ABSTRACT
Whilst the case studies in the following chapters are all drawn from English experience, the stated objective of this book is to consider issues facing small towns in an international context. To provide an appropriate foundation for assessing these case studies, this chapter attempts to give an overview of the English planning system, set within a broader international context. The Localism Act of 2011 introduced a tier of plans below the local authority level, where neighbourhood forums and parish councils have been given the power to produce 'Neighbourhood Plans'. The major difference in Europe is between the tradition of English Common Law and the Napoleonic strand represented, in some form, in a majority of European countries – although, at the outset at least, there were significant differences between the French and the Scandinavian traditions. Planning in Australia is the responsibility of the States in a number of senses.
