Planning Systems in the UK and Ireland

03-Jul-09

There are different planning systems in the UK and Ireland. Most recognise that planning gives rise to issues and affects interests at national, regional and local levels and provide roles for governments and agencies at all relevant tiers.  

UK and Irish planning systems manage the use and development of land and other resources in the public interest, to deliver community benefits. They do so by ensuring that significant proposals to use land differently or to undertake development (such as building, engineering or mining) need planning permission or some other form of development consent before they can proceed. 

Planning permission is granted by an appropriate public authority who considers issues arising from relevant law, policy and the circumstances of the proposal before making a decision. Most systems recognise that minor proposals with limited impacts do not need planning permission, by providing some form of permitted development rights, which apply nationally or to defined local areas.

Most planning systems make decisions about proposals.  These decisions can be to grant planning permission - normally subject to conditions or other legal obligations - or to refuse planning permission. Most systems allow applicants to appeal where planning permission is refused, conditions are imposed or a decision is unduly delayed. They also subject planning processes to judicial review - to ensure that overarching legal principles of fairness, natural justice and good administration are properly applied.

Most planning systems include policies and processes which aim to deliver fair and consistent outcomes: 

  • legislation and regulations made at the national level, which describe how the system should be run
  • policies set at the national level, which describe the outcomes that governments seek and the issues that governments wishe decision makers to consider
  • the best of these policies are 'national spatial frameworks', relating the government's priorities to social, economic, environmental and above all geographic or spatial issues that bear on their delivery.  These policies also tend to be better integrated.
  • however, many national policies are based around specific subject matters and take no particular account of geography or space.  These policies tend to be less well integrated
  • development plans, which set out place based visions for the future and detailed policies to guide future use and development.  These can be prepared at regional, sub-regional and local levels, depending on the legislation applying to that nation.  Many development plans are prepared by local planning authorities at the local government level and are directly accountable to locally elected councillors
  • there are many different legal requirements and approaches, but some form of public or community involvement and in some cases examination of the soundness of a draft is required before policies and development plans can be approved

Typically, national or devolved nation governments set out their legal framework for planning in an Act of Parliament or equivalent. National level policies and spatial frameworks can be accessed from relevant government department and agency websites, together with information about appeals against planning decisions and public involvement in setting policies and making development plans. Development plan policies can be accessed from relevant regional and local government bodies' websites, as can most information about applications for planning permission, although aggregate statistics and information about applications for nationally significant infrastructure projects are also available from national bodies.  England and Wales have a Planning Portal which provides a common gateway to a large quantity of national, regional and local planning information.

The links below will connect you to a page that summarises the key components of the planning systems in the UK and Ireland. You can use these pages to access government and local government information and planning services.

 

 
Author:
Rynd Smith
Publisher:
The Royal Town Planning Institute
Date:
03-Jul-09

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