ABSTRACT
This chapter examines how the formulation of general planning policy is undertaken by the central state as it attempts to provide consistency in decision making across the system as a whole. It assumes that if local planning authorities are permitted to make all their own decisions in whatever way they see fit then there will be widely divergent planning outcomes in different places. The planning component of Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR) comprises seven divisions which advise ministers on land use planning issues. Its main areas of work include the holding of local plan inquiries, determining planning appeals and enforcement orders. The DETR argues that the strategies of regional agencies 'will need to be complementary if they are to secure the management of change in a coherent and sustainable way'.
