ABSTRACT

This chapter examines how the planning system in England after the Second World War recognised and addressed the need for space for places of worship, from the planning of New Towns, expanded towns and overspill areas, to more recent major residential developments. The chapter comprises an historical account, based on research completed in 2014, which gives a detailed account of how religious issues were increasingly marginalised in the late twentieth and early twenty-first century. While recognising the significant changes in the English religious landscape since 1945, the primary focus is the extent to which the planning system has enabled the Church of England, as the Established Church, to maintain a presence in every community.