ABSTRACT
The planning system is one of the critical axes of the land development process. At a procedural level it prescribes the rules and regulations through which most, but not all, land development must pass. At a sociological and political level it provides a means to mediate local conflict and a focus for it. It is therefore a key arena for the representation of interests, especially since the encouragement of public participation in the planning system in the 1960s. The election of the Conservative government in 1979 did not undermine the mediating rôle of local government, but shifted its focus. Ideas of positive planning have subsequently largely been undermined and increasingly local authorities have found themselves acting in a responsive manner and regulating private sector led development.
