Introduction

This chapter examines four Simplified Planning Zones in detail; Birmingham, Derby, Slough and Cleethorpes and suggests that local authorities have substituted their own objectives for the zones and used them for a variety of reasons all at variance with their Thatcherite aims. The considerable scope for autonomous local politics came about because of the discretion offered by the zone legislation and the approach to implementation followed by the government. The only comprehensive account of what happened to planning during the 1980s is Thornley. Brindley, Y. Rydin and Stoker believe that: While central government has attempted to change the framework of planning policy and legislation, within this framework local authorities and local communities have continued to pursue their own, with different goals. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.