Our role in planning and development
We are committed to supporting the delivery of sustainable development by working closely and proactively with our partners and customers to help direct development to the most appropriate locations
We are consulted by both planning authorities and developers for our expert advice on likely environmental effects from development proposals. We also advise local planning authorities preparing local development plans.
We seek to ensure that our advice is evidenced based, clear, and consistent to help determining bodies and developers make environmentally informed decisions.
Our consultation topics sets out when we want to be consulted by planning authorities and applicants.
You can find out more about the service we provide to applicants by visiting the “Our service to developers" section.
Check the environmental constraints relevant to your development
You can use the spatial data available on ‘DataMapWales’ to check some of the environmental constraints on our checklist that are relevant to your development.
‘DataMapWales’ presents geographic information and tools with a focus on Wales. Welsh Government provide DataMapWales in combination with other pubic sector partners.
Please see below the list of environmental constraints on our development planning checklist you can find on the DataMapWales. Where they are not available on DataMapWales we have provided a link to additional sources where you can find data and information.
| Spatial Data Layers | Location of Data |
|---|---|
|
Historic landfill sites |
DataMapWales |
|
Main rivers |
DataMapWales |
|
Source protection zones |
DataMapWales |
|
Nitrate vulnerable zones |
DataMapWales |
|
Geological conservation review site |
DataMapWales |
|
Protected sites Ramsar, SAC (includes marine), SPA (includes marine), SSSI, NNR, MCZ, AONB |
DataMapWales |
|
National parks |
DataMapWales |
|
Flood zone 2 |
DataMapWales |
|
Flood zone 3 |
DataMapWales |
|
Flood defences |
DataMapWales |
|
Aquifer designation Wales: bedrock geology and superficial deposits |
http://mapapps2.bgs.ac.uk/geoindex/home.html?topic=Hydrogeology%20Wales |
|
Groundwater vulnerability Wales: bedrock geology and superficial deposits |
http://mapapps2.bgs.ac.uk/geoindex/home.html?topic=Hydrogeology%20Wales |
|
Mains sewer line |
Available on request through Welsh Water. |
|
European protected species |
Submitting your consultations to us
You can submit your planning consultations to one of our development planning advice teams. Their contact details can be found here.
Our responses to consultations
You can view copies of our responses to government and other public consultations in our consultations responses.
See also:
- Our service to developers
Find out more about the service we provide at the pre-application stage of your development. This section also provides access to more detailed guidance for a number of environmental topics - Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs)
Find out more about our role in the consenting regime for NSIPs - Marine Planning
Find out more about our role in marine planning and protecting the marine environment - Reporting
Find out more about how we report on our role within the planning system