerned |
| (h) |
Development involving:- (i) the formation, laying out or alteration of any means of access to a highway (other than a trunk road); or (ii) the construction of a highway or private means of access to premises affording access to a road in relation to which a toll order is in force |
The local highway authority concerned The local highway authority concerned, and in the case of a road subject to a concession, the concessionaire |
| (i) | Development which consists of or includes the laying out or construction of a new street | The local highway authority |
Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council (NPTCBC) under this table act as the Highway Authority for the publicly maintained roads within its Borough except for the (M4 Motorway and trunk roads namely the A465 and A48) which links between junction 42 and junction 40, which are the responsibility of the Welsh Government as Highway Authority.
Responsibility of the developer
The developer must provide the following directly to NPTCBC, or direct NPTCBC to a website which contains this information:
- All information that would be required to be submitted as part of a formal planning application. This includes all the information on the relevant planning application form, except the ownership certificates
- Scaled plans, with north arrow, to identify the land to which the application relates
- All other scaled plans, drawings and information that would be required to describe the proposed development – this includes any technical documents that would be needed in order to validate any subsequent application
- Design and Access Statement
- Any information that would be needed in order to accord with any local validation requirements of the relevant local planning authority
Responsibility of the consultee
NPTCBC as Highway Consultee is required to provide a "substantive response" to the developer within the prescribed 28 day period, or within such period that has been agreed in writing with the developer. NPTCBC as Highway Consultee are only under a duty to provide a substantive response when they receive a formal notice under article 2D of the DMPWO.
A "substantive response" is one which:
- states that the specialist consultee has no comment to make;
- states that the specialist consultee has no objection to the proposed development and refers the applicant to current standing advice by the specialist consultee on the subject of the consultation;
- advises the applicant of any concerns identified in relation to the proposed development and how these those concerns can be addressed; or
- advises the applicant that the specialist consultee has concerns and that it would object to an application for planning permission made in the same or substantially the same terms and sets out the reasons for those objections.
Contact can be made via email: SAB-HDC@npt.gov.uk or by telephone on 01639 686850.