Changing Views on Town Planning in Great Britain

This article takes a critical look at the British planning system and the way it operates today. It has the reputation of being the best in the world, but it is widely misunderstood and misused. The present British government is trying to make planning less effective and far-reaching in the name of the need for national economic revival. Some of the planners on the defensive argue that the need and potential for planning is as great as ever. But there is no cause for complacency as the system has not been working smoothly. A long-running debate about the desirable degree of control over minor development will be quietened when the government passes new legislation on the subject. But the basic issues remain unresolved. Public participation in planning has been fashionable, but many planners are now disappointed by it. In pursuing quantity rather than quality of response from the public, the efforts of planners to involve people in preparing plans have been misdirected. Public inquiries have become an important part of the planning system, but the public is being tricked into thinking that it has a real opportunity to influence decisions when in fact it does not. Gradual changes in the nature of public inquiries are making them widely misunderstood.