Environment and Sustainability

Quick Guides

Quick guides look at complex or technical topics, and provide easily understood guides to these topics.

• Carrier Bag Charges: Questions and Answers
  
  November 2011
  On 1 October 2011 Wales became the first country in the UK to introduce a requirement to charge on most single-use carrier bags. This Quick Guide aims to answer the most common questions that Members and their constituents may have regarding the carrier bag charges scheme.

• The Devolution of Building Regulations
  
  January 2012
  From 31 December 2011 responsibility for Building Regulations was transferred from the UK to the Welsh Government. This document answers common questions that may be of interest to Members and their constituents regarding Building Regulations and the transfer of powers.

• Ecosystems and the Ecosystem Approach
  
  March 2012
  In January 2012 the Welsh Government launched a consultation document ‘Sustaining a Living Wales – A green paper on a new approach to natural resource management in Wales’. This quick guide explains some of the common terms that are used as part of the new ‘ecosystems approach’ to nature conservation and management.

• Forestry in Wales
  
  August 2011
  This quick guide looks at the ownership and maintenance of forestry in Wales, and looks at its importance to the Welsh economy.

• The Marine Act
  
  May 2011
  This quick guide provides an introduction to the different elements of the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 and information on how its requirements apply to Wales.

• National Parks and AONBs in Wales
  
  May 2011
  This quick guide provides an introduction to National Parks and AONBs in Wales outlining how and why they are established, the processes by which they are managed and the Assembly’s competence over them.

• Nature Conservation Designations
  
  April 2012
  In January 2012 the Welsh Government launched a consultation document ‘Sustaining a Living Wales – A Green Paper on a new approach to natural resource management in Wales’. The Green Paper discusses the relative role of designations in the proposed new approach to natural resource management. This quick guide provides an introduction to current statutory nature conservation designations in Wales.

• Planning Series 1: National planning policy
  
  May 2011
  This quick guide provides a short introduction to national planning policy in Wales, including the legislative background and a description of how the planning system operates in Wales.

• Planning Series 2: Local planning policy in Wales
  
  May 2011
  This quick guide provides a short introduction to local planning policy and the Local Development Plan process in Wales.

• Planning Series 3 - Developments that don’t need planning permission
  
  May 2011
  This quick guide provides a short introduction to the main types of development which do not require planning permission.

• Planning Series 4: Planning permission
  
  May 2011
  This quick guide provides a short introduction to planning permission, the different types, and how a decision to grant permission is made.

• Planning Series 5: Call-in of planning applications
  
  May 2011
  This quick guide provides a short introduction to the process by which the Welsh Government may call in planning applications.

• Planning Series 6: Appeals
  
  May 2011
  This quick guide provides a short introduction to the planning appeal process in Wales.

• Planning Series 7: Enforcement
  
  May 2011
  This quick guide provides a short introduction to planning enforcement, including the types of action Local Planning Authorities can take.

• Planning Series 8: Telecommunications equipment
  
  May 2011
  This quick guide provides a short introduction to the planning arrangements which govern the placement of telecommunication equipment.

• Rights of Way
  
  March 2011
  This quick guide provides an overview of the Rights of Way policy in Wales. It provides information on the differences between Public and Private Rights of Way and who is responsible for them.

• Water Quality in Wales
  
  May 2011
  This quick guide provides an introduction to the European Water Framework Directive, the Bathing Water Directive and the Nitrates Directive. In addition the Quick Guide summarises progress made to date in Wales on implementing the requirements of these Directives.