GPDO Article 8 Wales – cancelling or varying directions

Article 8 is one of the shortest provisions in the Welsh GPDO, but it makes an important point: a direction made under the Order can later be cancelled or varied.

The Article says that any power in the GPDO to give a direction includes the power to cancel or vary that direction by making a subsequent direction.

You can read the current Article 8 on legislation.gov.uk.

Article 8 and Welsh Article 4 directions

For an Article 4 direction, the modern Welsh procedure is now set out more specifically in Schedule 2A.

The Welsh Government Development Management Manual explains that a local planning authority can withdraw an Article 4 direction by making a subsequent direction. If it wants to vary a direction, it withdraws the existing direction and replaces it with a new one.

In either case, the relevant procedures for making an Article 4 direction apply again. That includes the publicity, consultation and notification requirements in Schedule 2A where applicable.

This matters for anyone checking whether an old Article 4 direction still affects a property. Finding the original direction is not always the end of the exercise: it may subsequently have been varied or withdrawn.

Welsh Ministers can also intervene

Schedule 2A also gives the Welsh Ministers reserve powers in relation to Article 4 directions made by local planning authorities. They can make a subsequent direction to withdraw or vary a local direction before or after it has been confirmed.

That sits alongside the general principle in Article 8 and is one reason the current status of a direction should be checked rather than relying only on the date it was originally made.

Article 8 also applies beyond Article 4

Article 8 is drafted generally. It applies to any power conferred by the 1995 GPDO to give a direction, not only the ordinary Article 4 power.

For example, Article 7 contains a separate direction procedure for specified mineral development. Article 8 provides the general ability to cancel or vary a direction made under the Order, although the particular provision under which the original direction was made must still be checked for the procedure and conditions that apply.

A practical lesson when checking a direction

If a planning history, local authority map or old decision notice refers to a direction, check the actual document and then look for any later direction which may have:

• withdrawn it
• reduced or enlarged the affected area
• changed the permitted development rights being removed
• replaced it with a new direction

The operative position is the current direction as affected by any later direction, not simply the first document you happen to find.

Article 8 legislation

Article 8 is short, but important. The current revised wording is:

View the current revised Article 8 on legislation.gov.uk or read the Planning Geek copy of the 1995 Order as originally made.

Welsh GPDO Articles

The Articles are the legal framework for the General Permitted Development Order in Wales. Use the links below to move between the current Articles or return to the Welsh GPDO section.

Legal check: 6th September 2026