Supplementary planning guidance (SPG)

The council produces Supplementary Planning Guidance (SPG) on a wide variety of development issues. These provide applicants and decision makers with further information on how the policies of the Swansea Local development Plan (LDP) will be applied.

Adopted SPG:

Since the adoption of the LDP in February 2019 the Council has adopted the following SPG:

The following SPG were adopted by the Council prior to formal adoption of the Swansea LDP, however they remain valid and important guidance to inform planning decision making given they:

fundamentally align with LDP Policy and provide useful guidance to confirm how the Council considers the LDP policy aims and objectives should be interpreted
are referenced within the adopted LDP as a supporting document
are consistent with national guidance and overarching principles of placemaking
were relatively recently approved following stakeholder engagement and public consultation
Planning Obligations (PDF, 799 KB)
Shopfront and Commercial Frontage Design Guide (PDF, 3 MB)
Swansea Tall Buildings Strategy (PDF, 4 MB)
District Centres, Local Centres and Community Facilities (PDF, 3 MB)
Planning For Community Safety (PDF, 793 KB)

Houses in Multiple Occupation and Purpose Built Student Accommodation

This document provides guidance to augment Policies H9 and H11 of the LDP, and provide clarity on the interpretation of those policies, in order to inform decision making on proposals for Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) and Purpose Built Student Accomodation (PBSA).

Biodiversity and Development

This document provides guidance to augment Policies ER6, ER8 and ER9 of the LDP, and provide clarity on the interpretation of those policies, in order to ensure development within Swansea maintains and enhances the County's biodiversity and delivers long term ecosystem resilience. This aligns with the Council's duties under s6 of the Environment (Wales) Act 2016 and the Resilient Wales Goal of the Well Being of Future Generations Act 2015, and is consistent with National Development Plan (Future Wales) Policy.

Trees, Hedgerows and Woodlands SPG

This document provides guidance on how the relevant policies of the LDP should be applied to planning applications with respect to all existing, retained and newly planted trees, hedgerows and woodland on development sites.

Placemaking guidance for the Gower AONB

The guidance provides a practical design tool to be used by all involved in the design and development process, whether planning permission is required or not. It sets out the placemaking objectives, design principles and relevant policies of the LDP that should be followed to ensure that development respects the distinctive character of both the natural and built environment of Gower and will assist in the determination of planning applications within and in close proximity to the AONB.

Placemaking guidance for residential development

The council has adopted a set of guidance on how placemaking principles should be applied to residential developments at a variety of scales, from proposed extensions, to individual homes, to large scale residential proposals that will create whole new neighbourhoods.

Consultation Draft Supplementary Planning Guidance

Consultation on draft Swansea Supplementary Planning Guidance (SPG) documents.

The Conversion of Traditional Rural Buildings

This document provides guidance to support policies CV 2 and CV 4 of the LDP and how the relevant policies of the LDP should be applied in order to assist in the determination of planning applications seeking to convert traditional rural buildings. It also provides important information and guidance to augment LDP Policies TR5 and HC2.