Writing a DAS for a Canterbury application
A Design & Access Statement explains and justifies your proposal against the development plan. For schemes across Canterbury — Canterbury, Herne Bay, Whitstable and Sturry and the surrounding area — that means engaging Canterbury's own adopted policies on design, character and amenity, plus the NPPF. Buildwise auto-detects site constraints (Kent Downs National Landscape (AONB), Canterbury conservation areas + the Canterbury World Heritage Site (Cathedral, St Augustine’s Abbey, St Martin’s Church) and coastal change / flood zones (Herne Bay, Whitstable)) from your postcode and writes each section tailored to your site and project type.
Cited to Canterbury's actual adopted plan
Buildwise references Canterbury's live policies directly — for example design, amenity and character policies such as DBE3 (Principles of Design), DBE6 (Alterations and Extensions), DBE4 (Residential Space Standards) — quoted from the source documents and verified, never invented. As Canterbury updates its plan, Buildwise's corpus is updated with it.
- Canterbury District Local Plan (adopted July 2017)
How it works
Address + postcode; constraints detected automatically.
Usually under 10 minutes.
Download as PDF, edit online, or send to your client under your practice logo.
Example (excerpt)
"The single-storey design and restrained ridge height directly address scale and massing, ensuring compliance with Policy DBE3 (Principles of Design). Generous separation to the host dwelling with no new facing windows satisfies the amenity requirements engaged by Policy DBE6…"
Frequently asked questions
Required for major development and for most work in conservation areas or the Kent Downs National Landscape (AONB); often expected for householder schemes too. Buildwise produces one either way.
Canterbury's adopted Canterbury District Local Plan (adopted July 2017) policies relevant to your scheme — such as DBE3 (Principles of Design), DBE6 (Alterations and Extensions), DBE4 (Residential Space Standards) — plus the NPPF.
Minutes, versus most of a working day by hand.
Your first statement is free, no card needed. The permitted development check is always free.
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