Validation Checklist Development Control Guidance Note

The Borough Council has adopted a development control guidance note on Validation Checklists. The Guidance Note seeks to improve the level of information provided with planning and associated applications. From April 2008 a single standard application form was introduced nationally. The Validation Checklist will help the Borough Council to achieve good standards of performance and it provides planning authorities and applicants with greater certainty as to the nature and extent of information required in order to validate and process applications.

The document can be downloaded as a PDF file:

Validation Checklist DCGN (262KB)

Printed Documents

Copies of the document are available for purchase, please see the Obtaining Printed Copies page for details of how to obtain the document.

Parking Standards

One of the most important amenity impacts arising from new development is the availability of parking, this is particularly important to residential development. The Council's existing parking standards are appended to the adopted Swindon Borough Local Plan, 2011. The Government's  "Manual for Streets", (DfT, 2007), provided a sound starting point for a revision of these standards to address ongoing concerns over parking provision in new residential developments. The Council has adopted revised parking standards for residential development and these have been incorporated in to a new technical guidance note on parking standards. It should be noted that parking standards for non-residential development have not been revised and remain the same as those appended to the adopted Swindon Borough Local Plan.

The document can be downloaded as a series of PDF files:

Parking Standards Pt 1 (238 KB)

Part 2a (1,962KB)

Part 2b (1,954KB)

Part 3 (1,276KB)

A summary of the responses made to the consultation drafts of the guidance note and the Council's response to these comments can be downloaded as PDF files:

Comments and Responses to First Draft (64KB)

Comments and Responses to Revised Draft (54KB)

Printed Documents

Copies of the document are available for purchase; please see the Obtaining Printed Copies page for details of how to obtain the document.

Nature Conservation

The Borough Council has adopted a guidance note on Nature Conservation, it is a result of an innovative joint working partnership between Swindon Borough Council, Natural England and David Tyldesley and Associates, who are expert consultants in the environmental field. The purpose of the Guidance Note is to amplify the nature conservation policies of the adopted Swindon Borough Local Plan 2011 by providing additional guidance against which planning applications can be prepared and determined. Biodiversity is a key indicator of sustainable development and the planning system has a vital role to play in protecting and enhancing biodiversity.

The document can be downloaded as a PDF file:

Nature Conservation (197KB)

Printed Documents

Copies of the document are available for purchase; please see the Obtaining Printed Copies page for details of how to obtain the document.

Developer Contributions

Swindon Borough Council sees developer contributions playing a vital role in securing the funding necessary to facilitate future growth in Swindon through the provision of essential infrastructure.

Swindon Borough Council adopted a suite of Developer Contributions Guidance Notes at the Borough Council's Planning Committee on 12 September 2006.

The 'Developer Contributions' Guidance note provides a single 'one stop shop' approach for Swindon Borough Council's requirements for developer contributions for a variety of essential infrastructure. It incorporates all existing adopted guidance on developer contributions.

To view the main 'Developer Contributions' document please click on the following link:

Developer Contributions

The specific service area developer contributions guidance notes can be viewed below.

Social Services Development Control Guidance Note

The guidance note seeks contributions where need for certain Adult and Children’s services are expected to grow over the next five years resulting in a requirement for further care facilities.

The document is available as a downloadable pdf file:

Social Services DCGN (241Kb)

Local Health Development Control Guidance Note

The guidance note seeks contributions where new development will result in the list size of an existing GP practice exceeding the target of 1700 patients per GP, or if it will further increase the list size where capacity already exceeds the target. This Guidance Note has been produced in partnership with the Swindon Primary Care Trust.

The document is available as a downloadable pdf file:

Local Health DCGN (90Kb)

Community Safety Development Control Guidance Note

The Council has a legal requirement under Section 17 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, to review how their current service provision impacts on crime and disorder. The guidance note outlines the cost of various initiatives, for example the installation of CCTV in the Borough, and arrives at a contribution per dwelling type to fund these improvements.

The document is available as a downloadable pdf file:

Community Safety DCGN (184Kb)

Culture and Leisure Development Control Guidance Note

The guidance note seeks a financial contribution where new residential development will create or make worse a deficiency in the quantity, quality and/or accessibility of culture and leisure provision in Swindon. The Guidance Note details projected need and calculates the level of contribution expected per new dwelling in the context of this need.

The document is available as a downloadable pdf file:

Culture and Leisure DCGN (638Kb)

The Regeneration of Swindon's Central Area

This adopted guidance note sets out a methodology by which the principles of The New Swindon Company's Regeneration Framework can be used in determining planning applications within the Central Area. The guidance note sets out the importance of the master planning process and the importance of controlling development that may prejudice or compromise comprehensive development and therefore the regeneration of Swindon's Central Area.

The document can be downloaded as a PDF file:

Central Area (148KB)

Developer Contributions to Public Realm and Infrastructure Improvements in Swindon's Central Area

This guidance note has been adopted by the Borough Council, the purpose of which is to secure the enhancement of Central Swindon's public realm to allow it to meet the greater demands that will be placed on it in the future, by providing a means of securing developer contributions towards improvements to the Central Area Public Realm. This document should be read in tandem with the adopted Public Realm Strategy, which can be viewed by clicking on the following link: Supplementary Planning Documents

The document can be downloaded as a PDF file:

Public Realm (1,330Kb)

This web page was updated on Monday 15th September 2008.