ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the core of that machinery as a set of political institutions with only a minimum of moral and sociological comment. In order to seriously effect the plan he would have had to spend a great deal of time on it; in effect to do the professional's job for him. It has been estimated that 70 per cent of planning applications were dealt with entirely by planning officials; apparently planning committees took an average of only two to three minutes to deal with an application. But it was commonly observed that members of planning committees often developed a close rapport with planners and came to consider planning criteria as being 'above' party politics. Economic development areas overlapped with National Parks; New Towns were designated on the edge of Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
