Bad enough to have to have planning permission to take out old rotten rubbish windows and put new, good, secure ones in - Council's only now trying to bolt a stable door in a long-neglected conservation area where most of the original sash windows galloped off into a skip around 1978 - but the planning dept have now informed me that the PP application now has to include a "Design and Access Statement". I'm pretty irritated that the online planning portal didn't bring this up, actually, but rules are rules are rules...
There is plenty of guidance around for writing these statements for new buildings, new estates, new towns, retail parks etc, but not for just a window.
I can accept that the "design" element should be spelled out in conservation areas.
As for "access and inclusivity" there are indeed some persons locally who enter and leave properties via the ground floor windows, when not otherwise detained in facilities allowing few such opportunities for free egress. I had actually nutured a vague hope that I would be allowed a design of windows which would EXCLUDE these fine specimens of the diversity of society by PREVENTING their access to my home, but really must change my attitude and move with the times! :-)
Off now to put quill to vellum.
Duncan