ABSTRACT
This chapter presents several case studies which illuminate various aspects of the real-time negotiation, compromise and conflict generated by proposed residential developments. The issue of residential development involved most of the major actors within the planning process: Berkshire County Council; the district council; the parish council; the Secretary of State for the Environment; housebuilders of different sizes; and a firm of planning consultants. The stock of land within the district having planning consent for housing had dwindled from a position of glut after the releases of the early 1970s, to one approaching the critical five-year mark. In common with a number of the private sector planners and agents within the area, the consultant planner handling the case was a former local authority planning officer. Under section 86 of the 1980 Local Government and Planning Act, district planning authorities must consult with the county council over applications which have implications for the structure plan.
