ABSTRACT
This chapter examines a number of themes about the relationship between planning, house building and the housing market, drawing on recent experience in Britain and looking more speculatively to the future. The problem of an unstable and unresponsive housing supply would not be eliminated by an absence of planning or a much more liberal planning regime. The higher cost of development within urban areas will not generate the kinds of surpluses required to fund substantial packages of planning gain. Public policy with respect to economic and fiscal policy and public expenditure on infrastructure and social housing construction provided a broadly supportive environment, and planning operated to manage decentralisation and to conserve valued landscapes and open space in a relatively flexible way. The Planning and Compensation Act 1991 all districts are now required to prepare a district-wide local plan, providing comprehensive plan coverage for the first time.
