ABSTRACT
The framework for plan-making and decision-taking needs to be understood to appreciate where any necessary change in the approach to development in the countryside will come from. This chapter sets out the hierarchy of policies that direct decision-makers in the English plan-led system. Local authorities prepare development plans, and the policies within them when they are adopted are the starting point for decisions about whether or not development should be granted planning permission. Strategic plans are produced by local authorities either working together or individually. Many communities have approached the Neighbourhood Plan process as an opportunity to improve their communities and provide facilities, housing and job opportunities for the future. National policy on the landscape is considered with other aspects of the natural environment in section 15 of the NPPF.
