Development Control in The United Kingdom - History

History

When the UK's system of town and country planning was established by the Town and Country Planning Act 1947, it was generally expected that the great majority of new built development would be undertaken by the public sector: Local authorities, New Town Development Corporations, and the then-new National Health Service, for example. In those cases the commissioning body would grant itself planning permission for the proposals concerned. However, a separate system to grant or withhold planning permission for the small amount of development which would be undertaken by the private sector was also required. This was the origin of the modern system of planning control. In fact this expectation was entirely mistaken as, by the mid 1950s, the rate of private sector development was vastly exceeding that of the public sector. In modern times all development, including that by government departments and local authorities requires planning permission, and is subject to the same process of democratic scrutiny as any private developer.

In recent years, planning has become a key means of delivering a number of the government's objectives relating to climate change, reducing carbon emissions, access to housing and improving the supply of housing, enhancing biodiversity and a number of other emerging priorities. Although these are addressed via the process of formulating local planning policies for the area of each LPA on a local basis, as far as the public are concerned it is development control and the process of determining planning applications which is the most evident part of the planning system as a whole.

Note that within the United Kingdom, any significant development may require a variety of different consents from different agencies before commencement, such as approval of construction materials and methods under the relevant Building Regulations). The term "development control" is usually used only in reference to control under Town and Country Planning legislation.

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