ABSTRACT
Planning has evolved since the Town and Country Planning Act (TCPA) 1947, as has the public interest and desire to be involved and to influence the outcome of planning policies and decisions. Many reasons have been advanced for this growing public interest, particularly in relation to their local environment, for example, better education concerning environmental matters; a reaction against the bureaucratic decisions of the 1960s which saw large areas ‘suffer’ the consequences of redevelopment; the loss of familiar features in the local area; and an increasing awareness of the principle of conservation. The growth of pressure groups in the 1960s which startled the Western world with urban riots, both in the United States and France, led to a political reaction designed to improve the involvement of individuals in local affairs. It can also be argued that the recent worldwide movement to safeguard natural resources, including flora and fauna, is largely the result of public pressure on governments.
