Town and Country Planning Act 1990

Town and Country Planning Act 1990
Name	Town and Country Planning Act 1990
Enacted by	Parliament of the United Kingdom
Royal assent	1990
Status	Current (amended)

Town and Country Planning Act 1990 The Town and Country Planning Act 1990 is a principal statute governing land use and physical development in England and Wales enacted by the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It consolidates and updates earlier measures from the Housing Act 1985, Town and Country Planning Act 1971, and the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 era, shaping relationships among local planning authorities such as London Borough of Camden, national bodies like the Department for Communities and Local Government, and statutory consultees including Historic England. The Act underpins statutory instruments, judicial review in the Administrative Court, and policy frameworks linked to National Planning Policy Framework, local development plans and development control regimes.

Background and Legislative History

The Act emerged from debates involving the Secretary of State for the Environment (United Kingdom), parliamentary committees such as the Select Committee on Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs, and interest groups including the Royal Town Planning Institute and the National Trust. It consolidated provisions previously dispersed across the Town and Country Planning Act 1968 and the Land Compensation Act 1961 and followed White Papers influenced by events like the 1973 oil crisis and urban programmes related to Inner London Education Authority regeneration. Legislative passage intersected with the legislative agendas of the Cabinet Office, ministers from the Conservative Party (UK), and debates recorded in Hansard.

Key Provisions and Structure

The Act is structured into parts addressing development control, planning obligations, compulsory purchase, enforcement and appeals, and compensation. It specifies the functions of local planning authorities such as Greater Manchester Combined Authority and strategic bodies including the Mayor of London; sets out statutory development plan systems aligning with Structure plan and Unitary development plan concepts; and provides for planning obligations under what later became associated with Section 106 agreements and relationship with Community Infrastructure Levy policy. Provisions interface with heritage protection instruments administered by Cadw, Historic Scotland, and planning guidance from the Planning Inspectorate.

Development Control and Planning Permission

The Act defines "development" and requires express planning permission from local planning authorities like Bristol City Council for most building works, changes of use, and operations affecting Green Belt land, conservation areas managed by Bath and North East Somerset Council, and sites within Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty designations such as the Cotswolds AONB. It establishes time limits for permissions, conditions enforceable against landowners including corporations like Network Rail or British Waterways Board, and provisions for outline and reserved matters applications often adjudicated by inspectors from the Planning Inspectorate or ministers at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.

Enforcement and Appeals

Enforcement powers include service of breach notices, enforcement notices, stop notices and temporary stop notices, and injunctions obtained via the High Court or County Court; these powers have been applied in disputes involving entities such as English Heritage and private developers like Barratt Developments. The Act establishes rights of appeal to the Planning Inspectorate and further judicial review in the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, with procedure and remedies influenced by precedents from cases involving R (on the application of) Miller-style public law challenges and environmental litigants such as Friends of the Earth.

Compulsory Purchase and Compensation

Provisions grant acquiring authorities—counties like Kent County Council and development corporations such as the London Docklands Development Corporation—powers to compulsorily acquire land for planning purposes, subject to compensation assessed under statutory rules informed by the Land Compensation Act 1961 and cases before the Lands Tribunal. Compensation principles reflect notions adjudicated in landmark disputes involving parties like British Rail and private landowners, balancing public benefit against private loss and interfacing with European law precedents from the European Court of Human Rights in property rights contexts.

Amendments, Case Law and Interpretation

Since 1990 the Act has been amended by statutes including the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004, the Localism Act 2011, and statutory instruments influenced by decisions of the House of Lords and later the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. Key judicial interpretations have arisen in cases involving principles from Wednesbury v. Minister of Housing and Local Government-style reasonableness review, statutory interpretation guided by judges in the Administrative Court, and planning law authorities cited in judgments involving parties such as R (on the application of) West Berkshire District Council and national campaigns led by Campaign to Protect Rural England.

Impact and Criticism

The Act has profoundly shaped urban regeneration projects like Canary Wharf, transport infrastructure schemes involving High Speed 1 and Crossrail, and housing delivery by developers including Persimmon plc. Critics from organisations such as the Royal Institute of British Architects, Shelter (charity), and Friends of the Earth argue that implementation has sometimes constrained affordable housing, biodiversity outcomes highlighted by RSPB and WWF-UK, and community participation championed by Joseph Rowntree Foundation. Defenders point to legal certainty, procedural frameworks for environmental impact assessment influenced by EU Habitats Directive and EU Environmental Impact Assessment Directive, and appeal mechanisms that integrate with the wider jurisprudence of the UK courts.

Category:United Kingdom planning legislation