ABSTRACT
In the previous chapter we examined an example of land development which proved attractive to farmers, landowners and those seeking recreational opportunities in the countryside. Furthermore, golf course development was also not fully “captured” by the planning system and, for a period (now probably over), there was a rush of golf course development proposals, the majority of which gained planning permission. We now turn in the next two chapters to cases of land development which may be attractive to landowners and developers but do not fit at all easily into the types of countryside sought by the middle class. Furthermore, these are traditional uses for rural land and are therefore surrounded by much more elaborate planning frameworks than those which exist for golf. Planning plays a dual rôle in these two case studies, for it not only imposes the prevention of development in the countryside through development control decisions, but also attempts to ensure that provision is made to allow these traditional land uses to continue. As we shall see, planning authorities can run into considerable difficulty in achieving the delicate “balancing act” that this dual rôle demands, particularly where influential groups in the locality are effectively orchestrating opposition to these types of development.
