ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with the auditing of land use planning policy, which is possibly the least well developed aspect of Environmental Audit (EA) as currently practised. Conventionally the planning audit focuses on reasonably discrete and identifiable issues that are amenable to some kind of measurement: dereliction, the protection of the green belt, and the protection of urban green spaces from development. The chapter describes this broader perspective and the reasons for adopting it, then explores some of the very real difficulties which the auditor is likely to have to confront. It deals with the land use State of the Environment monitoring (SoE), policy impact assessment (PIA) and review of internal practices (RIP), including an urban and rural case study to help give form to the ideas. The significance of sustainable development for planning policy has barely been grasped by many British local authorities. The recommended process of environmental appraisal of development plans (EAP) is set out in recent government guidance.
