The British Town and Country Planning System is designed to regulate development and the use of land in the public interest. There are two principal parts to the planning system:

• Development Plans
• Development Control (planning permission)

Development Plans

The planning system in England and Wales follows a 'plan-led' system. This involves preparing plans that set out:

• what can be built
• where it can be built

The plan-led system was updated by an Act of Parliament – the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act – in December 2004.

In England, until very recently, there were two main levels of plan under this law:

1. Regional Spatial Strategies
Until recently, each Regional Planning Body (such as the north-east of England) had to prepare a Regional Spatial Strategy. This sets out plans for elements such as:

• how many homes are needed to meet the future needs of people in the region
• whether the region needs a new major shopping centre or airport

Please note that the Coalition Government has announced the abolition of Regional Spatial Strategies. Further updates will be available in due course.

2. Local Development Frameworks
Each local planning authority must prepare a Local Development Framework. This is a folder of documents that sets out how your local area may change over the next few years.

In Wales, the basic pattern of the existing unitary development plans was retained (unlike in England), but the plans themselves are designed to be simpler and more concise than the previous plans. These Local Development Plans are required to have regard to the national spatial plan for Wales.

Development Control

Generally speaking, consent is needed for:

• most new buildings
• major changes to existing buildings or to the local environment

This is known as planning permission. Each application for planning permission is made to the local planning authority for the area. For more information, refer to the section on planning permission.