Town and Country Planning Act 1968

Town and Country Planning Act 1968
Name	Town and Country Planning Act 1968
Enactment	1968
Jurisdiction	United Kingdom
Status	partially_repealed

Town and Country Planning Act 1968.

The Town and Country Planning Act 1968 was a statute enacted in the United Kingdom that reformed statutory controls over land use, development, and planning consent in England and Wales, affecting relationships among local authorities, private landowners, and public bodies such as the Ministry of Housing and Local Government and later the Department of the Environment. It interacted with contemporaneous instruments like the Housing Act 1964, the Local Government Act 1972, and European obligations under the Treaty of Rome era planning discourse, shaping urban redevelopment in cities such as London, Birmingham, Manchester, and Liverpool.

Background and Legislative Context

The Act followed precedents including the Town and Country Planning Act 1947, the Town and Country Planning Act 1954, and recommendations from committees chaired by figures connected to Patrick Abercrombie and the Buchanan Report, responding to post‑war reconstruction needs in Coventry, Glasgow, and the West Midlands. Debates in the Parliament of the United Kingdom engaged politicians from the Conservative Party, the Labour Party, and the Liberal Party, and involved stakeholders such as the Royal Town Planning Institute, the National Trust, and the Royal Institute of British Architects. International influences included planning practice in France, Germany, and United States urban renewal programmes exemplified by projects in New York City, Chicago, and Boston.

Key Provisions

The Act revised provisions governing permissions, enforcement notices, and compensation related to development, referencing instruments and institutions like the Planning Inspectorate, the High Court of Justice, the County Court, and the Crown Estate. It addressed matters of permitted development, change of use, and article 4 directions comparable in scope to measures found in the Housing and Planning Act 1986. Land designation and development plan frameworks invoked authorities such as Greater London Council, Metropolitan Boroughs, County Councils in England, and urban renewal agencies modelled on the New Towns Act 1946 and Development Corporations like those for Harlow New Town and Milton Keynes. The Act also touched on heritage consents affecting sites protected by the Ancient Monuments Act 1953 and properties listed under the listed building regime in the City of Westminster and Bath, Somerset.

Administration and Enforcement

Administrative responsibility rested with local planning authorities including London Borough of Hackney, Leeds City Council, and Bristol City Council, supervised by central departments and inspectors associated with the Secretary of State for the Environment. Enforcement mechanisms included injunctions in the High Court of Justice, enforcement notices, and stop notices with interactions involving the Serjeant at Arms in parliamentary procedure. Financial and compulsory purchase powers echoed those in the Compulsory Purchase Act 1965, and coordination with transport infrastructure projects involved bodies like British Rail and the Trunk Roads Policy overseen by the Ministry of Transport.

Impact and Consequences

The legislation influenced redevelopment projects in Canary Wharf, the Inner London Education Authority domains, and industrial reorganizations in Sheffield and Newcastle upon Tyne, affecting housing provision under schemes run by Housing Associations and local authorities in Southwark and Hackney. It shaped environmental outcomes discussed at forums such as the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment and practitioners in the Town and Country Planning Association. Economic and social consequences were debated by economists connected to London School of Economics, demographers at University College London, and sociologists from University of Manchester.

Amendments, Repeals and Subsequent Legislation

Subsequent statutes including the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990, the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, and reforms under the Localism Act 2011 altered or subsumed many provisions, while case law and later amendments referenced statutes such as the Environmental Protection Act 1990, the Infrastructure Planning Act 2015, and directives influenced by the European Court of Justice. Territorial arrangements evolved through legislation like the Scotland Act 1998 and the Government of Wales Act 1998 affecting devolved planning competencies in Edinburgh and Cardiff.

Case Law and Legal Interpretation

Judicial interpretation in courts including the House of Lords, the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, and the High Court of Justice clarified issues later cited alongside cases involving parties from institutions such as the National Trust and developers linked to firms operating in Canary Wharf Group and British Land. Decisions engaged judges like the Lord Denning era jurisprudence and legal commentaries in journals associated with the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors.

Reception and Criticism

Reactions ranged from praise by professional bodies such as the Royal Town Planning Institute and the Royal Institute of British Architects to criticism from advocacy groups including Friends of the Earth, tenant organisations in Shelter, and trade unions associated with the Trades Union Congress. Commentators in newspapers like The Times, The Guardian, and The Daily Telegraph debated its effects on conservation in Oxford, urban design in Cambridge, and economic development policies advocated by think tanks like the Centre for Policy Studies and the Institute for Public Policy Research.

Category:United Kingdom planning legislation