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Planning needs to take into account the priorities of communities, which are not fixed. The aim is to create a framework which will allow for sustainable development. Collaboration and investment-based approaches are needed using local government as the main institutional framework, linked to regional and other bodies. The approach should be deliberative and inquisitorial rather than adverserial. Planning can foster democracy by encouraging consultation which includes feedback and the involvement of all those with a stake in the issues.

United Kingdom Planning Policy Guidance Note 12 (PPG-12): Development Plans has been revised, and the consultation draft stresses a requirement for rapidly produced and up-to-date plans. Planning authorities are allowed flexibility in deciding on content and procedures. There are proposals for new procedures such as using a consultation program rather than having a requirement that statutory consultees be consulted. There is also a proposal that inspectors should publish reports on inquiries into local plans before eight weeks have elapsed following their receipt by local government.

The United Kingdom will grant planning permission for some leisure and retail developments if there is a need for them, but it is not clear how this 'need' should be defined. The Planning Minister, Richard Caborn, has not offered guidance on factors that may be seen as important when need is assessed, and it is not simply an issue of capacity in a given area. Law firms should benefit from thedebates on whether there is a need for a particular development.

There are some 750,000 empty homes in England at any given time, with some 250,000 of these uninhabited for 12 months or over, and the private sector accounts for 83% of these empty homes. There are a number of reasons for housing being empty, such as inheritance when the heirs do not need the property, or lack of funds to renovate a house. The Empty Homes Agency is granting awards for returning empty residential property to use, and aims to promote action on this issue.

The United Kingdom government is calling for more brownfield sites to be used. Residential buyers want to be near the countryside, while road communications are important for commercial users. Law firms in Manchester, England, have tackled this issue, and re-development is often important for mergers and acquisitions. Work has to be carried out well or value is affected, and there could be legal problems if seepage occurs. The usage of wasteland also brings environmental benefits.

Local communities in the UK should be given the means to develop their own approaches to urban development, according to an interim report from the Urban Task Force. This report recommends the implementation of a national design framework which would encourage urban development based on high quality 3D spatial masterplanning. The task force has called for long-term government commitment, with regional capitals or groups of regional cities operating as driving forces.

UK Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott's plans for renewing urban areas and cutting down development in the countryside could include a compulsory land pooling scheme. This would involve the pooling of land ownership of a fragmented site designated for regeneration. The owners would remain involved to benefit from any development, and no taxpayers' money would be used to purchase the land. It is intended that this approach would be less expensive and quicker than compulsory purchase powers in putting together urban sites.

The future seems very uncertain for industrial land in the UK as the government places strong emphasis on the use of brownfield sites to meet anticipated demand for housing. The recycling of land previously in industrial use should be welcomed, but it must also be realized that new housing does not contribute to economic activity. A lot of attention has been given to the land requirements of the residential sector, but it is also important to consider the needs of industry, which also requires brownfield and greenfield land.

The UK's planning system is having a very negative impact on the activities of housebuilders. There is no single set of procedures, and the system is too restrictive in parts of the country where there is particular demand for housing. There are also problem with the stage in the property cycle at which land is released onto the market. It is now time for developers to become more planning-orientated. This could be achieved through property developers linking with planning consultancies, architects and academic research departments to look at regional socio-economic needs.

Thamesmead is an England town which was launched in 1966 as the result of planning decisions to meet housing need. The site chosen for Thamesmead was built on peat, suffered pollution from power plants, and was next to a sewage station. The site was purchased by the council of London, England, and was seen to have some advantages. One was that agricultural land would not be used, and another was that no houses would have to be pulled down to make space for new houses. The architectural style of Thamesmead has been described as 'New Brutalism'.

The UK planning process includes a concept known as planning gain where local planning officials and developers work out an agreement which will allow the development to proceed. The negotiated agreement usually entails the developer providing an additional building or facilities for community use. Some observers suggest that the secrecy involved in the meetings excludes the community. The new Labour government may completely reform the planning process and make it more open to public scrutiny.

The London Planning Advisory Committee is to consider the economic need for tall buildings in London, after Foster and Partners' proposal for a 435m London Millennium Tower. The LPAC has already looked into the need for new guidelines by looking at development plans and reviewing policies on high buildings, skylines and general urban design principles, on the River Thames. Information technology could be used to create a three dimensional map of the capital, showing where tall buildings could be appropriate.

Planning obligations have a positive role to play in the UK planning system, according to Circular 1/97, 'Planning Obligations,' which has recently been issued by the department of the environment. This document calls on planning authorities to focus on the quality of particular developments, both in planning terms and with respect to planning policies. It also acknowledges that some further restrictions or provisions may be necessary to allow development which would otherwise not be permitted according to planning considerations to go ahead.

Citizens' juries have been used on a trial basis by eight local health authorities and six local councils in the UK to hear evidence and produce guidance on a wide range of issues. In the planning sector, such bodies serve to bring direct public participation into planning decisions. They may work to the advantage of developers, reducing the risk of schemes being rejected by politicians. These juries produce highly respected advice, and this is unlikely to be rejected by a planning committee.

New planning guidance from UK environment secretary John Gummer places considerable emphasis on design, calling for sustainable development and reflecting his wish for more mixed-use developments. The guidance states that planning authorities should give attention to 'local distinctiveness,' but not impose a specific architectural style. It also calls on authorities to set out design policies in their development plans. Proposals must be assessed against these policies.

The UK National Planning Forum is promoting the 'Development Team Approach' as a way of providing a more customer-oriented and integrated local authority service to the development industry. The National Planning Forum's new advice note proposes that local authorities introduce a 'one-stop service' for all development approvals for which they are responsible. The Development Team Approach will include development services such as building control, planning, highways and sewerage, and may also encompass areas such as fire services if necessary.

The UK government is soon to issue the revised Planning Guidance Note 1, which is likely to strongly support the principle that planners should extend the use of design and development briefs for the most important sites. At present, such briefs are used mainly in conservation areas, and are often not taken into account when planning applications are assessed. This approach will give local authority planners greater control over design.

UK planning law relating to changes of use which have not been approved often involve difficulties in assessing what the appropriate planning unit is comprised of. This may be the case where there is a retail development with individual shops and other units. The issue was important in a case involving change of use for a single unit at the MetroCentre, a retail development in Gateshead, England. In this case the single unit was seen as the appropriate planning unit.

It is important that leisure operators and developers give close attention to the recently published 'Town Centre and Retail Development' document, which revises the government's sixth Planning Policy Guidance Note. The document encourages local authorities to promote mixed use developments in town centres, and this could include some entertainment and leisure facilities, although no specific mention is made of this sector. It emphasises the importance of assessing proposals on the basis of their contribution to diversification.

Recent moves by the UK government to protect city centres from out-of-town development may have come too late, given that many large edge-of-town shopping centres are still being planned, according to planning expert Peter Hall. Reviving city centres through mixed-use developments and returning shopping to town centres, which is what the government plans, fails to take account of the fact that development work is now focusing on small towns and rural areas.

The UK Department of the Environment has tightened curbs on building on greenfield sites through PPG2, revised guidance on planning policy. Infilling and redevelopment are to be more tightly controlled and there will be safeguarded land to be used on a long-term basis for homes or employment. John Gummer, the UK Environment Secretary, has emphasised the importance of green belts in the policies of the UK government toward planning. He aims to foster growth within land currently urbanised.

The UK government's draft revision to its green belt policy includes some worthwhile changes but does not resolve some fundamental issues. The refinements in the draft Planning Policy Guidance Note 2: Green Belts (PPG2) include setting out positive objectives for the use of land in green belts, and amending the guidance of the type of buildings which will permitted in green belts. However, the draft PPG does not look at the questions of derelict land, the urban fringe, public access and transport links.

Planning issues related to the closure of air bases in the UK, both those used by the UK and by the US, have become important with the end of the Cold War, and Bentwaters in Suffolk, England, is one such base. This base could provide affordable housing for families on low incomes, whose needs have not been met due to the high price of land in the region. There are already roads and a water supply at the base, and Bentwaters could become an experiment in govt reduction of bureaucracy to promote the development of affordable housing.

Those involved in the planning and property sectors were hit by UK Environment Sec John Gummer's reaffirmation of his tough approach to development at the Tory conference in Oct, 1993. Gummer underlined the fact that his task is to restore life to the UK's cities, and to protect the countryside. Gummer announced plans to broaden the call-in terms for development proposals, with the new criterion expected to be 'quality'. He took an especially tough line on retail development, saying that he does not want poorly-designed and -sited retail parks to despoil the countryside.

The UK government has set up the East Thames Task Force consisting of civil and public servants to plan a development strategy for the area. The East Thames corridor stretches from the Royal Docks in London to Tilbury in Essex and the Isle of Sheppey, Kent. The plan includes the building of 100,000 homes by 2015 and regeneration of contaminated industrial land. The government has promised funding of 4.5 billion pounds sterling for transport and 2.5 billion pounds sterling for the Channel Tunnel link. Private investment is vital.

The South East is seen as the most economically important area in the UK as it provides a vital land supply near London. The draft report on regional planning in the South East up to 2006 will be published in early 1993. Delay has been caused due to discord between the Treasury and the Department of the Environment over public finance. Emphasis is on the environment. About 4,000 hectares of urban land will be reused to avoid destroying countryside. Eagle Star Properties has launched its plan for the development of a market town centred around Micheldever station in Hampshire.

Widespread dissatisfaction on the treatment of new settlements in the Department of the Environment's PPG3 (Planning Policy Guidance Note - 3 Housing) has led to lobbying for revision of the document for Autumn 1992. The Urban Villages Group, supported by Prince Charles, believes that more urban villages should be built with a legally binding code covering, architecture, environmental aspects, estate management and infrastructure. The TCPA (Town and Country Planning Association) believes that new settlements would offer cheap housing, employment and reduce commuting.

The Redbridge Council in Essex, England ordered Desiree Ntolo to demolish an African-style mud hut in her garden. The edict illustrates the negative side of city planning. City councils should not use regulations to restrict people's creativity and freedom.

MICHAEL HESELTINE'S plan to stretch London eastwards rivals the conception of Britain's post-1945 new towns in grandeur. Yet the huge sums of government money that built the new towns are [...]